Two things about this shop matter more than anything else on its racks. First, it does not take walk-ins — the store lists its hours as appointment only, and the phone number for booking is (334) 363-0824. Second, there is a real address question. Every listing that carries the store — its Facebook page, Yelp, WeddingWire, and the Jim’s Formal Wear dealer page — puts it at 1220 Fox Run Avenue, Suite 106, in Opelika. The store’s own website currently gives a different address: Smith Station Plaza, 2463 County Road 430, in Smiths Station, about half an hour southeast in the same county. Same phone number on both. Ask which door to walk through when you call, especially if you are coming from outside Lee County.
Once that is settled, the range under one roof is unusual for a prom store. Bridal, prom, pageant, and tuxedo rental all run out of the same business, so a family can put a senior in a gown and a date in a rented tux in one appointment instead of two errands.
What the shop stocks
Two brands are confirmed through the designers’ own retailer locators: Alyce Paris and Tiffany Designs. The store’s own designer page lists a wider prom, homecoming, and quinceañera group on top of those — Colors Dress, Panoply, Blush Too, Studio 17, Tease Prom, Fiesta Gowns, and two lines built specifically for extended sizing, Tiffany Designs Plus and Sydney’s Closet.
That last part is worth flagging. Plenty of formal shops carry one or two plus-size samples in a size 16 and ask you to imagine the rest. A store that stocks named plus-size labels is a different proposition, and if that is your search, it is a reason to make the call rather than drive to a mall department store. Tuxedo rentals run through Jim’s Formal Wear, which lists the shop as a dealer. Reviewers writing about their weddings on WeddingWire credit the store with in-house alterations work, though the shop does not publish an alterations price list.
Where it sits
Fox Run Avenue is right off the Interstate 85 and U.S. 280 interchange at exit 62 — the same interchange as Tiger Town, which the City of Opelika describes as east Alabama’s largest retail center at 130 acres and close to a million square feet of retail. Practically, that means a dress appointment on Fox Run can be stacked onto a Tiger Town trip that was already happening, and that families driving in from Notasulga, Beulah, or Valley are getting off the interstate at a spot they already know.
The high schools in range are the Lee County set: Opelika High, Auburn High, Beauregard High out on Alabama Highway 51, Loachapoka, Beulah in Valley, and Smiths Station High — the last of which sits near the address the store’s own site now uses. Opelika City Schools and Lee County Schools each post their event calendars publicly, and those calendars, not any shop, are where a prom date gets confirmed. Auburn University’s presence also means sorority formals and university events keep a formalwear store busy in months when no high school is holding a dance.
Hours and a practical note
- Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday: 10:00 to 6:00, by appointment
- Saturday: the store’s site says 10:00 to 4:00; Yelp lists 10:00 to 6:00 — confirm when you book
- Closed Wednesday and Sunday
The store says it was voted Best Formal Wear in the Opelika-Auburn News Readers’ Choice Awards in 2014. Cheryl Trainham is listed as owner, with Gabby Gallatin as co-owner and store manager. A Saturday slot in an appointment-only shop during March and April is the hardest thing on this page to get; book it well before your dress does.