New Claire Pettibone "Mystere" gown at Promise

Oh Claire Pettibone, every time we get a new dress from you, we swear up and down it is our new favorite!

Enter Mystere - our newest Claire Pettibone gown, fresh from Claire's 2009 collection!

Elegant cap sleeves and a plunging illusion back paired with hand-beaded organza flowers all overlaid on silk charmuse. Mystere is a stunner. Perfect for the vintage inspired bride-to-be searching for a dramatic entrance and exit on her wedding day.

Call 301-215-9232 to schedule your appointment to try on Mystere or any of our Claire Pettibone gowns.

Don't forget our Claire Pettibone Trunk Show coming up February 27th & 28th, where the full Claire Pettibone 2009 collection will be at Promise to try!

- Jessica

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Spring 2009 Bridal Market!

Every year, one weekend in mid-October is like a national holiday for all of us at Promise! It's Bridal Market! Held in NYC in showrooms and luxury hotel suites, bridal designers show their newest collections to bridal shops (ranging from boutiques like Promise to institutions like Kleinfeld). The downer is that all the fabulous styles won't come to our shops until later winter/early spring...but that is far outweighed by all the loveliness we are able to see now.

We saw tailored sophistication at L'ezu Atelier, inspired, edgy romance at Claire Pettibone, dreamy, soft elegance at Lea Ann Belter, and stunning, feminine gowns at Elizabeth Fillmore. We also saw some new designers we are thinking of adding to our carefully edited collection, but we are still deliberating, so stay tuned!

We will post images of our favorites from the collections soon; for now, here is a recap:

As usual, the gowns at L'ezu were perfectly constructed and elegant, but, this season, some of them have a new and luxe twist! Some L'ezu gowns are adorned with...diamonds! Lovely, sparkly jewels that you can remove from your gown post-wedding and have made into jewelry to wear after the wedding (Angelina, their model looks stellar in one of Patty & Corrina's designs).

On our way to see Lea Ann Belter, since we were shopping for wedding gowns and since, of course, there is no wedding without love, Kori and Tania had to pause!

At Lea Ann Belter, Lea Ann and Karen (and her wonderful model Pearl) showcased Lea Ann's collection, which was filled with touches of lace, organza, and real freshwater pearls! Like L'ezu, the pearls can be removed afer the wedding for jewelry.

We thought the idea of precious jewels on gowns was so romantic! We were all ready to swoon - who doesn't love versatility in their wedding gown?!?!

At the Claire Pettibone Show at the Bowery Hotel, my mom (and partner, Juliana) and I were totally in love with the collection - this season, Claire's theme was "Rock and Roll Bride." While the collection was all Claire Pettibone, with layers of lace and softness, there was definitely spice and sass in each gown that strutted down the runway.

We were all breathlessly anticipating viewing Elizabeth Fillmore's collection - and not just because it was our last appointment! We were enraptured by her divine fabrics, laces, and perfect combination of modern, graceful, and enchanting gowns. We were so taken with each gown we saw, we were all reduced to "Oh! That is GORGEOUS!" as a neverending refrain.

Of course, no visit to New York Bridal Market is complete without dinner with our friends from Alexia's Bridal Boutique in Carey, NC. Alexia and I both opened our shops around the same time, and since then have been eating delicious dinners together in New York every year! This year, we went to Bar Americain (one of Bobby Flay's restaurants). It was excellent - if you go, try the Cioppino, it will make you weep.

After more shows on Monday, we dragged ourselves to the train station and back to DC!











- Jessica

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Claire Pettibone Fall 2008 Scoooop!

I feel like such a rock star!

I just came back from the Claire Pettibone studio and my private preview of the Fall 2008 Claire Pettibone collection.

The new couture bridal collections are generally shown twice a year in New York at Bridal Market, once in April and once in October. The pieces seen at Market generally take anywhere from 4 to 6 months to appear in bridal shops nationwide. For many designers, the Fall 2008 collections (shown in the Spring of that year) are a little smaller in size than the collections shown in the Fall for the upcoming Spring.

The same was true with the Claire Pettibone collection I was lucky enough to sneak a peek at today. What I saw was stunning. Claire Pettibone is known for her feminine, elegant gowns that nod to the past in their design while remaining current. Promise...for the savvy bride has been lucky enough to carry the collection for almost three years, and each season her collection, with its incredible attention to detail, fit, and uniqueness, continues to inspire raptures in us.

In her last collection, inspiration seemed to be drawn from the '20s, with plunging backs and delicate gowns with glamorous details. This season, Claire Pettibone describes her collection as:

"Layers of delicious embroidery and lace topped with swirls of meringue and a touch of spun sugar sparkle...confections for the bride inspired by the wedding cake with a light touch of sweetness make a delicious indulgence. Gowns blooming with fresh flowers, flowing ribbons and delicate crystalized beading are too enticing to resist. Buttercream frosting without the calories...now that takes the cake!"

Where are the pictures you ask??? Sorry! They are not allowed until after Bridal Market this weekend! But I can tell you this - there were sophisticated mermaid gowns with embellished lace and romantic gowns with tiers of flowers and lace. One gown which I loved was a simple, elegant lace with a dramatic train that could be worn many ways.... I will leave it at that!
As soon as we are able, a preview will be posted of some of the gowns.

Keep in mind that the newest Claire Pettibone collection will not be available for order until they arrive at Promise in the late summer. Promise is still receiving gowns selected for our collection in the Fall! So if your wedding is within the next 12 months, don't wait! There are several sumptuous gowns in the existing Claire Pettibone collection to chose from.

- Jessica

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