Award-winning Derbyshire bridal boutique launches mums' occasionwear range and discount outlet

Charlotte Elizabeth Bridal, on Dale Road, is hosting an in-store launch event for its new venture Maison des Robes on Sunday, July 19, open to all with free champagne and macarons on arrival, 4-7pm.

Tailored towards a mother, in-law or special guest looking for an outfit to complement the brides, the department occupies part of the main shop premises but has been made possible by the recent opening of a discount outlet a few doors down, Eliza & Co.

Owner Charlotte Burton, 34, said: “We serve hundreds of brides a year, and many of them have mums crying out for a lovely dress and a hat for the special occasion.

“We’ve been asked a lot by a customers’ mums, ‘Please, style me, I’m struggling to find a dress for the wedding too,’ but that’s a completely different business model to bridalwear. I couldn’t afford it and we didn’t have the space.

“Then around Christmas a sign went up in the window of our neighbour, the furniture shop Ashton and Coleman, saying they were leaving their premises. It was a spur of the moment decision, but I trusted my gut.

“We fitted out and decorated the new shop all ourselves and develop all-new website and marketing. It was a mad rush but four weeks after we got the keys we were open, and it’s been a really big success so far.”

The maid-of-honour to the main shop, and named after the character Eliza Doolittle from My Fair Lady – a favourite film of Charlotte’s late nana – Eliza & Co offers off the peg dresses to brides looking for a good deal or a shorter timescale, rather than the more bespoke styling provided at the original boutique.

The outlet still operates by appointment only for most of the week – walk-ins are welcome every Wednesday – and the same stylists’ expertise is included but it is a more dressed down service.

Dresses in the outlet are available to browse online too with a range of around 200 at any time, so that brides get a sense of what is available before booking in.

Charlotte said: “The world and the wedding industry are changing, and we see a difference every year in brides. A lot of girls don’t really mind not having the latest fashion, might be more conscious of their budget, or they might have fallen out of love with their dress at the last minute.

“There are also brides getting married in a hurry, maybe they’re eloping or maybe they are having a small ceremony sooner than planned due to a family illness. It’s not always happiness and roses, but we’re prepared for all those sorts of things.

“Eliza & Co is simple but luxurious. I wanted to achieve the same experience for brides as the main shop. Just because you’re buying a dress at half price, the take home experience shouldn’t be any less.

“We put our full passion into everything we do here. Every year the business has grown and grown, and I keep dreaming bigger, but we want to keep offering that personal experience."

She added: “It helps us to turn the stock over too. A lot of people might not realise, but there is a lot of pressure and expense in a bridal store because we have to buy all the dresses in and it’s a really big investment. If you over-buy it can be quite dangerous.

“Every season we’re buying new dresses from our designers, the old ones still need a home. We keep them really well and they’re practically brand new, we’ve maybe only had them in for six months but that might bring the cost down from £2,000 to £1,000.

“I’d have been happy selling one dress a month, but it’s been more like one a week, and we’ve been fully booked for three months with people travelling a long way to come and see us.”

The success has also allowed Charlotte to expand her staff to four – “small team, big heart” – having worked alone for much of the first six years, beginning in a small unit on Smedley Street.

She has also invested heavily into her original Dale Road premises, first with renovations and then recently buying the whole building outright.

Charlotte is currently making plans for more construction, to better connect the two floors and increase the number of appointments she can cater to.

While Maison des Robes and its carefully curated collections from Veni Infantino and LaBella by Gino Cerruti are starting out upstairs in the Charlotte Elizabeth shop, if all goes to plan it could soon branch into its own separate premises.

Charlotte said: “Occasionwear is only a small collection at the moment, but it’s looking lovely up there and we’ve got some really beautiful dresses in.

“Quite a few mums have already been trying and buying things. There aren’t enough shops for occasionwear now. It’s all online, you pay so much and return so much, but women want to see and touch the dresses and get that real experience.

“At the moment, having them both in the same place means that the mum and bride can try things on together and imagine just how they would look at the wedding.

“Whether they're searching for something timeless and elegant or modern and fashion-forward, we'd be honoured to help them find an outfit that makes them feel every bit as special as the occasion itself.”

The Maison des Robes launch event will see a ten per cent discount on all occasionwear sales, and personal one-to-one styling opportunities including hair and make-up artists on hand and luxury goodie bags to take away.

To learn more, visit charlotteelizabethbridal.com and elizacobridaloutlet.co.uk.