Joan Gilbert Bride

Joan was the perfect person to work with me on my wedding dress «journey.» I knew I wanted Le Spose and came in with a very specific dress in mind… a dress that of course was many season old and no longer available. Lucky, Joan helped me find a dress that I love even more than the one I was originally looking for. Her studio is very comfortable and inviting — she makes you feel right at home. Instead of hundreds of dresses and a handful of other brides milling about, like some bridal studios, Joan’s atelier is stocked with a totally manageable number of simple, stunning styles, all made with the most soft and beautiful silk, chiffon and lace, and you are the only woman there! Joan is very experienced in working with brides, which is evident in her style, fashion direction and how she can effortlessly pin something into your hair or on the side of your dress to give you a hint at how some accessory here or there could change the look. She helped me design/​add straps to an originally strapless dress, which was really fun. She perfectly balances listening to what the bride wants and offering her opinions and advice. I am so grateful that I found Joan.

Wow, I did not know what I was getting into. I found Joan on Unilocal primarily because my mom was coming up for an appointment and I wanted to set up multiple appointments on the same day since we’re getting down to the wire (I am a deadbeat bride and have less than 4 months before my wedding and still no dress). We hadn’t spoken on the phone because I made my appointment over e-​mail, so I made an assumption about the price range based on the Unilocal reviews and the $$$ Unilocal label (other bridal shops I visited that were listed as $$$ still had numerous options under $ 2k). Most of the prior reviews mentioned there were some dresses under $ 2k and some over $ 4k, but Joan seemed genuinely distressed at how difficult it would be to find anything under $ 4k for me (her samples were all teeny tiny and most dresses I tried on were $ 4k). I said $ 2k was my budget because the thought of spending more than that for a single-​use garment seems obscene, not because I couldn’t scrape together the cash. She did seem annoyed by the strong opinions of my mother and sister, but she was kind enough to try to find me something, and I was genuinely open to being wowed at something at a higher price-​point. Her gowns did seem to be high quality, but most didn’t suit my small-​on-​top, long waisted and wider-​hipped frame. Ultimately I was just the wrong kind of customer for this shop — hopefully my review will help others avoid similar awkwardness in the future.

Joan makes me wish that I was getting married every year. She’s just the best person to work with when it comes to one of the most important events in your life. I initially came in looking specifically for a le spose de Gio dress but found that it was completely out of my budget. However, she didn’t treat me any differently or shy away from helping me find something that would work for me. After trying on three or four dresses I just fell completely in love. It wasn’t your typical froofy and heavy wedding dress. It was just perfect. Being only the second place I went to try on dresses, of course I wanted to shop around to make sure this was the one. But over the next few days I just became obsessed with the dress and knew i would never find a wedding dress with similar qualities. When I came back to purchase the dress, Joan made the process so easy. She immediately fitted me and had the dress ready within the next month. She never pushed me or rushed me or made me feel like I didn’t give her enough time, which is the experience that I had at every other place. I think I came to her at the end August and I picked up my dress In October. Joan is the sweetest person with exquisite taste. She added a nice touch to my dress and made me feel so special.

Joan is very knowledgable and so much fun to work with!
She is very blunt and will give you her honest opinion– which is nice because she has great taste and knows what she is talking about.
I absolutely love my dress! The Mikado silk fabric is stunning. She has a nice selection of Le Spose di Gio gowns.
I had my dress altered by the seamstress Joan works with– she did a great job.
Notes:
Her business is a flat that doubles as her home in Presidio Heights.
By appointment only.
Street parking in neighborhood.
Keep in mind the Price of the dress plus cost of alterations.
Take off your shoes and leave them at the door.
Would definitely recommend to a friend :)

Joan is amazing! She helped me find the perfect dress and has a great eye for fashion and what modifications will work. Fair prices and great, nice accessories as well. She has le spose de Gio and great collection. Her shop is part of her home and in a gorgeous neighborhood. I flew in just to go to her and she didn’t let me down!

Joan was my first stop when I began trying on gowns. Such a good decision — she is a true artist and a really interesting woman, with an incredible amount of experience in the industry. I came to her because she carries Le Spose de Gio, and as others have mentioned, her selection is small but represents a good range from this designer. I was a little disappointed that she didn’t have the specific gowns I would have wanted to try (based on my internet research) but who knows if they would have looked right on me!
The gowns themselves are extremely well-​made with exceptionally beautiful fabrics.
As others have mentioned, the location is part of Joan’s home, so it’s a more intimate ambiance than the big salons in the city.
Thank you, Joan, for a great experience!

Joan Gilbert custom made my wedding gown for me 25 years ago — it was the most beautiful gown and my friends are still talking about it. I hope that Joan is still making gowns when my daughter gets married! Glad to see that she is still in the wedding gown business. To this day, I can still look at my pictures, knowing that the gown was perfect! Thank you Joan, for all of the great memories.
Sincerely,
Martha Miroyan

Beautiful dresses and well worth the fair market prices Joan offers. Yes, she is particular, as particular as she is about her exquisite inventory. The compliments I received on my dress were more abundant than well wishes for my husband and me! Her services are personal, thorough and far exceed retail. Many thanks to her for making one decision easy :)

Even though my wedding was 2 ½ years ago I still remember fondly my beautiful wedding gown. Joan was amazing and I wonder why all the wonderful 5 star reviews are filtered…

The dress I bought from Joan was unbelievable, and she was great to work with. I was looking for something beautiful, and interesting, but not overdone — no sequins, or poofiness. I found the perfect dress there — flowy and light and comfortable– and she made it fit me like a glove after just one fitting. The dresses she sells are not cheap, nor is the alteration. Mine was a sample that was half off and it was still more than I planned to spend –but it was 110% worth it. I have never heard the word «stunning» so many times in my life as I did on my wedding day. The other nice thing about Joan is that she was very easy to make appointments with, even on evenings and weekends. And it’s nice to go to someone’s home rather than a hoity-​toity bridal salon.

I found Joan Gilbert Bride because I had found a Le Spose de Gio dress in a magazine that I really liked. I made an appointment and met with Joan and showed her a picture of the dress that I liked. She told me that it was beautiful, however, she thought another Le Spose de Gio dress would be better for me… she was right.
Since, my husband was purchasing the dress for me, I was able to pick which ever dress I wanted.
I found the most amazing wedding dress that was perfect. I had a very elegant and intimate wedding at Merryvale Vineyards in the Cask room in St. Helena so I needed a dress that was very elegant and I found it at Joan Gilbert Bride. The dress was so comfortable.
Thank you Joan for everything! I recommend Joan to any bride who wants a unique dress that you will cherish!

I just went to Joan Gilbert Bride to look at wedding dresses and had a wonderful experience! Her dresses are classy, elegant, unique… simply gorgeous. And yes — if you are looking for a poofy, ballroom type dress, this isn’t the place for you.
Joan was very kind and helpful. I told her my budget ($ 1,500-$ 1,700) and she picked out three sample sale dresses that she thought would look good on me and that were in my price range. All three were beautiful, but I really loved the first one. I still need to go back and show one of my best friends the dress to get approval…
Joan Gilbert Bride is a hidden gem here in the Bay Area. Check it out.

I made an appointment at Joan Gilbert because she carries Le Spose de Gio dresses. The selection of dresses is not large, but is very well edited. She carries Le Spose and one other line. I tried on five or six dresses — two dresses that I would have purchased if my budget had allowed (both were the $ 4k++ range). The quality is incredible and they were both very elegant. Le Spose de Gio dresses are a bit different in that the focus is on the construction and fabric, rather than fouf or appliqués. They fit like a dream.
Joan was great to work with — very creative and focused. I felt like I would be in great hands! This could have been a 5 star experience, but… I didn’t walk out feeling amazing. Small things, like Joan calling down to ask me to take off my shoes before walking up the long flight of stairs, were a bit off-​putting. (Perhaps this is picky, but with these prices, would greeting me at the door be too much to ask?)
If you appreciate an understated, beautifully crafted wedding dress, make an appointment at Joan Gilbert. Just remember to take your shoes off at the door!

THANK GOD FOR JOAN GILBERT!!! I looked for the right dress for what seemed like an eternity. When I was at my wit’s end I walked through Joan’s door (her business is in her house). What an amazing selection. Previous to my visit with Joan I hadn’t found anything remotely close to what I had in my mind. Then I found two dresses at Joan’s and I couldn’t decided between the them (one was French brand and the other was Italian)!
My only complaint is that she doesn’t sell shoes! She gave great advice about my hair and earrings. Joan is personable and maternal, which I appreciated because I had some bad experiences with younger, arrogant salesgirls. I feel so lucky that I found Joan!

Exquisite wedding gowns! Joan Gilbert is the place to go! Her gowns are feminine and lovely and ethereal. And her showroom-​home is light, bright and welcoming – the perfect backdrop to any bridal experience. Joan is delightful… been in the business for years and knows her stuff. I highly recommend her services.

Where do i begin with Joan Gilbert— she is beyond amazing! Not only are her dresses which are so unique and different and absolutely gorgeous!!! but Joan is also so incredible to work with– i love the vibe and energy of Joan and her studio– its more of an intimate experience which I loved and HIGHLY recommend! I just had my last fitting and can honestly say I am so excited to get married but sad I wont see Joan again– but then i again I will because ill be bringing friends to her when they get engaged! I could write on and on about Joan– I went to all those bridal stores and found Joan and her dresses to be THE BEST! She has such unusual dresses so you dont feel like youre wearing just another bridal dress… I LOVE THIS WOMAN!!! and HER DRESSES!!! She takes great care of you, her ideas are amazing and she is extremely talented and creative! She makes you feel at home and I love the atmosphere she has created! Her quality is top notch and she is so chill and kind– NOT pushy at all– shes BEYOND AMAZING!

Let me preface this by saying one thing — Joan’s selection of dresses were beautiful.
They were well-​made, European gowns (French and Italian — Le Spose di Gio being one) and very unique. And also, very expensive.
I found Joan through Craigslist when she was offering her samples at a discounted rate. In the ad she mentioned that they would be 30−50% off of the original prices of the gowns which ranged from $ 1k-​$ 2500. This led me to believe that some of the gowns could be in the $ 800 range. Not quite … as I soon found out.
Joan has a room in her home that is set aside as a dressing room, and the living room is where the mirror is. As she was helping me into gowns, she made a comment on my posture — and was very sarcastic and rude in her tone. I tried to ignore it, and tried to focus on finding a dress that I liked. But once we talked about my price range … Joan immediately scoffed at me and told me that none of the dresses would work for me based on my budget. At that point she was done helping me find a dress. I was a bit aghast — her demeanor toward me had changed after she found out that I was a budget conscious bride. Truth be told, I probably would have splurged if I had been given the chance to find the one, since I wanted a unique gown.
Later that week she called me and offered another resource that she thought might be better for me — Lily Helene gowns in Mill Valley. I thought that was very nice of her, but I was still disappointed in her overall service. So please be aware that Joan may be looking for a certain clientele to purchase her gowns — the Napa Valley or SF socialite with money to burn.

I had a really fantastic experience with Joan Gilbert. I echo what everyone else said about her dresses, I really did get loads of sincere compliments — even my kind-​of-​crazy DJ went out of his way to tell me it was the best dress he had ever seen. Pictures turned out fabulous, and I felt good all day. What else matters?
Joan works out of her lovely Presidio Heights flat, by appointment only. I had visited plenty of boutiques and larger stores that offered good service, but Joan puts them to shame. It was really nice to have a private session with no competition for mirrors or anything, and she was happy to see me a second time when my mom came to town.
Also, unless she’s changed in the past few months, she charges a flat rate for her dresses, which includes the custom tailoring by the dress makers and any alterations that she has to make herself. This is just a nice benefit of working with her. She asks for half the payment when you order, half on dress pick up, checks only.
Joan works with two lovely designers, be sure to check her website before setting up an appointment to make sure it’s what you’re looking for. The style was exactly what I was looking for — slim, understated, elegant — but it is a distinct style. No big poufy gowns or crazy embroidery here (a good thing in my opinion).
Joan is a character. She has lots of experience in the fashion industry, and she is clearly doing this because she loves it. She will take good care of you, and make sure you look and feel fantastic. I feel lucky to have found her.