This store used to be on Abbot Kinney and is a Venice institution. My girlfriend is obsessed with it because - unlike all the national chain stores on the street - Principessa has a beautifully curated selection of hot fashion for women. Now that it's on Main Street (around the corner) in Santa Monica, it's even better than before in a gorgeous new location with a garden out back where wine is served free of charge to customers (and boyfriends waiting for their girlfriends to finish buying everything in the store)! read more

Principessa - Storefront - Women's Clothing Near Me - Santa Monica, California

This store used to be on Main Street before they moved to Abbott Kinney and I remember shopping in the old store. It used to be fun and I would go in often since I live in walking distance. Times have changed. I walked in and the blonde salesperson looked at me and looked away. Didn't bother to say a word. No one else was in the store so it's not like she was helping people. If this is how it's going to be with the locals I'm not sure it will be another store that can survive on Main. read more

I got the cutest one piece pastel yellow jumper tennis dress with built in lining and shorts .., looks like a tennis outfit but it isn't .. it's more of a one piece fashion statement .. It's the cutest thing eva ! And .., I got it for a steal ! Make sure to not pass up this place It was perfect for a super hot day like yesterday read more

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I love this store and have always had nothing but amazing experiences here. I live near Abbot Kinney and it's my go to if I ever need a cute fit. Madison, Kaya and everyone who works here are always super kind, helpful and patient. Principessa is the best shop on AK and I hope they continue to keep the west side stylish. read more

This is my first review on yelp and I'm really upset that it has to be a negative review but I just can't seem to let this go. I have gone in to this store so many times and have spent too much money in here, all for my last few visits to have been extremely unpleasant. The minute I walk in , no one says hello or greets you, they just stare at you and wait for you to just buy something. My most recent experience has made me realize that I most likely won't ever come back in. I tried on a few dresses/outfits and needed something in another color. I asked one of the girls to help me out and she brought me a dress in a size Large. I told her that it wouldn't fit on me as it would be too big. She took one look at me up and down and then the clothes I had hanging in the fitting room and said "oh you're a small?" She turned around rolling her eyes when I told her it's okay and I don't need any of these dresses anymore but thanks for your "help". I have never been made so uncomfortable while shopping for clothes before. I do think they have great clothes but need better customer service if you want someone to drop money on these clothes:) read more

I've been looking for a beige, long sleeve sweater dress all week and stumbled upon Principessa after a long journey window shopping along Abbot Kinney. Immediately, I saw a dress that caught my eye. The threads have a hint of metallic, and the cut is stunning. Unfortunately, there was only one open changing room with a line. I figured I'd buy it to try on at home, but I was surprised to find they have a fairly limited return policy at the moment. It was only 7 days to return, and I could only receive store credit. That being said, I'm happy to support local business so I bought the dress anyways, figuring I would find other apparel to purchase because it's a really lovely shop. Lucky for me, the dress is perfect! It was marked a small, I'm a size 4 and even the sleeves are a great length. Long story short, it's a lovely shop with a great selection. Just wish their return policy was more accommodating to the times. Still, I would definitely return! read more

On a busy Saturday we were on our way to a wedding that took place on a boat in the Marina when suddenly one of my shoes broke in half! I thought the night was ruined and would no way resolve this problem and make in time (15 minutes!) for the wedding taking place on a boat. My husband quickly got me into the car and we googled places in a frenzy to find new (nice) shoes for me. Bumper to bumper down Abbot Kinney I jumped out of the car and found no luck in one shoe store but the girl there told me to go 2 stores down to Princepessa (which I love, but in a panic forgot about!). When I walked in 2 girls that worked there immediately noticed(because I was barefoot) I had an issue. They told me "We got you!". I gave them my shoe size and she was able to grab a pair of shoes right away!! They were neutral, clear on top! Perfect! And the best news, did not break the bank! On sale! They were literally my lifesavers and I regret not getting their names but you know who you are and Thank You big time!!! We made it back to the wedding boat before it departed by a hair! read more

This place has a lot of really cute clothes and a nice range of more economical to higher end pieces but I've gotten some really bad vibes from employees here. Some are just b****y/unfriendly and once the owner I believe made me and my friend very uncomfortable, following us around and insinuating (energetically) like she needed to watch us in the case we were going to steal something. Really cute store but ownership/employees need to be...a lot more chill. Some seem ok. But the owner(s) left a sour taste in my mouth. This is Venice not BH and some of your clothes are cheap, lose the attitude. read more

It was my very time entering the store. Once I stepped inside the first thing they said was place my drink on the table near the entrance. Mind you I wasn't greeted. What rubbed me the wrong way was I seem to be the only one that had to place there drink in the table. Everyone else was drinking/ eating while they were shopping. Overall the customer service wasn't great from the jump and they just stare you down. (10/16/23 closing crew) read more

I've been buying my party dresses here for years and the customer service from the owner has been great, but today was one of the worst experiences and doubt I'll come back. I came in looking for a pool party outfit with my daughter and one of the shop persons was annoyed that my daughter tried on a sweatshirt, and when she put it back on the shelf, she rudely told her to "hand me that sweatshirt" so she could re-fold it. Ok, I get it, kids are annoying, but that made my kid feel really awful. We browsed a bit longer and the whole time seemed to be in the way of the shop people and they had to keep moving around us and huffing and puffing about it. I thought that's what patrons do...is look through racks of clothes? Anyway, I had planned my outfit immediately walking in, because I saw a pink oversized shirt on the mannequin and THE perfect bikini to go with that I was going to buy, as well as a cute Selkie purse on sale. Then I got scolded for having my daughter in the changing room with me? I'm sorry, but I don't want to leave my kid alone. I was about to spend $500 on everything and maybe even add some sunnies for my kid, and gathering my things, I saw they only had smalls and x-smalls of the pink shirt I wanted on the rack and so I went to check the mannequin to see if the shirt was medium. It was, so I was going to leave it there and let the person know when I checked out with everything else to please grab me the shirt, too, but as I was trying to fix the collar, it slid off the mannequin, so I figured it was already off, might as well look at the shirt since it was my size and I was going to buy it, when the shop person RAN OVER as fast as she could and said I wasn't allowed to take it off the mannequin and was visibly so upset with me? Confused, I tried to explain the above but felt so mad and confused that I had been treated like I shouldn't be there, that I left. I ended up going next door to Guild and spent $1,000 on an awesome outfit, they were SO LOVELY and helped me out so much and even gave my daughter some water, so I hope this is helpful for the owner to give some feedback that people spending money is more important than racks looking a certain way. Too bad, I loved buying my dresses and going out fits from y'all! Oh well! read more

Really cute things here but a lot of it is overpriced for the quality of the material on top of that most of the employees are not friendly at all, I've been here a good amount of times and rarely does anyone greet you or ask if you need help. read more

Beware their return for store credit only. Horrible service. Not cute enough to be worth it.

Great selection of items, both well-priced and some designer! Plus vintage interspersed. The girls who work here are always super friendly and helpful - I've been coming for almost a decade! Love that this OG Venice spot is still here :) read more

I love love love this store but the lady that was in today working (6/1/23) was super rude and made me feel unwelcome

Don't really write reviews but work in customer service and every time for the past 4 years when I have walked in they never greet me , not one time. The clothes are very cute. I'm tempted to buy something every time, then realize how rude their employees are. Not a hello or a goodbye! read more

BEWARE: Owner/Manager and Associate will follow you around the store watching your every move. We entered this store on Saturday, March 11th around 11am. It was interesting to read that the customer service complaints were because the women wouldn't greet you or say a word, for my sister and I we had two women say hi to us, but follow us everywhere we went around the store while looking and admiring the clothing. I felt racially profiled as they weren't following around anyone else. I don't recommend going into this store unless you want to feel extremely uncomfortable. Both of the ladies "pretended to grab shirts near us" but did nothing with them. One of them also walked to the other room with us and stood there with her arms folded as we looked at the sale items. Couldn't have made it more obvious that she was watching our every move. That instantly put a bad taste in my mouth. Advice to those who want a pleasant and friendly shopping experience, don't enter here. Save yourself sometime and move on! read more

I'm a local here in Venice. Have been to this store a number of times. Great selection of unique dresses, accessories, hats. Wish a sales person would at least greet me when I walk in or ask if I need help. I always end up having to approach the sales person. Blonde cashier girl is always nice. Love coming to find new Wardrobe pieces. read more

Principessa - New date night dress - Women's Clothing Near Me - Santa Monica, California

Shopped here on 7/7/18 and had the most amazing experience. Everyone on shift was so attentive and helpful, I was blown away at the level of customer service and cuteness of clothes. Laicia Bouali was helping me in the dressing room was next level awesome. She gave great input and was very ontop of it. All the women on staff were incredibly sweet and genuine and I seriously hate shopping but they made it fun! Thanks ladies, ill be back! read more

Omg they have so many cute stuffs! Got my first beret here! Beret was $74 plus tax so i think they r little bit expensive but i couldn't resist :( they have really cute clothes too just little bit out of my price range but i will go back when i have money haha. Love the fact that they close little later than other shops in abbot Kinney! read more

Four stars for a cool assortment of mostly dresses, arranged by color in an airy space on Abbot Kinney. Some great labels: Geren Ford, Love & Liberty, Mara Hoffman - plus a bunch of vintage that didn't look nice enough to check out closely. GREAT selection of Frye-type vintage boots (to go with the dresses, I guess, IF you must). Botkier bags and some other accessories. So why three stars? Icy, snotty, downright scary salespeople who fix you with a baleful glare and don't even say hi. Brrr. Make it two. read more

What saves this place from being another pho-yoga/vegan Venice goer's over-priced paradiso is that it has a side store called Vamp. Vamp is connected to Principessa by a short narrow hallway. Vamp's side has not much over $100 and their stuff looks great. There is a place, Closet, on Main st. had the same cotton dresses going for twice as much and weren't even lined, so I was glad I saved myself $60 on another cotton frock (addict!) Cute little dressing room on the Vamp side so I just nabbed a few dresses (ranging from $45-$75 and I swear they looked just as nice as some of the $400 dresses seen on the other side) and ended up buying all three pieces I tried on. The lady who rang me up on the Principessa side of the store was very nice and if there was any chance to cop 'tude you'd think it would be when a twentysomething like myself wants to buy three dresses that combined even don't equal the sale of one dress on the Principessa side but clearly she wasn't unfamiliar with this scenario. Must say, the jewelry on the Principessa side is really stunning and def an easy $200 for anything. The clothes at Principessa are great but if you dont have the desire or steady cash flow to justify a $500 bag or button down shirt, then step over to Vamp for a pretty decent deal. read more

This place has those items you need in life you don't realize you need in life.. I found a dress and duster from here and priced really reasonably. They do have items with a price tag of a couple hundred dollars too, but they have dresses in the $40ish dollar range as well.. It was hard passing up some of the designer stuff that were marked almost 50% off. They even have a good spread of House of Harlow jewelry which I love and can never find in stores and seemed to be priced a little lower than normal.. BONUS!! I know what people mean when they say customer service can be iffy, I sort of felt that way when I initially walked in, but after a few minutes I got over it and they were overall nice to me, even when I asked to try on a bunch of pieces of jewelry. Really cute store and any time I'm ever on Abbot Kinney, I'll definitely come back! read more

Really cool shop with nice variety of clothing styles, but was very disappointed to see real fur for sale. Fox fur specifically. Always sad and disappointing to see the cruel fur industry being supported. Can't bring myself to purchase anything from a store that's money supports that industry, so no purchases for me here. Go fur free guys, it's 2018! read more

Walked out of there this morning with a Rebecca Minkoff Hunter satchel that was $620, and only paid $155 for it! Steal of the YEAR. Love their sale section! read more

Long leopard transparent dress + vintage fur shawl = under $250 = TRUE LOVE. That was the equation of my first visit. If the shoe fits, but it in every color. And that's what I plan to do with the clothing at Principessa. xx MB read more

Principessa and Skylark are my go-to AK stores. Principessa is awesome for a number of reasons. My list: - Awesome hammered silver/gold jewelry by a local girl. Can't remember her name, but the tiny rings, bracelets and earrings are the best. - Great summer scarves. Expensive but so pretty. - Prices vary greatly. This makes for a fun game of "guess the price" while you are shopping. - It's connected to Vamp, if you need to buy something cute on the cheap. - It always has so much cute stuff. I've never left empty handed. - Great jeans selection. I could go on and on. read more

Great selection of summer dresses with great cuts, natural fibers and uncommon style.

Do you LOVE a range of clothing at a range of prices? If so, then this is the place for you. I was first drawn into Principessa by the racks of dresses located in the second room. I found a bargain bin, and was curiously digging through it and found a few things to try on. There is something for everyone here. Lots of cute clothes ladies, so be sure to stop on in. Also, the staff was very friendly. read more

Mmmmm, thank you! I quickly found a perfect bra while waiting to be seated at a nearby restaurant. Beyond that success, it was entertaining to look at the selection. Interesting clothes among essentials. Bravo to the buyers! read more

I follow Them on Instagram and was excited to see the store in person because of their fun photos and feeds. Immediately I was ignored by a young brunette girl. I was trying to go through the clothing rack to shop and she was standing in the way and wouldn't even move. I got the feeling I wasn't "cool enough" or a target customer-- 20 year old tall skinny millennial. I was very interested in a striped jumpsuit and wanted to try on. But decided to leave because of the poor customer service. I'm now very turned off by this store. The merchandise was actually very cheap quality-typical overpriced clothing from China. Mostly Everything in that store looks like it's from FOREVER 21. Not Impressed!!! And they lost me as a customer. read more

Cute store for what it is and ok prices. Got a top and dress from here that I am excited to wear! Sales girls were kind and friendly. Would shop here again! read more

Sometimes I have to avoid walking past this store because the urge to walk in and buy stuff is too hard to fight! On one visit I fell in love with a $42 dress... and $220 scarf. Wide range of prices, so be sure to check tags, but I like that there is the variety. Everything is super cute and the sales people have always been friendly... I need to stop in and try stuff on without my dog next time, they have curtains for the doors of the dressing room and he kept parting mine while I was in it! I also like that they have a variety of styles, from casual skirts, to cutesy dresses, business appropriate wear and party, or clubbing attire as well. I would definitely recommend stopping in and browsing. read more

I found the salesperson very friendly. I came into this place because of the beautiful beaded hand bags I saw in the window. I will have to see if I can get my husband to buy me one of these gorgeous bags. The clothes, while very nice, weren't my style; it was the accessories including the feather earrings that caught my eye. read more

Great shop & the girls who work there are very helpful. The price points are great , there is something for every budget. Great local store.

Beyond HORRIBLE customer service. Tried to return an unworn, unused item and they refused to take of back. Reasoning was that because they started a sale and have go be cautious of returns. NEVER shopping here again. The sales staff was also disrespectful. read more

I loved this shop! The girls at the cash register were so friendly and fun to chat with while I shopped. They were informative about local designers and particular items that they carry. I found this amazing light colored camo three quarter sleeved duster with embroidered tropical birds on the back. Since I've been back in NYC, I've had people stop me on the street to ask me where I got it. I'm very happy with my purchase and hope to return to the shop to see more of their unusually stylish items. I still have my eye on their "principessa" necklace as I'm an italianista :-) read more

One more visit on the weekend only solidified my thought. I'll shop where the air is less "cold" . Too bad, I really like their merchandise, but there are too many other stores who actually appreciate their customers. read more

I hate to "showroom" but unfortunately that is exactly what I did, due to the lack of service at this store. They can't even murmur a hello. While browsing I found a cute L Space monokini, so I purchased it through Amazon for $10 less instead of supporting my local business. It's not the discount that I was after but I just don't patronize shops that don't care about service. Why bother! read more

I love this boutique!!! My favorite on the westside! Holds all the it brands and every piece is unique, hand-chosen and beautiful! I love the mix of products here as well shoes, bathing suits, jackets, workout clothes & anything else you can think of! Everything is amazing. Stop in don't miss it :) read more

If Burning Man, Bonnaroo and Las Vegas did the dirty, their baby would be dressed in Principessa. Some pieces are flashy, sequiny, feathery, and leathery, while others are flowy and floral print. One of the mannequins in the window right now is wearing this really sweet white vest printed with silhouettes of zebras and giraffes; only $60, which is pretty low for an Abbot Kinney boutique. This store is on point if you want to live a colorful life, but not the place you would go to scope out interview wear. read more