“This is happening in all the larger cities in the U.S.,” Ferrara said. “I know there is an off-the-rack store in Beverly Hills. I know there is an off-the-rack store in Boston … in Chicago. This is a huge trend in bridal gown shopping.”

Between 80 and 100 designer bridal gowns hang along both sides of Ferrara’s intimate, white-splashed Dressing Room West, which opened Thursday at 219 Shelby St. There were two fuzzy chairs in the center of the room near an oversized mirror as “Meu Carnival” from Pandora’s Bossa Nova Beats oozed from a sound system.

Ferrara, 41, was inspired by her mother-in-law’s more extensive Dressing Room boutique in St. Petersburg, Fla., but the younger Ferrara sells only designer bridal gowns — no bridesmaid dresses or other wedding attire. The two stores’ operations are not connected, the two women said.

All of Ferrara’s gowns are samples, overstock or discontinued designs created by such haute couture designers as Stella York, Rosa Clará, Justin Alexander and St. Patrick. In New York City, Ferrara said, “women wrap around the block for sample sales.”

Prices at Dressing Room West are 30 percent to 70 percent off what brides would find at pricier boutiques, plus there’s no waiting weeks for customized gowns to be shipped back to the store. What you see is what you get, but you get it right away. However, Ferr pointed out that “all sales are final, and there are no holds on sales. If you love it, you might want to take it home because it might not be here tomorrow.”

A designer gown that might sell for $3,600 to $3,800 in a full-bridal-service boutique would likely sell for under $1,500 at Dressing Room West, Ferrara said.

She compared her store to mother-in-law Judy Ferrara’s Florida store. “At Judy’s and similar boutiques, they can come back. They can think about it for three weeks, think about it. They can come back, place their order and then wait another 14 weeks. That’s not my model.”

Ferrara said local seamstresses can quickly sew alterations.

She said her internet marketing strategies are directed at both younger and older brides who desire elegance — understated or over the top — but “want to spend their money on other things, and if they can get a deal. …”

The bridal boutique market has changed dramatically in the last few years, Ferrara said.

It’s no longer a matter of tending to every whim of Madonna’s “Material Girl.”

“This is a new consumer and this is a new concept. … And it’s back to the millennials … they are spending all their money on experiences. They are not spending it on things.”

Although Ferrara uses social and business internet networking to market her sales, she does not sell dresses online. “Too many returns,” she said.

At Dressing Room West, Ferrara tries to keep it simple but intimate. All sales are by appointment only, but brides-to-be get her undivided attention. “I lock the doors so there are no distractions,” Ferrara said.

Judy Ferrara noted that both stores are located in destination cities, so the customer profile for the Santa Fe store might not just be someone — young or older — from New Mexico. “It could be somebody from fill in the blank. [The bride-to-be] and her mother are here, they hear about it, and they come in the door and they go, ‘This dress is gorgeous. I want this dress. I’m getting married in Michigan this summer.’ … So the perception is it’s quality at a very, very attractive price.”

Judy Ferrara said brides and brides’ mothers realize that the wedding gown sets the tone for the event. “It’s the pace car for the whole day.”

Christina Ferrara noted that Santa Fe draws couples as a wedding destination, which benefits her shop as a quick stop for a dress. “When they come here to do the site inspections at La Fonda or La Posada or [Rancho Encantado], they are hopefully going to stop in here, too.”

Read more:http://www.marieprom.co.uk/prom-dresses-london

Add This Entry To Your CureZone Favorites!