Something Blue

Save your time and gas! Don’t bother driving out to this shop to look for a wedding gown unless you are Amish. No kidding, there isn’t a single crystal, pearl, bead, ribbon, flower, sequin, feather, or any other embellishment you can think of, to be found on any of the gowns!!! The dresses are plain-​jane boring and the tiny loft is half empty. The person writing the favorable review who mentions chocolate, champagne, tons of dresses and different styles, must live in a different universe! None of that is the truth about Something Blue.
I wish I had known what to expect before I wasted an entire afternoon driving out there… at least the scenery wasn’t disappointing.

In my search for «THE» dress, the first place I went to look at was Something Blue in La Conner. I actually live in California, but was visitiing home at Whidbey Island and thought the Something Blue website looked really cute, so decided to try it out. My mom and sister came along with me, and all I can say is that we were completely blown away! Kim, the owner, let us take over the store for over 4 hours! And we had the entire place all to ourselves. I had made my appointment for earlier in the morning, and because of changing schedules with my mom and sister, I had to change my appt twice and Kim was SO accomodating. She kept the shop open just for me… it was the best customer service I’ve ever received — ANYwhere.
The shop: First of all, this place is in charming downtown La Conner in a great location right by the water. My mom/​sister and I arrived early so we killed time by shopping next door at Bunnies by the Bay. Arriving at Something Blue, we walked upstairs to Kim’s loft and let me say that this place is Beautiful! Huge shop with tons of dresses, accessories, bridesmaid dresses, jewelry, etc. The try-​on area is gorgeous with huge mirrors, comfy overstuffed chairs for your guests to sit, and chocolate (yum!). Kim offered us sparkling cider and champagne (of course we had the champagne), :-) She then led us through the entire shop. She carries bridal dresses from 3 designers, all of which have very different styles. She spent about ½ hour just showing us her selection, showing us any sales she has going on (she had some GREAT prices on sample selections), and telling us the background of each designer. She also offers discounts on bridesmaid dresses/​mother of the bride dresses, which was good to know as well.
Try on: After giving us the grand tour, Kim let me and my sister & mom go through and grab whatever we wanted off the racks to try on. Kim also pulled some dresses off the racks that she thought might look good on me. She fitted me in a bustier that would flatter my figure and give me some structure under the dresses. This is the ONLY dress shop that I went to that let me use a bustier — which makes a big difference in the look of the dresses when you try them on! Kim also sells bustiers and other undergarments, if you need one for your wedding day. Kim helped me get into each dress and it was SO much fun trying them all on. It was such a unique and special experience to have the entire shop to ourselves with all of Kim’s attention just on me. I couldn’t have dreamed of a better experience.
Another thing I loved about trying on the dresses was that Kim wasn’t pushy and didn’t rush me in any way. Since it was my first time trying on dresses, I didn’t really know what I wanted yet and she was so patient, letting me try on tons of different styles. She even let me try on a few of the dresses a couple times over, since I was so indecisive. She also really helped guide me to dresses that I might like… the dresses she picked out were the ones I ended up really liking — more than the ones I picked off the racks myself! She has a great eye for your figure and how to pick out dresses that flatter you the best.
Prices: You might be a little sticker-​shocked when you go to Kim’s shop. I was at FIRST. The designer labels she has are couture — i.e. Amy Kuschel, who is a top Bridal designer in San Francisco. However, Kim has a wide range of dress prices, from about $ 1,200 to upwards of $ 5,000. I was on a budget but still wanted a unique and special dress, and Kim found me lots of dresses well within my budget of about $ 2,000. The one that I ended up really loving was an Amy Kuschel, for only $ 1,600. I know this may sound expensive, but if you compare the quality and look of these dresses to somewhere like David’s Bridal where the dresses are at least half the price, you’ll see a HUGE difference! There is just no comparison to the quality of the Something Blue dresses — trust me. I went to David’s Bridal the next day and didn’t even try anything on. I felt like such a snob because usually I go for deals and steals. It boggled my mind that I was considering spending $ 1,600 on ONE dress, but when you go to Something Blue, the experience/​quality/​look is a WORLD different from any other bridal salon.
After going to Something Blue, I went to a couple other shops in Washington (both very disappointing), and went to about 4 other shops in California. I also went to Amy Kuschel’s studio in San Francisco (which is also a beautiful shop), and Amy Kuschel herself was there designing and fitting her brides. However, I was one of about 6+ brides there and the experience just wasn’t the same as Something Blue! In the end, I found «THE dress» in California (the dress I liked at Something Blue was a close 2^nd), but my top recommendation to all my friends in WA is Something Blue! No bridal shop I went to even compared to that level of service!