Kate’s Kouture Bridal

I got my tea-​length dress as promised, and my backyard ceremony was awesome!
As soon as I heard that they were going out of business, I went in to see how they were doing, etc and chat with Kate/​Ruthie, since I work down the street. I ended up trying on some gowns for the church wedding in 2011!!! I loved some of them, but since I didn’t have an appointment I didn’t want to butt into someone’s else’s time slot. I made an appointment and came back. I took some pictures and sent them to my mom and siblings in SoCal. We narrowed down the dresses and I went in again for a second try, and I finally narrowed down my style and two dresses!!! The next week I went into see if the dress was available, AND IT WAS! I bought it and I know have my dress for the wedding next year and I didn’t have to break the bank for it (which my husband is grateful for).
Thank you Kate and Ruthie for having this process be as painless as can be! IT was like I had good friends come with me!!! Berkeley will miss you!

So many pretty gowns at such low cost, too bad they are closing soon! This was my first dress fitting experience.
It was so easy to make an appointment online, I went in Saturday afternoon and was greeted by Ruthie. I told her what I wanted and she pulled as many as she could find. After trying a few, I realized I didn’t look good in what I had envisioned prior to coming so Ruthie had to give me a whole new set of dresses.
She didn’t make me feel rushed at all. Ruthie helped me get in and out of the dresses and she stood to the side while my posse critiqued my dresses. She was knowledgable everytime I asked her «what kinda fabric is this?», «what kind of style is this?» and other dumb questions we had. She was never rude.
Although I didn’t buy anything yet (this was my first stop), I do have a dress on hold so hopefully its still there when I make a decision.

Kate was SO helpful when I came in to do my first gown shopping experience. She is a good listener and very patient in picking out things that she thinks you’ll like or might work well on you. I got very personal attention and really appreciated that.
While I didn’t end up purchasing my gown from her (sorry kate!), i would definitely recommend her to anyone in the area.
She is a woman who knows how to run a business. She puts no pressure and takes good care of her customers.

I am so sad to hear Kate’s is closing since it has such good reviews and it really is hard to find a store with good service AND selection of beautiful yet affordable gowns. I made an appointment online and called to confirm, as well as check availability on a dress I was looking for — a very smooth process.
My mom and I were early and thought we would just be able to browse. Ruthie was at the store and it was empty so we were able to be helped right away. As time went on, Ruthie really opened up and was incredibly sweet and helpful in the entire process. She let us take photos, which ended up being what helped me decide which dress to purchase. I also really appreciated that she was so patient as I tried dresses on multiple times as I narrowed down what to get. She pinned, laced, zipped, unzipped — without hesitation. Thank you, Ruthie for making the experience SO EASY!
Because they are closing, their dresses are marked down but still carry a large range of sizes. Unfortunately, I will have to significantly alter mine, but there were other dresses (around $ 600) that fit a street-​size 6. If you’re looking, though, I’d suggest going sooner than later. While they close in July, they already sold 3 in the first half of the day when we were there.
The short bridesmaid dresses start at $ 49 and the longer ones (Alfred Angelo & B2 included) start at $ 79. They have every color of the rainbow, but it is only one-​of-​a-​kind, so I couldn’t get my bridesmaid dresses there. A dress would be perfect for a late prom, graduation, or if someone was attending a wedding.
They do encourage appointments so you can be guaranteed a room and not have to deal with a bridezilla moment, which I appreciate. It was nice having the space all to myself, not feel rushed, judged or pressured into making a decision. I lucked out to have found Kate’s.
Also, it can be hard to find, but the directions on their website are really good — they are on the Northbound side of Shattuck, adjacent to Subways. I’ve driven by a million times and never saw it; it’s a bit tucked away since it is on the shaded side of the street (at least when we were there). Thanks again, Ruthie, for being so gracious.

I called yesterday to make sure that Alfred Angelo was in stock before popping by today. I was advised to make an appointment since Kate’s sometimes closes early if business is slow. When I arrived this morning Ruthie was able to assist me with my nightmare list for my bridesmaid gown (all ‘maids had to have a different style number and the bride was/​is auditing us on our purchases). She was very patient and didn’t rush me at all. When I asked for recommended tailoring date ranges, bra styles to go with my dress, etc. Ruthie took time to explain everything to me. I was able to find ‘the dress’ very quickly and I’m very satisfied with the style. I definitely would recommend coming to Kate’s to any of my friends!

I visited Kate’s Kouture twice to try on wedding gowns. During my first visit, it was just me, my fiancé and Kate in the 2^nd floor bridal fitting area. I’m really petite so all the sample dresses were ridiculously huge on me, but Kate did a really great job pinning them in place and explaining how the dresses would fit me differently if they were in my size. I really enjoyed that first visit and had picked out some good contenders by the end of my hour appointment. Yay!
My second visit was so so. The second floor was being remodeled so all appointments took place on the first floor. There were 3 other girls trying on dresses. We had to pass dresses back and forth, and at times, it was really difficult to get Kate or Ruthie’s attention to help me with zippers/​corsets. It wasn’t an awful experience, but definitely could have been better.
Kate and Ruthie are both pretty easy to work with. They definitely know their stuff, so if you walk right in there without knowing anything about dresses, you’re in good hands! Four stars because of a not super great second visit and because I ended up finding THE dress at another bridal boutique.

I had the most wonderful experience here, and I would suggest (and have to friends) to include Kate”s Kouture in their dress shopping tour.
When I got engaged, we planned the wedding for only 7 months later so I had to shop quickly for a dress. I got online and read reviews of stores and come across this one. Because I am a size 12, I wanted to make sure she had dresses in her shop I could actually try on (instead of trying to squeeze into sample sizes only.) Kate has dresses in all sizes in styles (up to about size 22 or so… so I actually got to put something on my body and see how it would really look.
I came in with ideas of what I really thought i wanted and Kate found some wonderful examples. She also brought up dresses that were not what I wanted but she encouraged me to try on a lot of styles because sometimes, what we think we want and what we finally decide on are totally different. Boy, was she right!
After trying on about 10 or so dresses, I wans’t sold on any of them, so we tried a few more. I pointed to one of them while standing upstairs and it was a size 6 (hard to get my butt into a 6) but she brought up another in a similar style. Lacy, beaded, ornate overlay, but not gaudy and frilly… it was so elegant and lovely. I tried it on and it fit almost perfectly. My friends took pictures (another thing she allows that a lot of places do not) and we sat back and looked at the pictures after I finished trying them on. Then we narrowed down and tried on the finalists. With all this trying on (some dresses 3 times) she was so patient and chill. She never rushed and gave really honest opinions.
She was very respectful of me. When I was changing I did not care in the least bit that she was there, actually glad because a lot of those gowns are really hard to put on and I needed her there!
I slept on the decision and she was never pushy or anything to make me buy the dress. I called her the next day and asked her to hold it for me, then was able to go in and buy it right off the rack. Usually when you buy off the rack, she gives a discount but she had just gotten the gown in and per the designers rules, was not able to discount that early in the season, so she threw in a vail instead. Perfect!
I went back there for alterations and she was just as nice, works with great and reasonably priced seamstresses. She even bought me coffee and sat around and chatted with me while we were waiting for the seamstress to come.
I was a very chill bride, one who was nice, didn’t feel like i deserved everything and everything at my fingertips, didn’t order people around (i.e. bridezillas) and we got along really really well. What amazed me was that she was so good with the bridezillas as well. So bridezillas or not, she treats us all the same! :)
I felt so lucky to find this place and she was so incredibly helpful and accomadating. Not afraid to have me think outside the box on dress styles, not afraid to give me honest opinions about how a dress looked and she is a very fair and reasonably priced shop owner who loves her job. She gets my highest reccomendation!

I worked with Ruthie. Just because she is young, don’t be deceived, she knows her stuff. Of the many dresses I tried the two she picked out for me were the best and changed my idea what I thought looked good on me. Apparently, her family owns a bridal shop in So Cal so she knows a thing or two about a thing or two. Plus, she is sooo nice. I didn’t ultimately buy my dress here, because I found the dress I loved elsewhere, but was hoping I would find it at Kates. Why? Because Kate is very dilligent about getting your dress to you in time. She will actually start calling the manufacturer before it is due to come in to make sure it arrives on time. Furthermore she will provide you the number etc for the manufacturer so that in case they ever go out of business you can still get your dress. That’s service. How do I know? Because my cousin got her dress from here.

I made an appointment to try on wedding gowns. This was early in my search and I didn’t have a good idea of what shape or type I wanted. Kate was extremely accommodating, cheerful, and helpful during my visit. She requested that I go through all of her dresses to find styles that I liked. She happily lugged all of them (15?!) upstairs to her fitting area. While I agree with the other post about the weirdness of undressing in front of Kate, I figured that she’d seen countless bods before and stop worrying about it. Besides it was helpful to me to have her right there to tuck something in or otherwise explain how to put the dress on.
Many of her dresses were beautiful but they were much more formal and «full» than what I realized I wanted. Lots of the gowns have sparkles, folds, large skirts, and are generally traditional looking. As an older (not that old though!!) bride I wanted something more sleek and simple. Also, I was having a green wedding and wanted to have something in silk if possible. So, while Kate’s gowns were nice and Kate herself was terrific to work with, I didn’t find what I wanted and ended up going someplace else to purchase my dress. Even so, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend including a visit to Kate and her shop in your search for a wedding, bridesmaid, or prom dress.
I gave four stars because Kate appears to focus on one type of gown style, leaving folks who want something more subdued needing to shop elsewhere.

If you’ve read any of the reviews on this page about this boutique you already know. Hands down, Kate is amazing.
This was the first shop I went to for my wedding dress when I got engaged because Unilocal rated it so high. Although on the first trip I didn’t find what I was looking for, I got such amazing service from Kate that I knew I would eventualy buy my dress from her. She is wonderfully helpful, honest, and puts body-​conscious stressed out brides at ease. I eventually found the dress I wanted in another shop, but immediately called Kate because I felt the other shop (downtown gowns in vacaville) was run by a money hungry crazy lady. Kate told me the REAL cost of the gown, custom ordered it to my (very short) height, and it worked out wonderfully. I just picked up my beautiful gown last weekend and couldn’t be happier.
I have called Kate probably a hundred times by now, because she is willing and eager to help with whatever questions you may have as a bride. I am at the age where everybody I know is suddenly engaged, and I have referred Kate to every single bride to be. I know for a fact that two women have ordered their dresses through her because of my referrals and they couldn’t be happier.
Kate is amazing. I can’t stop gushing about the level of service I received from Kate. I probably visited a dozen different bridal shops, and her sunny disposition, honestly, and willingness to go above and beyond was so superior to anybody else out there. Kate is THE BEST!

2.5 stars.
I squeezed in an appointment here to see if there was anything that could beat the beautiful Vera Wang I had on hold at Saks.
Katie was nice enough to email me some dress photos she had in stock and thought I might like based on my trumpet-​shape request.
There are a lot of dresses here, all arranged by size with one rack of sample sale dresses. The ones she chose were not what I would have chosen, so I looked through the racks and picked a couple of my own choices.
We got in to the dressing room, and Katy hung the dresses up, then told me to get undressed. This is while she is in the room with me. Okay, I have never experienced an appointment like this. Getting undressed with a stranger in the room is uncomfortable. I don’t care if she wasn’t looking, it’s still uncomfortable. Kate is very nice, but I still found it uncomfortable.
None of the dresses were much to look at, they were pretty much all stuff I have seen at all the other places I went to. So, I wonder what’s couture or «kouture» about Kate’s then? My appointment was finished under 20 minutes.

I was going to wait until my wedding dress actually arrived so that I could include a review about the alterations and such.
But that’s what the «Update your review» button is all about, no?
Kate and her Kouture Boutique is hands down, wonderfulwonderfulwonderful! I highly, HIGHLY recommend all brides to go to KK during any phase of their wedding dress shopping experience. I ended up at KK, because I initially found a dress in San Diego at a wonderful boutique (Tour of Elegance, if you live or need to order your dress in SD for any reason), but since I live and will be married in the Bay Area, I ended up ordering my dress from Kate.
An appointment was easily arranged. Despite the fact that I messed up the time, and arrived ½ hour later than Kate was expecting me, she was in a jovial mood, and was extremely helpful when I tried on my dress (again) and ordered my gown. Also, some of my MOHs/BM’s ended up ordering their dress from KK, and again, Kate was wonderful, letting us try on dresses without an appointment and talking us through the whole purchasing experience.
Kate is the polar opposite of some of those boutiques that try to entice a bride to buy a dress on the same day they try one on. Kate is no pressure, very knowledge, and just a joy to talk to and work with. I highly, highly recommend spending some time at Kate’s Kouture when shopping for wedding gowns or BM dresses.

Kate’s is really amazing.
I’m going to be a bridesmaid next year — my first time ever — and I have serious body/​trying-​on-​fancy-​clothes issues that I thought no non-​professional therapist could ever heal. But Kate was wonderful and understanding, and I came away super-​happy. Which is, honestly, a miracle.
Thanks, Kate!

I’m certainly not a big Unilocaler, but I felt it my duty to add to the 5 star pack at Kate’s Kouture. I just left the store a few hours ago, and actually purchased the first dress I tried on! Just like the other gals, I too felt completely comfortable and relaxed while trying on dresses. EXCITED even! My dress search was a bit tricky as well, for though my wedding will technically be a «destination» wedding — it’s not a beach wedding, which is what most folks think of when they think «out of town.» Nope — my wedding will be in Copenhagen, Denmark! Not only would I still need a «church» dress, but also a dress that could TRAVEL! I was also adamant that I didn’t buy anything too frou-​frou… which is certainly tough to navigate in a sea of beaded bodices and lace!
Kate didn’t hesitate to search through her dresses to find the type that I was looking for, but also the fabric that could travel well. In the end, I did purchase the first dress I tried on, and a veil to match. I even started tearing up when I saw myself in the mirror, and Kate was quick to offer me a box of tissues. (Usually for the mothers, she said — and for super sappy brides, it seems!)
I paid for the first half today, and will pay the balance once it arrives. She even gave me a 10% discount on the veil since I bought it with the dress!
She said it’ll take 4 to 6 months for it to arrive (*groan*), but I am confident that I’ll love it. She really took her time to measure me, fit me, and teach me all about the dress, (i.e. that it actually came with a bustle… I didn’t even know that I needed one!)
All I can say is Thank Goodness for Kate’s Kouture! I was clueless about wedding dresses before I walked in, and yet I am confident that I found the perfect one!

I enjoyed my experience here, I thought Kate was overall helpful and friendly.
I didn’t think she was the very best listener, ie I did not want frilly beads and she did pull several for me that were all wrong, but I think thats because her collection was not exactly a perfect fit for my destination wedding themed dress idea. In other words, she didnt have very many lightweight, less beady and frilly dresses, although she did have some.
The only thing I wasn’t crazy about was that she repeatedly said, you can wear this on the beach, and they were these really silly, heavy dresses. I was thinking, no I can’t I’ll die of heatstroke! But that’s not really her fault, it just wasn’t a perfect fit for my needs, she did her best.
Highly recommend this place to brides who are considering David’s Bridal (which is awful) and generally have a budget for under $ 1000 because there are a lot of good ones here, and personal, attentive service.

At first, walking in here with so many towering racks of dresses in plastic bags, I had horrible flashbacks to a traumatizing bridesmaid experience at David’s Bridal, but as soon as Kate made her way through the rows of dresses to greet us, our fears were put to rest.
Kate has a fantastic collection with lots of variety in style and price. She had a number of great gowns for well under my $ 700 budget and was quick to grab more dresses for me to try on based on my comments on each previous dress. Another bonus of dress shopping here? Kate is the only one on staff so you get one hundred percent personal attention while you’re at your appointment, which is great! I only brought one friend, but there’s plenty of space if you’re travelling with an entourage as well.
One thing I’ve noticed about being a bride — you end up walking into lots of stores and taking your clothes off for women who are practically total strangers while they comment on your figure and what would help hide that tummy and whatnot. Getting married is not for the bashful! Thankfully, Kate is definitely one of the dress ladies who made me feel very comfortable during the dressing room process.
I think I found my dress here– I’m excited to go back for one last try-​on before the big purchase. Thanks Kate!
**UPDATE: **
I did indeed purchase my dress at Kate’s and i got so many compliments on it! (Well, I know everyone is supposed to compliment the bride anyway). But now a year later, when people mention my wedding, they still point out how much they loved the dress.
Also, Kate’s is a drop off location for the Princess Project, which recycles old bridesmaid/​prom/​fancy dresses into prom dresses for lower income teens. If you have a nice bridesmaid dress you’ll never wear again, it’s a great way to put it to good use and Kate can give you a tax deduction form for your donation.

Kate’s Kouture is amazing! At first, I did not think I would have much luck finding a dress since the store is small. But I was wrong! Katy asked great questions about the type of dress I was looking for and my budget. She’s also very honest and will tell you when a particular dress does not flatter your figure… she is definitely focused on ensuring the bride will be happy and look her best on her special day! I am proud to say that I found my wedding dress with Katy’s assistance and it was on the lower end of my budget range. I can’t wait to wear it!
11÷14÷08 UPDATE: So my dress was ordered and to my amazement I have it in my hands already and my wedding isn’t until August 2009!!! Thank you Katy for making this wedding dress shopping experience such a breeze! One less thing to worry about — now instead of having 1,537 things to do in prep for the big day, I only have 1,536!

I LOVE KATE!!!
Sunday afternoon and I called out of curiosity. She was two hours from closing time but her last appointment of the day had canceled on her. «Come on down!» I drove across the bridge as quickly as possible but still took forever. She took me in anyway.
It’s a tiny space but she makes the most of it. The first floor houses her samples. Many racks of bridal and a good selection of bridesmaids/​mother-​of-​the-​bride dresses against the wall. Since there isn’t much space, there is no junk. She orders only what she likes and would wear.
I explained what I was looking for, however vague that might have been. She picked a couple and I picked a few more. We headed upstairs with the gowns to the large, single dressing room. Lightning, her chihuahua, followed us. I love anywhere with a dog!
Mom had a spacious place to sit and relax. The dressing space was comfortable and not at all claustrophobic. She laced me in and out of dresses, exchanged opinions and listened to my feedback, and carried on easy conversation.
She stayed past her closing time with me. Actually, she was waiting for a lady to come in to pick up her dress. Her dress had just arrived that day (Sunday) and her wedding was the next Saturday!!! Kate took her time with me and we finished just in time for the girl to walk in the door to pick up her dress.
Kate is just a real girl who loves dresses. No high-​pressure sales. She actually suggested I go to Trudy’s as they would have a larger selection to try on different styles. I still know that I want to return to Kate for my final purchase. You walk out of there feeling like she could be your new best friend!
A couple points to mention: If you need to buy a hairpiece, she’ll sell it off the rack. Very rare! Second, I wasn’t a huge fan of the lighting in there. It might be better earlier in the day, when more natural light would flood in. Third, if you MapQuest directions, you’ll likely get lost! When University and Shattuck fork out, don’t go longer than a block on Shattuck. The store is actually on the parallel street to the East, which they call Shattuck Square.
All in all, a wonderful experience. I love this place and I love Kate!

At first I was anxious about my dress appointment. I have been receiving bad customer service from the last two dress shops that I went to. And then I met Katy from Kate’s Kouture and all the anxiety went away.
I had a great dress shopping experience at Kate’s Kouture. Katy is very patient, helpful, and easy to work with. They have beautiful affordable dresses and wonderful customer service. Unlike my past stressful experiences, I had a smile on my face the whole time. I loved all the dresses I tried on. After I left the store, I had trouble deciding which one I would choose. But I know that I will look like a million dollars no matter which dress I decide to go with thanks to Katy. =)

I walked by this store many times before going in, mainly because I was skeptical that I would be lucky enough to have an excellent bridal boutique a block from where I work.
I walked in yesterday, without an appointment, which if you’ve ever visited a typical bridal dress boutique, is TOTALLY taboo. I peeked around the corner waiting for a tight-​lipped face to scorn me in my casual clothes and post-​lunch stupor and instead a pretty and smiling face greeted me with no attitude and a welcoming demeanor.
Kate, the owner, in a relaxed conversation discussed with me a number of things that were weighing heavy on my mind including: dress prices (she has beautiful dresses and they are definitely priced within reason), tiaras, dry cleaning, alterations, and appointments. She was friendly, gracious and above all, super easy going and understanding. I wanted to stay and chat all day but, well, I had to get back to work.
I’m making an appointment and plan to recommend anyone in the Bay Area preparing for a wedding to visit her shop.