Obvi: The Boutique of the Trendsetter

My next stop was Obvi. Located at 30 South High Street, Obvi Boutique sat just two doors down from The Chester County Running Store. The owner Antoinette Poluch came up with the store's name as the abbreviation for "obviously," a phrase she and her college girlfriends loved to use.

Antoinette smiled warmly at me when I entered the store and asked if I needed help. I took a minute to wander around the small shop. I checked out the selection of jeans, pocketbooks, and cute vintage t-shirts before asking for assistance in finding the dress. Antoinette led me around the store's perimeter, making suggestions about possibilities. She showed me strapless dresses, black dresses, short dresses, and ruffled dresses and explained the accessories I could wear with each. I went back to the dressing room with a stack of six different options.

In the privacy of the dressing room, I had the opportunity to check out the price tags. These certainly weren't cheap, but I could afford them. Most dresses fell in the seventy or eighty dollar range, comparable to the prices of higher end chain stores like Banana Republic or Anne Taylor. It's more than I would typically spend on my school teacher's salary, but for a special event like a wedding, it seemed all right to splurge.

When I made my purchase, Antoinette made a few suggestions about how to make the dress more or less casual depending on the shoes and jewelry I wore. She also suggested that I tie the sash in front if I wanted a more fitted look. Although I felt a little guilty for spending more than I would at Dress Barn, I had found a one-of-a-kind dress for this reception.