Beth Blake & Melissa Akey
Thread Designers & Co-Owners

Beth Blake (at left) launched Thread Bridesmaid in 1999 for one very simple reason: She had nothing to wear to her sister’s wedding. After searching for chic bridesmaid dresses and coming up empty-handed, she decided to simply design the dresses herself. One wedding, seven bridesmaids dresses and hundreds of compliments later, Beth realized she wasn’t the only one looking for stylish bridesmaid dresses, and soon thereafter launched Thread.

Melissa Akey joined Thread three years later, and by then girls were buying Thread dresses to wear not just to weddings, but to parties of all kinds. And so, in 2006, Beth and Melissa launched Thread Social, a line of perfect party dresses and quirky separates. Thread Social’s nostalgic and flirty aesthetic became an instant favorite of girls everywhere, from girls next door to fashion editors, and the line has since been regularly featured in magazines such as Elle, Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle and Teen Vogue.

Prior to launching Thread, Beth worked for American Vogue and Chanel, while Melissa was at Barneys New York and Stila Cosmetics. While both women currently live in New York City (Beth in Tribeca with husband Corbin, son George, and baby girl Blake, Melissa in Williamsburg with husband Alex), both originally hail from the Midwest, a circumstance that may explain their fast friendship, their love for all things shopping and their kill-’em-with-kindness approach to business.