The first name on the team list at Sheri's belongs to someone who knows what it is like to wear a gown under stage lights. Sheri Smeltzer Stell's pageant record runs from a state crown to a hall of fame.
1987
Miss Arkansas USA
Sheri Smeltzer Stell's state title
2021
Arkansas Senior Ms. State Fair Queen
Crowned
2021
Miss Arkansas America Hall of Fame
Inducted the same year
The Fort Smith shop on Rogers Avenue sells prom, pageant, quinceañera and formal gowns, and the website puts its motto at the very top: "Life Isn't Perfect But Your Dress Can Be....."
The staff is listed by name on the site, and the policies spell out guest limits, deposits and payment terms in more detail than a first-time shopper might expect.
Booking a private prom party
The most unusual thing Sheri's offers is a private prom shopping party. A shopper and up to five friends get the store, its staff and the full prom inventory to themselves for two hours. Photos are welcome, music is part of it, and the site sums up the mood in capital letters: "IT'S ALL ABOUT PROM!"
How a private prom party runs (a guide)
First
Choose the package: $100 without refreshments, or $150 with party snacks and drinks added.
Next
Bring the group, with staff on hand only for them.
Then
Try on as many dresses as two hours allow. Tux fittings and measurements for rentals through Sheri's can happen during the party too, so dates can come along.
Last
Buy, or don't. $100 of the fee goes toward the payor's full-price prom dress, and every guest who buys draws for a discount between 10 and 50 percent.
The party fees come with conditions: the $100 fee is non-refundable if no one buys, and the $50 refreshment charge is non-refundable either way.
Regular visits, sizing and payment
Outside of parties, walk-ins are accepted on weekdays. During the busiest stretch of prom season, appointments are held with a credit card, and the store asks shoppers to call if the online calendar shows no openings. For formal, pageant and quinceañera visits, Sheri's encourages a limit of three guests plus the shopper, because space and seating are limited.
The sizing advice on the site is worth reading before anyone gets attached to a number. Formal dresses do not fit like everyday clothes, and the store warns that a girl who wears a size 8 day to day will probably need one size larger in a gown, sometimes two. It also points out that labels fit differently from one another, using Jovani and Ashley Lauren designs as its examples next to Rachel Allan.
Sheri's layaway plan covers prom, pageant, quinceañera and formal gowns.
Down payment
30 percent of the final price, tax included, off the rack; 50 percent on special orders
Each month after
Monthly payments are due
Within six months
The balance is paid
Brides get their own appointment rules and a larger guest allowance, while prom gets the party package described above.
Rogers Avenue is one of Fort Smith's main commercial roads, so the shop fits into an ordinary errand run. For students at Southside High School and Northside High School, it is an in-town stop, and Alma High School families in Crawford County are a drive across the Arkansas River. The store serves the city and the wider western Arkansas border region, where pageant season and prom season overlap for many families.
One line on the site, in capital letters, answers the question many parents bring in with them.
SHERI'S STAFF DO NOT WORK ON COMMISSION. NO HARD PRESSURE SALES TACTICS ARE USED AT SHERI'S!
Sheri's in Fort Smith, briefly
Which gowns qualify for the layaway plan?
Prom, pageant, quinceañera and formal gowns all do, with 30 percent down off the rack, 50 percent on special orders, and the balance due within six months.
Are tux rentals handled at Sheri's?
Yes. Tux rentals go through the store, and fittings and measurements can even be done during a private prom party.