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| - I tried on some dresses here, and while I didn't find a dress to fall in love with, I was pleased with my experience. It's basically self-service; the volunteer staff puts you in a room with dresses in your size range, and you're free to try on whatever you like. The staff were kind and helpful, and both volunteers on the day I visited had great advice from their own wedding dress shopping experiences. I really liked the no-nonsense vibe of the place, and the ability to browse and try on with no pressure.
Of the eight or so dresses I tried on, a couple looked great, but they didn't quite inspire me to pull out my credit card. Since the shop is stocked by donated dresses, it's a selection of popular wedding styles of the past few years. I saw lots of A-line dresses, a few ball-gowns and mermaid styles. Strapless dresses were proliferate and there were a few gowns with thin straps or sleeves. If you do find something that you love here, it is a bargain. A silk sheath gown was selling for $1000, a beautiful chiffon strapless ballgown was $800 and a maggie sottero lace dress was around $1200. All these were in great condition and fit nicely, but none were precisely what I was looking for. There are some very cool short dresses in a back room, which i tried on, but unfortunately they were very unflattering on me. If you're a petite, non-traditional bride, I'd recommend having a look in the short-dresses closet.
This is a worthwhile charity, and I'd still love to support it by donating my own dress after my wedding. It's a great idea to make the wedding industry a tiny bit more sustainable and affordable, and to contribute some of the wedding budget towards a good cause.
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