The Paper Bag Princess

I had been on the haunt for the perfect vintage wedding gown for almost a year now and a friend suggested I try 'The Princess'....she had seen gorgeous bridal gowns in their windows when she drives to work everyday...so I called ahead and set an appointment to view their collection. They have the collection safely tucked away behind a pink velvet rope, how cute!!! This is my kind of place! The girls there were so helpful taking me through the entire collection piece by piece because I really did not know what I wanted. It is a little difficult with vintage wedding gowns because they only have ONE of each gowns and they don't come in other sizes, so it's tough if you fall in love with a gown and it is too small, which is what happened to me...But, and this is an amazing but, Elizabeth Mason the owner has her own contemporary design collect collection where she can create almost anything that your heart desires, inspired by, or to replicate her vintage collection. I had my heart set on an incredibly sexy 1970s Norma Kamali wedding gown when the salesgirl Jill showed me a stunning white silk gown Elizabeth had designed for the actress Ayelet Zurer for her premiere of her movie Angels and Demons...WOW !....I never thought I would look so .....well....sexy!!!...I felt like the most gorgeous bride in that gown. I could not buy Aylete's actual dress but Elizabeth measured me from head to toe and they made me my very own Red Carpet Stunner just like it. My wedding is not until next Summer, but I wanted to have everything all settled well in advance. The only problem is I am dying to wear my beautiful gown now ! UGH!!! We are planning on altering it into a cocktail length dress after my wedding so I can wear it again and again. Honestly, I never would have imagined a place like this existed, where my prettiest fashion fantasy could come true. The best part really is the fact that it is also truly a one stop vintage shop, with everything I needed from a killer pair of silver Manolos and a lovely little off-white French hand-beaded little clutch from the 50s.

I had a great time, brought a pile of my girlfriends in for my final fitting with Elizabeth and will remember the experience forever as a really big part of my wedding memories. It sure beat the heck out of hitting one of those cookie-cutter bridal stores.

I had sort of hoped I would wear a vintage wedding gown, but having one inspired by the 1950s that is all my own is just fine by me. We may even try to put all my bridesmaids in complimenting vintage dresses. I guess the only downside is that the shop is a little more expensive than most vintage places, but considering the service and the designer vintage I would be hard pressed to get better value in a regular retail store where almost everything these days is manufactured in China. My gown was hand-made just for me in America!!!

Coming from San Fransisco, Ive seen a lot of great vintage boutiques, but while visiting Los Angeles, I decided to look for the perfect gown that I have been needing for an event I am attending. I went all over town, and came across this place after several recommendations. WOW! My jaw dropped the minute I walked in the door. I couldnt believe my eyes. They had EVERYTHING! Every piece I looked at was more beautiful then the last. From the most beautiful gowns, a great collection of Chanel, Pucci and Yves St. Laurent to a display of vintage hats and gorgeous skin handbags, it was hard for a girl to stay focused on just one need. Luckily, I was greeted by such lovely sales girls who kept me on track. I told them what I was looking for and they walked the floor with me and showed several dresses; all of them were so stunning. They took the time to get to know me and my style, so I felt completely comfortable and confident throughout the whole experience. After a few tries, I put on a beautiful Oscar de la Renta dress and fell IN LOVE! The rest is history, a beautiful gown for a surprisingly reasonable price...oh yeah, I snatched up a rare Hermes scarf for my mom and a great Chanel belt for myself...so much for staying on track :)

Advertisements | Add your own

I can not get over the shear volume this boutique has, they must have pillaged every Hollywood Celebrities Closets!!!

I found the PREFECT Vicky Tiel cocktail dress for my engagement party, then the most beautiful Vera Wang wedding dress....it was a one stop shop for me. The sales ladies were just darling and so very helpful. Although the prices are not inexpensive, my Vera gown was still $2,200, but it was well worth the price, as I am sure it would have been well over $7,000 new....Oh and best of all they do alterations as well, and without the crazy mark-up like other bridal businesses....that was a real bonus for me.

This little Princess intends to live happily-ever-after, however I think when I am finished admiring my gorgeous wedding gown I just might take it back to the shop and resell it to them so someone else can feel as beautiful as I did on my wedding day!