Vow To Be Chic Lets You Rent Bridesmaid Dresses Without Breaking the Bank
Written By: Joslyn Jenkins Vow to be Chic Santa Monica
Bridal shopping has taken a new turn since Vow To Be Chic opened up. This startup company is the first and only of its kind starting officially in January 2015, but don’t let that fool you, the company has grown fast with over 9, 000 dresses in its inventory. The CEO and founder, Kelsey Doorey, a Delaware native, just opened the company’s first showroom in Santa Monica where they don’t forget to serve Champagne to every bridal group. Vow To Be Chic prides themselves in giving a similar experience to other bridal stores with a bit of spice which is renting your dress, that’s right, renting your dress instead of buying it; although buying is still an option. This unheard of luxury is the reason Vow To Be Chic is trending, and Doorey is the head woman in charge of this operation.
Question: How did the concept of Vow to Be Chic come to life?
Kelsey Doorey: I moved to LA for grad school at UCLA Anderson to get my MBA, and had a retail job at Bloomingdale’s and BCBG MaxAzria. While getting a feel for retail, I fused my ideas of retail and wedding knowledge which brought me to think, “Why do men rent tuxes, but women don’t rent bridesmaid dresses? Someone needs to solve the ’27 dresses’ problem.” I created Vow to Be Chic a little while later online.
Q: How does the renting process work?
KD: We are the first and only company that rents out designer brands from Watters to Camilla Christine to brides and bridesmaids which start at $65 and got up to $95. Bridal parties can go online separately, talk with stylist, choose styles they want, and have their own personal group chat so it’s easy to coordinate all over the world while being in one space. Once brides and bridesmaid choose their dresses, they are sent two sizes, two weeks in advance or they can order to try the dresses on beforehand for a small up charge. All dresses need to be returned three days after the wedding. There’s no shipping fee or rental fee, it’s just a flat rate.
Q: What set Vow to Be Chic apart from other bridal stores?
KD: The biggest difference is, is that we are a rental company that allows every bride and bridesmaid the option to rent or buy their dresses. Also, we are based online for millennials by millennials, and we know working millennials like to shop online, browse online, make purchases online, and have them shipped to their door because it’s convenient.
Q: What is your favorite dress & designer in the store now & why?
KD: I’ve been a bridesmaid many times, and I’m a girly girl. I love to wear dresses so I actually have worn some dresses to non wedding events. My favorite dress now is… it depends, wedding wise, we have the Monique Lhuillier – Amelia which has a lace back and the sides. I think that one is really pretty and similar to Ready to Wear, I actually wore that to an event recently.
Q: What is the most bizarre bridal story you’ve encountered so far?
KD: Oh, that’s a good one! Something I remember from the early days, we had a bride who was getting married in the south, and her sister lived in Colorado who was the Maid of Honor. For us, we send very girl two dresses; the Maid of Honor was very smart, and packed one in her checked bag and the other in her luggage. Once at the airport, she checked her luggage, and going through TSA she said she was so flustered that she left her bag at TSA checkpoint, and the airline lost her luggage so she had no bags and no dresses. The bride calls me at 6 a.m. local time, and is freaking out so I run into the office, and luckily we had a few extra units in the exact style and size that she needed so we overnighted the dresses. The airline sent her bags and, she ended up being fine, but the great thing about us is that we carry inventory so if anything like that were to ever happen again, we will always have a dress that can work.
Q: What is future looking like for Vow to Be Chic?
KD: We opened a showroom in Santa Monica so now ladies can stop by and try on dresses in person and we ship anywhere in the U.S. For us, we have been growing our team and inventory. We will be launching new additions to our inventory such as new designers, new colors, and new styles. We just launched our first maternity dress because one of our customers said her bridesmaid was pregnant. We worked with Jenny Yoo to create a sister dress with two of our top styles, Aidan and Annabelle, and turn it into a maternity dress. The maternity dress will still have the same price because our goal is to make it affordable for all women; you shouldn’t have to spend a ton of money to stand next to your best friend on her perfect day.
Vow to Be Chic
1514 17th St, Ste 101
Santa Monica, CA 90404
844.932.7869
The New Bride Shops Chic for Cheap Vow to be Chic Santa Monica
