Simone’s Bridal Prom Pageant

Click Prom & Evening on Simone's website and the list of labels runs on for dozens of names, from Alyce Paris to Vienna, with separate pages for plus-size prom, two-piece formals, print dresses and quick-delivery gowns already in the store. The shop's priorities are clear before you ever see the door on NE 26th Street.

The business did not start here. Simone's has served the Hanover area since 1997 and, per its site, has dressed more than a million customers across Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia and DC. In January 2020 it opened its second location in the Fort Lauderdale area, in Wilton Manors, and brought that buying experience south. The name covers the rest: bridal, prom and pageant in one Wilton Manors shop, with prom season driving the spring.

The prom and evening lineup

The store's own collection pages sort out like this, with the lines most prom shoppers ask about first.

Long prom gowns

Jovani, Sherri Hill, Terani Couture, La Femme, Mac Duggal, Ellie Wilde, Jessica Angel, Rachel Allan, Primavera Couture, Amarra

Trend-led and value picks

Jasz Couture, Clarisse, Blush Prom, Dave & Johnny, Mori Lee Prom, LaDivine, Studio 17, May Queen

Plus-size prom

Faviana Plus Size, Dave and Johnny Plus, La Femme Curves

Homecoming and short

Jovani, Sherri Hill, Terani, Alyce Paris, Clarisse, Jasz Couture, Blush, Rachel Allan

Pageant and presentation

Jovani Signature Pageant, Panoply, Tiffany Designs

Two details matter more than the length of the list. First, the store runs a quick-delivery section of prom and evening gowns already in stock, which is the place to look if prom is close and a special order would be too slow. Second, the site has a whole page for suits.

For a student who would rather wear a suit than a gown, that is a real option, not an afterthought, and with rentals on hand a couple can shop together.

The finishing pieces are here too: jewelry, shoes, handbags and dyeable heels. Undergarments and accessories round it out.

Alterations and custom work on NE 26th Street

Simone's keeps an in-house seamstress, and its alterations page is unusually detailed. It covers prom, pageant and formalwear as well as bridal, and the store will alter gowns bought anywhere, not just its own. The page walks through the process.

1. Consultation

   The fitter inspects the dress and explains every cost up front

2. Pinning fitting

   In your shoes

3. Second fitting

   After the major work

4. Final steam

The page also gives the timing straight. There is a planning timeline to work backward from your event date, the store asks you to call sooner during peak prom season from March to May, and rush jobs carry a 25 percent fee.

The photo gallery on that page includes two Jovani prom gowns reworked for clients, one with a redesigned front and reinforced cutouts, the other with a lowered back and new straps. That is the kind of work that turns a stock gown into your gown.

If nothing on the rack is quite right, the store also does custom designs. The pitch is simple: pick the features you love from several dresses, and Simone's will combine them into one.

Getting there and timing it

We will bend-over backward to gain your business! Visit our location and see for your self.

That invitation is Simone's online sign-off, and the details below help you take it up.

• Bridal appointments are encouraged, but prom shoppers can walk into Simone's without one.
• Hours stretch during prom season, with Sunday and Monday openings added. Confirm Sunday hours by phone.
• Fort Lauderdale High is the closest big public high school, just to the south. Northeast High in Oakland Park and Stranahan High are close as well, and Cardinal Gibbons families are nearby in east Fort Lauderdale.
• Broward proms cluster in spring. With alterations booking up from March, a February visit gives you the most room.

For shoppers coming from across South Florida, Wilton Manors is central. It sits between I-95 and the beach, minutes from downtown Fort Lauderdale. Simone's carries bridal, mothers, bridesmaid and quinceañera lines too, but for students, the prom wall and the fitting room are the draw.

Simone's questions

Can Simone's alter a prom dress I bought somewhere else?

Yes. Per the store's alterations page, Simone's alters prom, pageant and formal gowns purchased there or anywhere else, with a consultation and cost estimate before any work begins.

Does Simone's have suits for prom?

Yes. The site has a suits page that includes a female tuxedo for prom and suits for both genders, and the store lists tuxedo rentals.

Does Simone's have prom gowns ready to take home?

Yes. A quick-delivery section covers prom and evening gowns already in the store, for when a special order would be too slow.