Bridal Gowns and a Little Something More

You can buy a gown for your wedding at A Little Something White Bridal Couture in Darien, but they've got something else for you, and it's not for sale.

"I'm really proud of making brides feel incredibly important while they're here, and making them feel comfortable," says owner Ashley Krauss, who opened the store last September. "It's not about pressure. It's not about telling her that if she doesn't buy today, she won't have a chance to buy later. We're not pressing her to buy."

Everybody who comes into the shop to examine bridal gowns gets a little gift bag, Krauss said, and brides also get personal notes mailed to them.

"We're trying to offer an experience that's all about the bride and to make things comfortable," she said. "The feedback we've gotten from brides is that they're incredibly happy."

The distinctive building on the Post Road near I-95's Exit 11 fits in with the theme of a special place to help prepare for that special day. Krauss' shop is one of two original tenants for the 1292 Post Rd. building designed by Robert E. Cardello Architects of Norwalk for Penny Glassmeyer, who also developed the Grove Street locations of The Melting Pot restaurant and EspressoNEAT coffee shop.

"I think our visibility has been one of our biggest assets," Krauss said. People who drive by the shop tell brides-to-be about it, and referrals have been among the top reasons customers enter the store, she said.

Krauss, a Wilton resident, was working in finance when she became a mother and decided she wanted a more flexible job that would allow her to stay closer to her son, Benjamin.

"Since I was in college, I dreamed of working in the bridal industry—and everyone always told me I was crazy," she said. "I just felt like it was my calling. [...] I researched it, and there really was a need for a high-end bridal salon in this area," she said.

A lot of women don't want to have to travel down to New York City to get to a high-end bridal shop, Krauss said. Now, she said, people from New York state travel to get to her shop.

A Little Something White also offeres bridesmaid's dresses, jewelry and even graduation party dresses, she said.

Krauss said she was very happy with the reception she's met with in Darien: "I have been received with nothing but open arms from numerous other business owners and the general community," she said. "And I feel very fortunate that I opened it here."