Normally, the hunt for prom dresses would start in about a month. But this year the hunt started extra early due to a kind of domino effect when a few girls got dresses and everyone jumped on the opportunity to get their dresses early. However, if you haven’t gotten your dress yet don’t fret! The Knight Crier has provided you with a guide of which prom dress shops are hits and misses, as well as information about the senior prom dress face book page!
My hunt was a four-day venture all around the area and considering every dress shop that came along. Our first stop was the popular local dress shop Country Bride and Gent in Lansdale. Although the store is rather small, they provided a wide range of dress styles, colors and sizes. They also had excellent service because there was always someone helping you and picking out new dresses. The only thing to note is the size of store made me feel squished and somewhat uncomfortable. I would definitely recommend Country Bride because of its wide range of dresses and they also sign off the dress so no one else can buy it from them. But, my friend and I are extremely picky when it comes to prom dresses so we decided to leave and check out other stores (my friend eventually found her ideal prom dress at Country Bride later that weekend!).
The second place on our road trip was Page 6 in Skippack. Page 6 has a nice, cozy home feeling and you’re immediately greeted by pleasant employees that lead the way to the prom section of the shop. Page 6 was extremely neat and clean and even while in a small home, it was still comfortable. Page 6 didn’t really have a big arrangement of dresses, but what dresses they did have were absolutely stunning. They also had adorable dressing rooms and people helping you with every little thing. Page 6 is most definitely a great opportunity to get prom dresses because they will probably get more prom dresses as we get deeper into prom season. Unfortunately, my friend and I didn’t find the particular style we were looking for so it was onto the next stores!
My friend and I waited a few days before traveling to the local utopia of prom dresses, Golden Asp in Bensalem. Golden Asp is deemed one of the most popular dress shops in the area. But, the reviews are usually mixed for this dress shop. This had been my first time there so I kept an open mind. The first thing I noticed about the place was that there was many girls working there that were my age. I also noticed how big the shop was: the spaciousness of the shop made the process of looking easier. But, the young girls who were helping us were distracted and sometimes frazzled with the hectic process of helping everyone. Golden Asp, despite the craziness of the young workers, had a vast selection of different dresses and sizes. I actually give Golden Asp credit for providing me with my realization of what kind of dress I wanted for senior prom. Even though Golden Asp had a couple of possible contenders, I still felt that my prom dress was somewhere else. Even with all the craziness, I would recommend Golden Asp because of their huge selection!
After leaving Golden Asp, we looked up a few more places to go that were in the area, regrettably leading us to find the dress shops that had close to no selections. We tried Applause in New Hope and Baranette’s Bridal in Willow Grove and both had close to no selection. We were disappointed because we had called ahead and we told by employees of the shops that they had a big arrangement of dresses, but we pushed onward and decided to check out the King of Prussia Mall. The mall includes a few formal dress shops as well as a formal dresses section in their department stores. We checked out formal stores Formals XO, Cache, and Jessica McClintock. Out of the three, I would recommend Formals XO because, despite the chaos of the store, they had a better selection than the other two stores. I would also suggest looking through KOP’s department stores like Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Lord & Taylor and even Macy’s because you never know what you could find there. However, with a department store, the risk is greater that you will you wind up with the same dress as someone else.
After slumping around KOP for a couple hours, we decided to make one final stop at a boutique nearby in Paoli called Van Cleve Collection but unfortunately they didn’t have their “normal” compilation of prom dresses because it was so early in the season.
After recuperating from the bad luck I had the first time I went out looking for prom dresses, I went out again with my mom, this time with a more positive attitude. We first tried All Things Bridal in Quakertown, located in an adorable shop in the borough of Q-town. The shop had both great selections of bridal and prom but I was unfortunately looking for a very specific dress. But All Things Bridal had thoughtful employees, a good selection, and one-on-one service that every prom shopper needs! Our next top was a consignment shop, Elegant Affaire in Chalfont. Again located in a small, cute building, the shop provided many formal dresses but unfortunately not a lot of prom dresses.
My final trip consisted of checking out two places in Warrington: Talk of the Town and Darianna’s Bridal. Talk of the Town had an okay selection but not a big selection of particular sizes. After feeling like I had bad luck with prom dresses, we tried one more shop; Darianna’s, which was right down the street. The place was gorgeous, clean and roomy! The service there was excellent and you didn’t need an appointment! I was feeling hopeful once I walked in there but the real test of the shop was: did they have a dress I was looking for or at least a good selection? The answer was YES!!!!! They had about 5 dresses I had found online that I had seen NOWHERE ELSE! I finally, after 15 places had found my dress!!!!
Now if you haven’t found a dress yet or you’re still searching for a particular style, consider joining the Facebook group entitled “North Penn Senior Prom Dresses”, created by senior Katie Marino. The group invites every girl in the grade to post a picture of their dazzling prom dress. This page can either be used for entertainment or girls can decide to not get a dress if they see another girl has it. All senior girls are not obliged to post a picture but everyone is welcome!
I asked the creator of the page what pushed her to make the page and Katie said it was the thought about “how girls worry about having the same dress” and the curiosity of seeing other girl’s dresses. Katie also said “the class before us did it and it went well!” Katie found her dress at Golden Asp and it was love at first sight for her and the navy beauty. Katie also explained that the prom dress process for her “wasn’t stressful because it is so much fun”. She also recommended Golden Asp because of their big selection!
So whether you’re looking to buy, looking to find a style or just looking for next year, check out these stores and you’re destined to find the dress of your dreams! In addition, if you’re a senior, be sure to check out the Facebook page that anyone can join!