Johnson reflected on her epic 1968 wedding to Velvet Underground co-founder John Cale in a new video on TikTok.
Betsey Johnson has never been one to follow fashion norms and her 1968 wedding to Velvet Underground co-founder John Cale was no different.
In a new video shared to her official TikTok page Monday, the 80-year-old fashion designer reflected on their City Hall wedding and the reason she was forced to change out of her bell bottom pants.
"We went to City Hall to go get married," Johnson said in her video. "All of a sudden, they're saying, 'We can't marry you in pants.' Can you believe that?"
Johnson said she was wearing a "beautiful, burgundy, crushed-velvet tunic top" atop the pants, while Cale was dressed in a black canvas suit she'd made for him.
She continued, "The rule was, you could not do anything in pants. You couldn't go to a restaurant in pants, uptown. You couldn't get married in pants."
So, Johnson had a simple solution -- she took them off!
"So, what was really funny, was I was wearing a crotch-length, little tunic top," Johnson said. "So, right in front of the judge, I said, 'I'm not gonna go home to change. I'll just take my pants off.' So, I got married in this tiny, tiny, little velvet tunic."
"The idea that there were rules like that," she scoffed.
The quick clip featured photos from the wedding, with a then-brunette Johnson smiling alongside the rock star.
@betseyjohnson The royal wedding has nothing on Betsey babes. Today she is reminiscing on her iconic 1968 nuptials and some of the equally iconic wedding guests in attendance. #betseyjohnsin #andywarhol #weddingstory #betseybabe ♬ original sound - betseyjohnson
Johnson and Cale were married until 1971. She would go on to welcome a daughter, Lulu, now 48, with sculptor Clark Murray, though the pair did not marry.
Johnson walked down the aisle again in 1981, marrying Jeffrey Oliviere in a more traditional look, opting for a white gown with balloon sleeves for the church wedding.
She split from Oliviere in 1984 and married TV producer Brian Reynolds in 1997.
The designer has also featured multiple wedding dresses -- each with their own quirky, Betsey Johnson touch -- in her runway shows over the years.
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