The Trousseau

08/11/2021

01/27/2020

Vintage Clear Out! Time to do a major sale!

Where: Alameda Point Antique Fair
booth C 11

When: Sunday, February 2

How much?: $5 to $20

Everything in about 20 bins-- come see what you can find!

1/2 price after noon!

02/06/2019

The Trousseau is the featured business at the Umqua bank in Chico this quarter! Visit a really great bank, and take a look at the display, then come and visit the booth, upstairs, at Eighth and Main Antique Center.

01/24/2019

Though I usually focus on vintage dresses, a small lot of modern sample dresses have found their way into my inventory. These dresses are all originally priced at $2000+ Some have small flaws.

The one pictured (factory picture, not mine) is a David Tutera dress. The one I have is a size 8 and has a champagne underskirt. It will have a $300 price tag on it.

Allure Brides https://www.theknot.com/fashion/9325-allure-bridals-wedding-dress

size 12, champagne color, needs cleaning, $250

Stella York, champagne color, size 12, $325
https://www.theknot.com/fashion/6285-stella-york-wedding-dress

There are four more in this lot, and many more to look at. Some are displayed in my booth at Eighth and Main Antique Center, and some are still at my house.

Make an appointment to see, and try on, those dresses that fit your personality.

If you are a bride who was affected by the Camp or Carr Fire, please PM me to discuss a possible discount.

01/19/2019

On the road again---! The Trousseau has been invited to be featured as a local Chico business in the Umpqua Bank from February to May. If you are local, visit to see one of the beautiful wedding dresses available for that once in a lifetime walk down the aisle!

01/01/2019

Wishing all of you a wonderful 2019. We hope it is filled with family, friends, health, and good times.

12/17/2018

Something old, something new... you'll find it at The Trousseau, in the Eighth and Main Antique Center. Over 100 vintage wedding gowns, some modern, along with vintage and modern fashions and accessories.

11/11/2018

Fellow teachers and parents--

Your kids may want to do something for the kids in Paradise. How about adopting a classroom in Paradise where the kids can do a pen-pal project that lasts through Christmas.

Come up with a dollar amount the families are willing to give over the next two months and get the kids to talk to each other to help decide how to give that money to help the kids re-adjust in Paradise.

The giving will have more meaning on both sides of the kids know where their things are going, and where they came from. No administration fees, just kid to kid.

Contact me if you have questions.

11/11/2018

Aunt Polly is at it again! She has lowered prices to 50% off, just for you! So, mention that you found it in Aunt Polly's Attic, and you will get 50% off. Upstairs, at Eighth and Main, in Chico. Tags with APA on them, only.

11/11/2018

Aunt Polly is at it again! She has slashed her prices, upstairs, at Eighth and Main, 50%, but only for those in the know. Tell them you found it in Aunt Polly's Attic, and anything with an APA on the label is yours for half off! But remember, it is just between us friends!

11/07/2018

I have a sign in my shop that is an informal motto for my store. Today, when I walked in, I saw the smaller, handwritten one sitting right below it.

I am going to leave it there for a bit.

Thank you, whoever left it for me.

11/05/2018

A little known fact: The Trousseau has an aunt who has spent a lifetime collecting all kinds of odd things. Aunt Polly has opened a booth at 8th and Main to sell some of the crazy things she has collected. Now YOU are invited to sneak preview for 25% off whatever you find in her attic!

Visit 8th and Main, upstairs, look for "Aunt Polly's Attic" and anything you find there, with APA or APC on the label is 25% off, when you check out, make sure to mention you found it in Aunt Polly's Attic, for your 25% off deal. The deal start on Tuesday, November 6th.

Items with tags marked, "APA" only.

10/26/2018

The Trousseau is growing again! Come by the shop, upstairs, at Eighth and Main Antique Center in Chico, to see the newly displayed vintage, and modern, wedding dresses. The Trousseau also has great prices on veils, petticoats, and freshwater pearl and silver earrings.

10/18/2018

Though I love my new hometown, it is hard to leave some people behind. Like my dry cleaner.

He is a member of the family of the former Shah of Iran, and thus, served as a diplomat. One of his duties was to care for the wardrobe of the royal family. Thus, he spent some time living across the House of Dior in Paris.

Then he fled Iran and purchased a dry cleaning facility.

This was my first encounter with him: (from an old blog post)

I sat the Persian lamb coat down on the counter in front of the former Iranian diplomat turned dry cleaner. I watched, as this man I had never met rubbed the fur with his dark, worn hands, back and forth, his eyes twinkled with a memory, and the story started.

“I was in Paris,” he said, “and right across the street from where I worked, was the House of Dior. In there, was a coat, like this, that I bought for my wife.“ My eyes went wide, knowing I was about to experience one of those unexpected moments in life when everything unimportant is set aside and the joy of a vintage memory is shared.

He went on, with a sprinkling of elegant French, which Richard understood but I did not, to tell me about this coat that is now a quarter the size his wife current wears—his words. It went with the couple through all their travels; Africa, Spain, back to Iran, and finally, to the US. All that time, the coat was never worn.

To me, that is the best kind of treat—to have a stranger, or a loved one, spontaneously share a memory with me. Of course, it only happened because this man had known Richard for decades, and they had shared many a story. But for me, the coat I brought to him was magic. He touched it, and I was the recipient of the story.

Antiques, vintage—they are like that for me. Each item holds stories and memories. They can be a magic carpet that transport the one who looks at it to a different time and place, like a piece in a museum, only one that can be held or touched.

There is a mid-century couture fur sitting in a closet somewhere on the San Francisco peninsula. At some point, it will bring in a nice chunk of change for that couple. I hope the new owner knows, though, that what is worn is far more precious than a pretty coat, but that what keeps her warm is a bit of magic with which a new coat can’t possibly compete.

10/14/2018

Yes! So true.

It's not easy.

09/02/2018

Really? Halloween costumes, already?

This year, I won't be caught behind! Costumes are starting to appear at Eighth and Main, and my little rack has a batch of unique ones designed to express your inner belly dancer, early Downton Alley extra, roaring 20's flapper, 60's gal, or witchey-poo!

Prices range from $20 to $65.

Upstairs, at Eighth and Main Antique Center.

08/18/2018

08/17/2018

The Trousseau has an extensive collection of vintage, with a few modern, wedding dresses. Unique gowns that will highlight your unique relationship can be found in most sizes, and, when faced with a modern sized figure and vintage sized dresses, we can design and create a vintage style dress, just for you.

Petticoats, veils, hair ornaments, bridesmaids gifts, we have that, at prices far below most bridal shops. Handmade wedding hats and fascinators exquisitely crafted to your specifications.