This second hand and consignment shop is amazing. I was super lucky and ended up finding a dress that I loved that had already been tailored to the previous wearer, who had almost my exact measurements. I saved so much on alterations because I only needed to take the top in a bit. As a shorter person, not needing it hemmed was just amazing.
The staff is very helpful, dresses are fairly priced, and there are so many different styles to pick from. Love that they're used or consignment so the dresses get more use in their lifetime, and you can even rent them if you prefer! Definitely worth checking out this shop.

I decided to drive to Berkeley from Santa Cruz to shop for my dress from Emerald City Gowns because they specialize in consignment and sample dresses. I didn’t want to have a new dress created just for my wedding and also planned my wedding in a short time period which made buying a dress I could take home the same day very appealing. My sister and mom came with me to help find a dress and they’re organized by size. We found so many gorgeous dresses that it was hard to decide on one, but I was able to make the decision on that first appointment and absolutely loved it for my wedding day! After the wedding I had it cleaned and consigned it back with Emerald City Gowns and hope that another bride will be able to use the dress again. Thank you Emilie and Emerald City Gowns!

We had two apts that day, one at Emerald City Gowns, and another at a fancy boutique in SF. When we got to Emerald City, we were greeted by the nicest girl and I regret that I can no longer remember her name (She was super cute and had really curly black shorter hair). She was dressed so cute, hair and makeup done and was so happy, she seemed to really love her job. She worked with us, was super flexible and allowed me to try on anything I (or the people I was with) wanted. While there, I found the perfect gently used gown that online was $8,000, and had the most perfect embroidery lace of an $8,000 gown. Although, knowing I had the other apt, I paid a small fee to put my dress on hold and we went to SF. In this fancy boutique, the saleswoman was dressed in ripped jeans and a t-shirt, acted like we were a bother (even though we had an appointment) but whatever, I tried not to let it bother me. I tried on a few dressed, and they were all beautiful but so tight I could barely walk, never mind dance. We decided the first dress was the one, we quickly called her back at Emerald City 5 minutes before they closed and raced back over there. She stayed open an extra 25 minutes after closing for us, waiting for us to come back.. and once we did, she did not rush us a single bit. I tried the dress on once more to make sure, we popped a bottle of champagne, and I said Yes to the Dress! Thank you to this place for being so accommodating, to the sale woman who was beyond a pleasure to work with, and for allowing me to get the $8,000 gown of my dreams, gently used and in perfect condition for only $1,300!!!