Dresses - Where to begin?

soniatews

I just got engaged and am super excited to start looking at dresses.

I live on the west side of LA but Im happy to travel to the vallley too.

What are some dress shops you would recommend I can begin my search? (nothing to posh=)

jagore08

A lot of ladies go to Pebbles in Woodland Hills.  They have a large selection and their customer service has always been reported as very friendly.

roryandallyson

There are great stores in Koreatown that carry dresses similar to the rest of LA but at a fraction of the cost- there's one in particular on wilshire that's also a tuxedo shop (I'll try to remember the name and post again)- and wedding time is good, too.  i wish i had done my shopping there first.  glamour closet on la brea sells sample dresses and has a good price range- we found lots of cute styles for under $1500.00.  If you are looking for very inexpensive, you can always try maple street downtown- there dresses are usually less than $1000 and there are pry about a dozen stores that sell them. From my experience, those are the three areas for the best cost.  I got my dress at wedding time for $1600 which included all alterations and accessories (veil, tiara, etc.).  Then I went downtown for bridesmaid dresses- everything is negotiable so the bm dresses were $50/piece and match the bride dress perfectly.  Have fun and good luck!!!

[Deleted User]

Pebbles is a good place to start. 

If you are into like really super high end dresses and you're on a budget you can also give Glamour Closet a shot.  That's where I got my dress.  (Although keep in mind they are all sample sizes and will require extensive alterations and cleaning).

CurlyGirlyGirl

Loved my experience at Lili Bridal.  Ask for Maria.  Some people didn't like their experience a Lili as much as Pebbles... but do know that I was told I was too overweight for a certain style of dress (the style I ended up buying) by one of the workers at Pebbles... and I wear a size 0 dress.

xxquemirasxx

I personally recommend Pebbles they are GREAT! They have tons of dresses and in different sizes and styles. I found them to be very helpful as well...

I also went to the Alfred Angelo in West Hollywood? They were nice and had a large selection of dresses.

soniatews

Awesome! Thank you guys!

Ive got another for you, what can I expect when I go in there, isnt trying on wedding dresses different than going to any other store? What should I be prepared for?

soniatews

I just went on Yelp and thought of another question.
Im a size 2-4 in street clothes, doe that mean I cant buy a sample? How high can I go before I cant alter it anymore?

TurtlesAllTheWayDown

I went to Alfred Angelo on La Cienega. If you make an appointment ask for Valerie! I like that they had a ton of dresses in many sizes, since a lot of independent shops only have samples in size 6 or 10. I thought it was a good place to start. 

You can usually get a dress altered down about 2 sizes without compromising the structure of the dress, but it depends on the dress too. Corset backs can also be altered a bit more. Check each manufacturer's size charts though. Wedding dresses usually run small, so a street size 2 could be a 4, or a 6, or even an 8 in bridal sizes.