Bill Lett, owner of Lett’s Bridal, has seen a thing or two in his lifetime. Born in Lansing into a poverty-stricken family just before the Depression hit in 1926, Lett is no stranger to struggle—but he has overcome many obstacles to achieve the success he and his family enjoy today.

Roots run deep

While Lett’s upbringing made for a rough existence, this instilled in him a strong work ethic. “I wanted a better life for myself,” Lett says. “I was raised with love, by two women who loved me dearly, my mother and grandmother, but we were poor, poor, poor.”

Lett was married in 1948 to his wife, Ruby, and his first son arrived in 1950. His son was born with a club foot and needed a $7,000 surgery that Lett couldn’t afford—he was making $32 a week working at Oldsmobile’s Atlas Drop Forge, working at Hotel Olds busing tables, and had a third job selling baby diapers and women’s stockings door to door.  But he managed to come up with the money. “I paid the doctor off the day of the surgery; it felt so good,” Lett remembers. “I never took a day off.”

In 1957, the forge offered Lett a promotion, making 10 cents more per hour. “I came to the realization that I didn’t want to do this the rest of my life,” he says. “I went home and told Ruby that I quit my job. She asked, ‘What are we going to do?’ She was a little upset because we had two baby boys and another on the way!”

These were tough times for Lett and his family, who were living on $15 a week. But the self-starting Lett worked hard selling, and managed to save up a meager $750 to start his small business. With the support of his family, and some help from his mother, Lett rented a tiny building on West St. Joseph Hwy. in Lansing, and began taking catalog orders for various goods.

A new beginning

Slowly the business grew, and in the early 1960s, Lett expanded and decided to take a trip to New York City, which was a game-changer for his business. A few business lessons learned, Lett didn’t let anything discourage him; he returned again to New York and discovered he had an uncanny ability to choose colors.

Lett started carrying women’s sportswear and began competing with other businesses, and by this time had built a reputation for carrying high-quality, stylish clothes. “I had an eye for high style,” Lett laughs. “I was successful because I would go into the lofts in New York and find one hot dress—dresses nobody around here carried.  And I loved my customers, loved making them happy.” Lett traveled to New York one week per month for 25 years, to which he also attributes much of his success.

Adapting to change

Within five years, Lett went from making $200,000 a year to $800,000 a year.  Then the early ‘90s left many department stores in bankruptcy. Eventually, the sportswear business went broke and Lett thought he was done. “My wife told me that I had always made the right decision—just like quitting the Olds forge,” Lett recalls. “She didn’t let me give up.”

Armed with Ruby’s encouragement, Lett went to a bridal show the next day and bought enough inventory to launch Lett’s Bridal. In 1995, he moved and opened the store on E. Grand River Ave. in Lansing.        

Lett says that, while it was a slow process getting the bridal business off the ground, he was born into a family of intelligent overachievers, which he attributes to his grandmother. Lett shares that his uncle, Hon. John Lett, was the first black judge in the state; another uncle, Dick Lett, was HR director for the City of Lansing for many years; and Letts’ daughter, Deb Wallace, is an attorney in Chicago who remains an organizer of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Walk to Cure Diabetes at Michigan State University.

Out of struggle comes positivity  

After a car accident on St. Patrick’s Day in 2009 left Lett with short-term memory loss and depreciated physical capabilities (and still grieving the loss of both his sons and wife Ruby in two years’ time), Lett’s nephew and small business owner Alric “Rick” Roy moved to Lansing from Florida. Roy began to work in the bridal store, and is now managing Lett’s newest 6,000-square-foot showroom at 3415 E. Saginaw St. in East Lansing, across from Frandor.  

“I wanted to put a new look on Letts, while still honoring the business my uncle has built over the past 60 years,” Roy says. “The Lett’s reputation and name are a cut above the rest, and in today’s economy, people want the most for their dollar. Lett’s Bridal offers gorgeous looks for the budget-conscious bride.”

Voted Best of Weddings by The Knot, Lett’s Bridal is one of the only area bridal salons offering alterations, and will soon host a grand opening at their new location. Find out more at www.lettsbridal.com.