Follow Friday Vendor Spotlight: Fabulous Frocks of Alexandria

Happy Friday!  Today we are talking about Bridal Gowns and the fabulous, Fabulous Frocks of Alexandria.    Any engaged woman, whether they have been dreaming of their dress from a young age or not, should have the “bridal experience” of picking out their wedding attire.  For some women, trying on wedding dresses is one of the best parts of their engagement, others may find it harder to find their dress than it was to find their person.  Fabulous Frocks, a high-end bridal consignment shop, is making the process fun and easy (on the wallet).   They offer sample sale-like deals on a daily basis, while providing brides with luxury designer wedding gowns and bridesmaid dresses to choose from.  Saturday, November 17th marks their One-Year Anniversary, details regarding this special event are at the bottom of this post, be sure to check out the deals available!

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I met Linda Fairall, owner of Fabulous Frocks in Alexandria, VA last spring after one of my brides raved about her experience and dress options the store carries.   After a visit to her cute shop in the Del Ray neighborhood, I was immediately impressed by her knowledge and friendliness and of course the great selection of dresses.   Their “goal is to provide brides-to-be with the same private, luxurious shopping experience that they can expect at any other higher end bridal boutique, while offering fantastic deals on couture gowns”.  And Linda is doing just that.  Because the Fabulous Frocks brand has locations in Alexandria, Charleston, SC and Atlanta, GA the gowns are shared between three locations, essentially opening up an even wider selection for all our brides-to-be.

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From Linda:  I’m an Alexandria native.  I actually studied Studio Art at the University of Mary Washington.  After graduating, I worked in D.C. in hospitality, and then for online custom t-shirt giant customink.com as a production artist and then as a marketing associate.  Although CustomInk was AWESOME (as evidenced by their numerous awards for “best places to work in D.C.”), I couldn’t STAND sitting at a desk all day.  After another brief stint in hospitality, I noticed that Hannelore’s Bridal Boutique – which is literally four blocks from my house – was hiring.  The plan at the time was that I would work there temporarily until I could get my real estate license, and go into business with my husband, who is a Realtor and Real Estate Developer.

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I LOVED working with my brides there, but after about 8 months, I started looking for different opportunities.  That’s when I stumbled upon an ad for Fabulous Frocks of Charleston in Unveiled Magazine.  It grabbed my attention immediately, not just for the graphic design, which was adorable, but also for the concept!  I couldn’t believe what a fantastic idea high-end bridal consignment was in particular, and then was baffled that nothing like that existed here in the D.C. area – especially with the crazy popularity of regular high-end consignment shops like Mint Condition and Current.

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Purely out of curiosity, and respect for a great idea, I visited Fabulous Frocks of Charelston’s website later that day. To my surprise, on the “About us” page, there was a little blurb about how they were looking to expand to new cities, and to contact them if interested.  I thought, “what the heck,” and sent the owner, Sarah, a brief email. Sarah wrote me back within a couple of hours to tell me that 1) DC was one of the top cities she was eager to expand to next and that 2) she and her husband just so happened to be coming up to D.C. for a D.C. United game THAT WEEKEND.  I guess you could say it was fate!  I explained the business model/concept to my husband, and he agreed that it sounded like a phenomenal business idea, and we arranged to meet Sarah that coming weekend.  Once we talked to her, it sealed the deal for us, and we started looking for retail spaces the following week.  Literally, in the span of two weeks, I went from an aspiring real estate mogul moonlighting temporarily as a bridal consultant, to prospective business owner.  I’m fairly certain that all our family and friends thought we were crazy (although, everyone thought the concept sounded just as smart as we did!) – the general response I got was, “wait….you’re doing WHAT? Since when?” 🙂  This path came out of NOWHERE for us, but we are SO glad that it did!!

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I truly do adore working with brides to help them find their perfect gown, and the response we have gotten from brides in D.C. and beyond has been fantastic. We have had brides consign with us from New Jersey to California – that goes to show how rare the service is that we offer!

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Coming up:  Saturday November 17th, we will be celebrating our One-Year Anniversary! In honor of the occasion, we’ll be doing 10% off all bridal gowns, accessories, and bridesmaids orders. Additionally, should you purchase a gown on your first visit with us that day, you’ll get a credit towards a free veil or headpiece, up to $300! We will also be doing a drawing for blowouts at the newly opened Drybar – perfect for engagement photos, rehearsal dinner, or just a fun outing with your bridesmaids! And of course, we will have champagne and macaroons for everyone who comes in to celebrate with us!

Questions?  Email me anytime –  thebrightoccasions@gmail.com –www.thebrightoccasions.com