The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
‘One of the jewels of Main Street’
The Wedding Dress moves down, reopens under new ownership
PORTLAND — One of the “jewels” of local retailing has gone on display in a new setting.
The Wedding Dress, a fixture on Main Street for nearly two decades, has reopened in a new location with a new owner — but with the previous owner staying involved in the shop.
The Wedding Dress has taken over the two-story building on the west side of the road at 162 Main St., most recently home to the Victorian Inspirations, a gift and accessories boutique. A grand opening ceremony last week attracted dozens of friends of the new owner and officials, including First Selectman Susan S. Bransfield and Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce President Larry McHugh.
The timeless ritual of a successful wedding was also respected.
There was something old — the building; something new — the Wedding Dress installed in the location; something borrowed — the presence and expertise of previous owner Shelley Bailey; and something blue — an off-the-shoulder dress worn by new owner Abbie Paklos.
“I always wanted to own my own store,” said Paklos, who is trained in fashion merchandising and business. Through a series of coincidences, she wound up in 162 Main St., Paklos said, while taking a break ahead of the opening gala.
The lease was running out at 222 Main St., and it was not going to be renewed. In fact, the building was put up for sale and has been sold to John Sullivan. At the same time, Bailey was looking to step back from the day-to-day operation of the store to spend more time with her family.
And Bailey wanted to maintain a creative role in the store.
When 162 became available, Paklos said she inspected it. “I fell in love with it,” she said, thanks to the improvements made in the interior by Victorian Inspirations’ owner Ellen Foster.
The Wedding Dress is a full-service store, with an array of items that run the gamut from shoes, tiaras, jewelry, to “dresses for everyone from the flower girl to the mother of the bride,” Paklos said.
Bailey said Wedding Dress draws women from New York and Boston brought to the store both by its reputation and dresses from particular designers such as Lea-Ann Belter. By design, the boutique is “very welcoming,” she said.
“A lot of bridal stores are stuffy. But getting married is supposed to be a fun time,” she said.
“This is a perfect place for a dress shop,” former selectman Kitch Breen Czernicki said as the party swirled around her. “The dresses are sparkling, the whole place is sparkling! How can you be in here and not be excited?”
Mary D. Dickerson, the town’s economic development coordinator, said, “We were sad to lose Victorian Inspirations. But we’re very happy that Abbie has stepped in and taken over the property, and, in so doing, has allowed us to retain one of the jewels of Main Street.”
And it also unites the twin talents of Paklos and Bailey, who Dickerson described as “a creative whiz.”
Elwin Guild, chairman of the Economic Development Commission, said the reopening “shows the potential for a true town center. When so many brick-and-mortar stores are going down, this tells me Portland can have a successful town center business district — if we can straighten the traffic situation out.”
In addition to being pleased with the new store, Paklos said she is also excited by the store’s proximity to St. Clement’s Castle, which has emerged as a premiere wedding venue.
She is equally excited by the impending renovation of the former Elmcrest property as the Brainerd Place mixed-use development.