HELENA — For many people, the clothes they get for their wedding day are some of the most important pieces they will ever wear, but with the new federal administration's tariffs, those options could be limited.
"People are trying to get a good dress at a good price, and when you're talking about adding hundreds of dollars onto a dress — it's scary," said Linda Campbell, who owns Linda's Bridal Images and Mr. Tux with her husband.
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She says they started to see changes a couple of weeks ago, with the first of what they call "tariff letters."
"It's trickling down," said Campbell, "and it's making a difference in our lives now like nothing before has really done."
Linda's Bridal received letters from three out of six of their vendors saying they would add surcharges.
The surcharges started at around 6%t, but they increased to 20% on Monday.
Most dresses at Linda's Bridal are made in China, but they also have vendors from Vietnam and Canada.
"The cost of production overseas is so much less than it is to have that same thing done here," Campbell said. "We don't have that option of bringing it to the United States."
Linda's Bridal went through the recession and the pandemic, but Campbell says this is different.
"This has been the first really scary thing that has got me nervous about the long term of this," said Campbell.
Campbell says their business includes an average of 40 wedding parties a year and about 300 students attending prom.
She said they do not have a plan for the surcharges yet, and whether they will cover, split, or pass it on to their customers is up in the air.
