LOHO Bride, a free-spirited, non-traditional bridal shop just openedĂ‚Â itsĂ‚Â doors in San Francisco’s design district and is already getting a lot of buzz. Despite limited outreach, the salon booked over 80 brides before opening, and alreadyĂ‚Â soldĂ‚Â a dress to the newly engaged editor of San FranciscoĂ‚Â Refinery 29.
LOHO, which stands forĂ‚Â “League of her own,” features an array ofĂ‚Â hard to findĂ‚Â designers including NYC-based (and extremely trendy)Ă‚Â Houghton, Australia’sĂ‚Â Bo & LucaĂ‚Â and New Zealand’sĂ‚Â A la Robe.Ă‚Â TheĂ‚Â salon pegs itself as a place where the unconventional, free spirited bride, who has a strong sense ofĂ‚Â fashion, but hasĂ‚Â never really dreamed about getting married can feel comfortable and find a dress she truly loves.
We met with Christy Baird, the founder and creative director of LOHO Bride, who said that she attributes her initialĂ‚Â success to being able to fill a much needed niche amongĂ‚Â San Francisco’sĂ‚Â brides. It also helps that Christy is no stranger to the bridal industry. She cofoundedĂ‚Â the extremely popularĂ‚Â Daughters Of SimoneĂ‚Â and evenĂ‚Â during a few years of working in mobile advertising, alwaysĂ‚Â hadĂ‚Â an eye forĂ‚Â discovering talented designers and an affinity forĂ‚Â working closely withĂ‚Â brides, both of which are a major priority for LOHO Bride.
Unlike mostĂ‚Â bridal shops, Christy’s approach with LOHO is to feature a larger selection of collections by a limited number of designers (most of which are exclusive to her shop). This decisionĂ‚Â not only benefits the bridal clientele who wants to see a variety of options from a designer they love, but also fosters great relationships with the designers themselves. LOHO Bride hosts trunk shows for independent designers from as far away as France and New Zealand. ItsĂ‚Â current wedding dress selection averages around $5000 and comes with anĂ‚Â array of additional ready-to-wear designs for rehearsal dinners and other pre-wedding events (or intimate, alternative weddings).
With its elegant, intimate salon and a visionary entrepreneur at its helm,Ă‚Â LOHO Bride is not just a mustĂ‚Â stop for San Francisco’s brides. It is a bridal salon that is trulyĂ‚Â in a league of its own.
For more information, check out LOHO’s Facebook, Twitter and InstagramĂ‚Â (with 10K followers already!). And be sure to look for themĂ‚Â inĂ‚Â 7×7‘sĂ‚Â January Wedding issue as well as at their next trunk show, January 28-February 1.