OC INSIDER: She Does Vera’s Veils: Erin Cole Ponders New Line
by Rick Reiff
A hot fashion name is located in Costa Mesa, and it’s not some surfer dude. It’s Erin Cole, whose high-end bridal gown accessories (tiaras, veils, hairpins and shoes) are carried in 175 stores, including Neiman Marcus, Saks, Bridal’s by Lori and Barney’s of New York. Celebrity brides include actresses Courtney Cox Arquette and Lela Rochon, whose outfit made a cover of People magazine. The hair jewelry line “is sky-rocketing crazy, a ton of people have knocked it off.” To combat copycats, her products are now previewed behind closed doors at trade shows. Brides typically pay between $400 and $3,000 retail for her accessories, which accompany a $1,500 to $10,000 Vera Wang or other designer gown. Cole is thinking about launching a lower-priced line and growing her 12-person payroll. A former bridal runway model and consultant to Costa Mesa bridal salon Mon Ami, Cole started Erin Cole Design in 1995 with the help of boyfriend (now hubbie) Ken Picquelle, a marketing director and artist. Cole said buyers and others she meets on the road are surprised to learn her office is in Orange County: “Everyone says, ‘Where in New York are you?'” But Cole, a Fountain Valley High grad, said she enjoys SoCal, a “beautiful home” in Irvine and proximity to suppliers in L.A. Fitting for one who helps women wed, Cole’s latest project is motherhood,she recently adopted a daughter from her single sister, Jennifer Cole. Five-month-old Isabella joins year-old Ethan, the son of Cole’s partner and business manager, Karin Schroeder, in a daycare room at the HQ staffed by a nanny …
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