Wedding boutique in Fresno's Tower District give brides different gown options
FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Non-traditional: that's what sisters Brittany and Ashley Castanos like to call their bridal salon, Daughters of Simone.
The siblings have been selling and designing wedding dresses for nearly eight years, but just last week they opened their very first location.
You can find them in Fresno's Tower District off Van Ness Avenue.
From their gowns to their accessories to the boutique itself, Brittany says they draw inspiration from their travels, childhood and boho and hippie fashions.
"We are more drawn to the 1960s and 70s styles of that era," Brittany said. "But we try to bring them into the modern age."
They're in the business of selling more than just wedding gowns.
"You are not just selling a dress to a party or a dress to any other occasion," Ashley said. "It is this very, very important moment and it gets emotional, I've cried with brides."
Ashley says each dress is a piece of them. Each one is hand designed by the sister duo.
"We still have the moment of, 'oh my gosh, they chose us out of all the pieces that are out there in the entire world, they chose us, two girls from Fresno, California, who started by taking pictures of vintage dresses in the fields,'" Ashley said.
They eventually went from taking pictures of dresses to selling them. They started small with an online ETSY shop.
Their inventory included modified dresses they found at thrift stores. Now they have six personally designed collections with more than 30 gowns.
"This is about what you want to wear and what feels representative of your personal fashion taste," Brittany said.
If you're interested in visiting the boutique, you'll have to make an appointment. They do walk-ins on Thursdays from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.
