Abrielle

Beautiful store with beautiful linens. The ladies can find you anything, and they really want to help. They even have an annual sale every June!

I know there are customers who spend thousands of dollars a year here and I know they are treated well, because I hear the staff calling them on the phone to tell them about their orders every time I am in the shop. But for someone who spends only several hundred dollars a year here, and — God forbid — has bought items on the sale rack, I can tell you they treat me like garbage. Go near the sale rack rack and all you get is attitude. It is like they’re pissed off you’re even in the shop. If they don’t want walk ins, they should be appointment only and not have a sign in the window. The more I think about it, I realize I should never go there again. I make a huge effort to support DC businesses so that we can have some quality locally-​owned stores — but frankly I can buy Pine Cone Hill, Matouk, and Bed Head online without being insulted by these nasty, condescending hags.

If you want quality linens in a store without a lot of sales clerk attitude avoid Mazza Galerie and come here. The prices are high but not out of line and selection is truly amazing.

Abrielle is a splurge even by splurging standards. Much of their work is done for a client base that thinks in terms of custom-​made everything, which pretty much leaves out the hoi polloi. But if you want an old fashioned peignoir for your trousseau (know what they are?) then this is your place. Do you want a cashmere throw for on top of your duvet? Call Abrielle. Hanky holders? They got ‘em. Chintz shower caps? Go for it. If Barbara Hutton and Marjorie Merriweather Post were still alive, they would shop here to outfit their many houses with Frette and Matouk. Perfect for wedding gifts, but mind, if you aren’t used to the carriage trade then Abrielle will likely bust your budget. But they often have small sale tables and also stock plenty of soaps and bath luxuries for those of us who don’t have the Black American Express Card.