a bridal store has relocated to kitsilano called bride to be on broadway near macdonald. despite the fact that the photos on the website don't necessarily reflect exactly what they have in stock, what they do offer is each dress in several different sizes. i was actually able to try some dresses on that were a size 4 (compared to the size 10-12 i usually get clamped into). here are two casablanca dresses that were pretty decent, dress #1814 (spring2006!) for $1300 CA and #1881 (fall2007) for $1260 CA. not only does the store boast several sizes of their sample dresses, but alterations are included. these dresses weren't all that different than the high end $4000+ dresses, and not even melissa sweet nor birnbaum & bullock have material that exquisitely mimics vera wang's lightweight silk shantung on her $10G+ gowns. casablanca also seems to have a lot of lacey-sleevy dresses from what i've seen of their website, also a bit of a rarity in this day and age of "sleeveless" (aka tube top) wedding dresses.