If you knew Gabrielle's from its Opelika years, update your map: the shop now works out of a plaza in Smiths Station, on the same county road that runs past Smiths Station High School. Phenix City and Columbus families are right next door. Seniors coming down from Auburn or Opelika should build the day around the appointment rather than squeezing the appointment into the day, because this is an appointment-only shop and spring weekends go first.
Booking is low-tech in the best way. You call, or send the online booking form, and an associate calls you back to set a date and time. That one-on-one setup suits prom shopping. You are not elbowing past three other parties at the same rack, and the conversation can stay on your dress the whole time.
What is on the prom racks
The store's designer page groups its prom, homecoming and quinceañera stock under ten labels, and that list is where the shop's personality shows:
- Alyce Paris
- A prom mainstay, and one of the few labels here that also crosses over to the bridal side.
- Tiffany Designs and Tiffany Designs Plus
- The standard and extended-size lines from the same house, carried side by side.
- Sydney's Closet
- A label built around plus sizes from the start.
- Blush Too, Colors Dress, Panoply, Studio 17 and Tease Prom
- Filling out the prom and homecoming mix.
- Fiesta Gowns
- The quinceañera line, for families planning a fifteenth birthday alongside a prom.
Plus-size depth sets this list apart. Two dedicated extended-size lines on a single prom list means a shopper who wears a larger size gets real choices, not a lone sample and a catalog. If finding a prom gown above the usual sample sizes is the whole problem, this is the appointment to make first. A bride writing in Gabrielle's testimonials made the same point from the wedding side, writing that the shop had lots of plus-size dresses in the store to try on.
Homecoming runs off the same list in the fall, so a sophomore who finds a fit she likes in September already knows where to look in March.
Tuxes for the date through Jim's Formal Wear
Gabrielle's runs bridal, pageant and tuxedo rental out of the same business, though spring here belongs to prom. In March, a senior can try on gowns while her date gets measured for a rental, and the household crosses both off the list in the same afternoon.
Tuxedo rental
Suits and tuxes through Jim's Formal Wear, listed on the store's own designer page
Pageant
Tip Top Kids for younger pageant girls
Bridal
Christina Wu and Casablanca
As the shop explains it, the boutique is award-winning and full-service, and it was voted Best Formal Wear in the Opelika-Auburn News Readers' Choice Awards in 2014. Cheryl Trainham owns the shop, with Gabby Gallatin as co-owner and store manager.
Smiths Station is a bedroom community for Columbus, pressed right up against Phenix City, and its prom season reflects that. Smiths Station High, with more than 1,200 students, is the home school. Central High School in Phenix City sits just to the south, and Opelika High, Auburn High and Beauregard are close enough that their seniors still make the trip. For anyone comparing shops across east Alabama, more shops are listed on this site.
The owners lean on word of mouth when they sum up the shop.
We've heard we are the best kept secret in Smith Station. There are no secrets here, just open, honest and caring professionals wanting to help you in any way possible!
Booking Gabrielle's in Smiths Station
Can I walk in?
No. The shop works by appointment only, and spring Saturdays fill first.
Which extended-size lines are on Gabrielle's prom list?
Tiffany Designs Plus and Sydney's Closet, listed right alongside the standard-size labels.
Is the tux rental handled in the same appointment?
Yes. Gabrielle's handles tuxedo and suit rental through Jim's Formal Wear, so both looks can be sorted out during the same appointment.