Claire's Fashions is easy to spot once you know what to look for. Its own directions describe a white house with grey awnings on Philadelphia Pike, with its parking lot entrance just after the turn from Silverside Road. Inside that older building, the shop has been dressing Wilmington since at least 1996, and its About page is warm about the prom side of the business.
Ladies shopping for prom or pageant dresses are sure to find exactly what they're looking for here, too.
The word "too" is there because the About page leads with bridal, and the shop still runs a large bridal floor. Prom is not a side rack, though. The store's prom collection names thirteen designers, and the site lets you filter to see only what is in the store.
The prom lineup
The designers listed on the prom collection are Sherri Hill, Jovani and its JVN line, La Femme, Faviana, Alyce Paris, Clarisse, Colette by Daphne, Ellie Wilde, Jasz Couture, Primavera Couture, Atria, and Andrea & Leo Couture. Between them, the list runs from the season's headline styles to beaded couture and simpler jersey gowns. The homecoming collection draws on most of the same houses for fall.
The site's "In Store" switch is the tool to use before booking. It narrows the catalog to styles physically hanging in the shop, which matters because the appointment is an hour long and you want that hour spent trying on, not asking what has come in. The store also ships online orders. Anything bought in the shop is a final sale, though, so settle on the gown before leaving the fitting room.
Appointments are required, and the rules are clear
Claire's books every shopper, prom included. The FAQ spells out the prom rules one by one:
- Length
- One hour for prom and pageant
- Guests
- One or two
- Deposit
- None, but a credit card is required to hold the slot
- Cancellation
- $50 fee for a no-show or less than 24 hours' notice
- Running late
- More than 30 minutes late means rebooking
- Shoes
- Optional; every area has a pedestal for height
You can book online or by phone. Shoppers dress themselves in the fitting rooms unless they ask for help, a detail the FAQ includes for anyone nervous about the process. The building is old enough that the main suite is upstairs with no elevator, but there are two fitting suites on the first floor. If anyone in your group has trouble with stairs, say so when you book and the store will schedule you downstairs.
Preparation is simple. The FAQ asks shoppers to wear nude or light-colored underwear, which is required for trying on gowns, and says a strapless bra is optional because most gowns have structure built in. Food and drinks stay outside, and alcohol is not allowed on the premises. Pageant shoppers book the same one-hour appointment as prom, which is useful for anyone doing both in the same season.
Shopping from farther away is possible, too. The store ships online orders within the continental United States for a flat $35 by standard UPS ground. Web orders come with their own return window: you have three days from delivery to request a return authorization, and returns carry a restocking fee. Special orders cannot be returned, so an online purchase works best for a style you have already tried on in the shop.
Alterations happen elsewhere. The FAQ explains that the shop does not have room for an in-house seamstress, and it keeps a list of recommended seamstresses across the tri-state area instead. For prom, that means buying early enough to leave time for a fitting or two with one of them.
Where the shoppers come from
Philadelphia Pike runs through Brandywine Hundred toward Claymont and the Pennsylvania line, and the shop sits close to where Silverside Road meets it. Mount Pleasant, Brandywine and Concord, the Brandywine School District's high schools, are the nearby public schools, and students from Wilmington's private and parochial schools are a few miles away. The store's About page talks about serving women across Delaware and the surrounding tri-state area, and its directions cover arrivals from Interstate 95 at Harvey Road and from the Interstate 495 exit for the Pike. For a family crossing in from Pennsylvania or New Jersey, the drive ends at a store in northern Delaware with a lot out front and no sales tax at the register.
The bridal floor is upstairs, the prom racks are on the catalog's In Store filter, and nobody shops here without a booking.
Claire's Fashions, Wilmington: questions
Is there a fee for a prom appointment at Claire's?
There is no charge up front. The store asks for a card number and charges $50 only for a no-show or a cancellation with less than 24 hours' notice.
Can Claire's hem my prom dress?
The shop has no in-house seamstress, but it keeps a list of recommended seamstresses across the tri-state area.