Powerful yet starved socialites, we're done with you. (Not really!) Please step aside and collect your schwag bag on the way out. We have a new obsession, and her name is PRISCILLA CHAN. Billed as the Kate Middleton of Silicon Valley, Chan was recently married to a social media CEO of some significance. He's not what's important. Chan is what's important, see. For example what, you ask? For example this: Chan's wedding dress, a charming piece designed by Claire Pettibone and deliriously yet perfectly titled "Sky Between the Branches," was purchased under a fake name in a little-known boutique in Denver, Colorado. Retailing for $4,700, comparatively cheap for wedding dresses that can run upwards of $25,000, Chan selected her own dress in lieu of having one made especially for the young newlywed.
The Daily Beast has more:
"The story begins in October, when Chan pulled what the designer calls a 'stealth move': she flew from Palo Alto to shop for a dress in Denver, where she wouldn’t be recognized. Having seen Pettibone’s designs online, she and a friend went to Little White Dress, a store in the Highlands neighborhood that carries the designs. According to the store’s owner, Cate Malone, Chan tried on 'about a half a dozen' dresses before eventually settling on 'Sky Between the Branches' and a hair clip."Chan came into the store twice: first in October, when the order was placed, and again in April, for another fitting. She came with a friend and told the salesperson that their budget was unlimited—but seemingly didn’t raise any eyebrows. According to Pettibone, Chan used the name 'Priscilla Tuan' to order the dress anonymously, but Malone at Little White Dress would not confirm that detail. The designer says it was Chan’s friend, doubling as an assistant, who handled the transaction for the purchase, which, in retrospect, seemed odd. 'We had no idea who she was until yesterday,' Malone says. The order for the dress was placed with Pettibone’s factory in California, and it took about four months to complete."
The dress — a soft stunner with its use of lace and straps (that latter so rarely seen in these our oppressive strapless-wedding-gown modern times) — has produced the "Chan Effect," prompting boutiques from around the world to place gown orders. "I think aside from the marrying-the-billionaire part," Pettibone says, “[Priscilla] is typical of the brides that are drawn to my collection: she’s smart, educated, and making her own choices. She could have come to me and I would have done anything for her. But instead she decided to make her own choice under the radar."
And if you think we're only interested in Chan because she's pretty, bone-shatteringly wealthy, and has a sense of style... you'd be correct. But did you also know that, according to People, she saves the lives of sick children? True. Chan inspired her husband to start an organ donor program on Facebook. "Our dinner conversations are often about Facebook and kids, and the kids that she's meeting," Mark Zuckerberg told Good Morning America regarding Chan. "She'll see them getting sicker, then, all of a sudden, an organ becomes available, and she comes home and her face is all lit up because someone's life is going to be better because of this."