No appointment needed to shop for prom dresses.
That single line sits on the prom page of Mariella Creations, and it is the first thing a prom shopper should know about this Silas Deane Highway salon. The salon’s posted hours note that appointments are required to shop for gowns in all departments, then carve out prom as the exception, so a student from Rocky Hill High School can come in after school with a parent and start pulling gowns the same afternoon.
The family story goes back more than fifty years, according to the salon’s 50th anniversary page. Antonietta and Antonio Garofalo began with a small dress shop and custom dressmaking, then built a following by selling women’s suits and dresses that were carefully altered, at a time when few shops fitted a suit for a woman the way tailors did for men. Clients started asking Antonietta to make their daughters’ wedding gowns, and that side of the business grew quickly.
1972
The Garofalos open the business and name it after their daughter, Mariella
1982
A renovation adds a second floor, and Mariella joins full-time as manager and buyer after finishing college
1992
Another facelift
The prom department on Route 99
The salon’s about page lists prom dresses alongside cocktail and special occasion dresses, ball dresses and bar and bat mitzvah attire. The prom menu on the website names these lines:
- Andrea & Leo
- Shown in the prom menu under its A&L Couture page.
- Colette by Daphne
- Listed under prom on the salon’s site.
- Colors Dress
- A prom line shown in the same menu.
- Ellie Wilde and Portia and Scarlett
- Two more names on the current prom list.
- Faviana and Jovani
- Both carried for prom. Jovani’s prom page on the site filters sizes from 00 to 24, and the label also appears in the mothers’ collection.
- Nicki B
- Rounds out the prom menu.
Inventory moves fast. The prom collection page notes that some gowns are sold off the rack, that availability can change often, and that only select gowns are available to try on, so phoning the salon before a visit to ask about a specific style saves a wasted trip down Route 99. That is especially true once the spring rush begins at Wethersfield High, Newington High and Glastonbury High, all within a few towns of the salon.
Fit is where the Garofalo family made its name, and the about page still says the salon has an expert staff of experienced professional seamstresses.
Prom shoppers should plan for a separate fitting there when they pick a purchase date. All sales are final here, according to the returns page, which is one more reason to settle on the size and color before leaving the fitting room.
Where it sits in the Hartford suburbs
Silas Deane Highway is Route 99, the commercial spine that runs from Cromwell through Rocky Hill and Wethersfield toward Hartford. Mariella Creations is on the Rocky Hill stretch, in the same small town as Rocky Hill High School on Chapin Avenue, and the salon is a familiar errand for families from Cromwell High, Berlin High and the West Hartford schools, Conard and Hall, as well as Rocky Hill’s own students. The anniversary page recalls customers arriving from all over the state, and from as far as Boston and New York, for the personal attention the Garofalos gave to fit. For prom, it serves as the neighborhood option for this part of central Connecticut, with the depth of a store that has dressed several generations of the same families.
Brides and mothers are still the core of the business, and that shows in the testimonials page. Prom shoppers benefit from the same stylists and the same fitting standards without needing to book a slot. The same floor also covers the rest of a high schooler’s formal calendar, from bar and bat mitzvah attire to cocktail dresses for a winter semi-formal.
Mariella Creations prom questions
Can I try on prom dresses without booking?
Yes. The contact page says no appointment is needed to try on and pick up a prom dress. Appointments are only required for bridal gowns, veils and accessories, plus some other merchandise.
Who handles hemming for a prom gown bought here?
Margie & Irena’s, the salon’s own alterations department a few buildings down Silas Deane Highway. It works only on gowns purchased at Mariella Creations, and pricing is given when you arrange the work.
Is there anything for the person taking me to prom?
The salon’s about page includes renting a tuxedo among its services, so ask about it when you come in for the gown.