Priscilla of Boston

So Glamour Closet was supposed to be my only bridal shopping. But wandering around downtown SF I couldn't help but notice the giant, giant Priscilla of Boston sign. And online window shopping meant I knew I really liked some of their lines (Melissa Sweet especially). And they sell their own samples in store, rather than on-selling to places like Glamour Closet. So I found myself heading in, without an appointment, just for a little peek. Ha.

Image from SF Yelp

I was sold. The salon looked so glam. There were so many beautiful gowns. They keep all their samples for sale in a room out the back, and were only too happy to show me through. They were all arranged by size, and I was only 'allowed' to look at those within two sizes of myself so that alterations would be realistically possible. I was shown each gown in turn, and said yay or nay. That done, they made an appointment for me to come back later in the day and try on the gowns I picked out. When I came back there was a whole new rack of sample gowns for sale. Because the new collections have been released, just that afternoon the salons had been told which dresses were being discontinued and thus to be pulled from the racks. So I picked out a few more! Yay!

Condition varied from 'Has anyone ever even tried this on?' to 'Oo... okay... gonna need a clean and some new buttons.' I tried on one gown, and my sales assistant told me (I couldn't see) that there were a lot of snags in the back where the train had caught on some beading, and that she wouldn't let me buy it, because the damage was too bad and irreparable. The majority would need a dry-clean (no stains, just dust/ grime), and lost buttons seemed to be the most common problem. Really close examination revealed the tiniest runs on some gowns, one had a pleat that had been untacked. Gowns at 40 - 50% off.