While most toddlers just play with Barbie dolls, Jin Wang made clothes for hers.

At age 4, the San Francisco resident recalled that her mother "put thimbles on all my fingers and taught me how to sew."

Now, at 33 and with more than 15 years in the retail industry, Wang has put her early design talents to a new use.

Thursday, she'll be unveiling her first line of wedding gowns targeted to what she calls the "Banana Republic crowd," professional women who want simple yet elegant formal wear at affordable prices.

"I've seen such horrible things out there," Wang said of the bridal gown market. "And expensive!"

She's referring to the polyester, puff-sleeved, ruffled hoop gowns that seem to be worn by every other bride and bridesmaid.

By contrast, Wang's creations are anything but fussy. Her 18 wedding gown styles are custom-made in silk and have simple constructions.

For example, her Sarah gown is a sleeveless empire-waist sheath of satin silk, with a silk organza train. No prickly lace or big bows here. The only decorative feature is a row of small satin roses flowing down the train.

Wang also makes a line of standard-sized bridesmaid dresses that can double as evening gowns.

"I like to keep my designs simple but do one thing that's unique, one dramatic element," Wang said.

Her prices are pared down as well, relatively speaking. Wang's gowns range from about $1,000 to $1,600 compared with $10,000 and up charged by some top designers. Her bridesmaid sheaths will retail for about $300 to $400.

"The price is great," said Karla Hour, a prominent wedding couture designer in The City, referring to Wang's wedding gowns.

"It will hurt a lot of (similar) businesses around her," Hour said. "The same thing can be made for $3,000. It depends on the quality of the work."

But Wang's prices aren't as low as the national average. According to Modern Bride magazine, women spend $776 on average for a wedding dress these days.

Nevertheless, her concept is timely. In the past several years, high-end women's wedding apparel has taken on a more clean-lined, sophisticated look.

New York designer Vera Wang - no relation - is often credited with starting the revolution with her elegant and sexy wedding sheaths made of "sheer illusion," a slinky, fine-meshed material.

But Vera Wang's creations - which have been worn by celebrities like Mariah Carey, Sharon Stone and Nancy Kerrigan - are considerably more expensive at $10,000 to $25,000 a dress.

When asked whether Vera Wang is an inspiration, Jin Wang answered, "Definitely. Hers is more upscale." But she added that designers like Karl Lagerfeld, Yves St. Laurent, Channel and Badgley Mischka have been much more influential. "I like the classic designers," she said.

Another big influence has been her extensive experience in the business side of apparel retailing.

Wang started her career as a teenager, doing fashion displays and sales work at a Limited store in the Bay Area. At 20, while studying for her B.S. in business at S.F. State, she was recruited for an executive training program at Emporium-Capwell.

She stayed there for five years and then worked for I. Magnin, managing the store's accessory division.

Soon after, Gap Inc. hired Wang for its inventory management division, where she determined how many pairs of Dockers pants should be ordered for each Gap store. She also helped Gap launch its hugely profitable Old Navy division.

Stints at Mervyn's and Lee Jeans followed. For the past year and a half, Wang did market trend analysis for Levi Strauss & Co. Inc.

She said her experience at some of the country's biggest retailers and manufacturers had helped tremendously.

"A lot of designers are artists," she said. "I'm in the middle between the creative and business" sides.

Wang, who invested about $75,000 on her first collection, estimated that her gowns would gross about $200,000 by the end of the year. She expects sales to grow by at least 50 percent next year.

And because she's working out of her loft in South Park, high overhead isn't an issue.

"My margins would make people green with envy," she said.

Wang is looking for a silent partner and hopes to open a salon of her own next year.

But is there room for another wedding gown designer in the Bay Area, which already touts several high-end and well-respected salons? Time will tell, experts said.

"Competition is very high now," said designer Hour. Without seeing the finished product, "I can't tell if she can get a strong step in the business. It all depends on how good she is."

Karen Metz, owner of Marina Morrison, the Sutter Street shop considered the ultimate in wedding gowns and accessories, thinks there's room for more good designers.

"The question is, is (Wang's) look suited for San Francisco?" Metz said. "It sounds like it."

Wang believes she's entering an untapped niche of the Bay Area's wedding gown industry.

"I'm not trying to cater to everyone," she said, adding that most of her clients were likely to be working women who had a sense of style. "I'm targeting a woman who's style-conscious and appreciates beautiful fabric."