From Prom Queens to Dancing Queens, every girl deserves to feel like they're royalty. We're here to help you get there!
That line opens the prom page at Perfect Dress of Rome, and it sets the tone for the whole place. Perfect Dress is a bridal and formal wear boutique on Shorter Avenue, on Rome's west side, and for decades it has been where Floyd County girls go when prom, homecoming or a pageant is on the calendar. The store has been in business since 1978, when it opened as The Wedding Belle, and it has collected Best of Rome honors every year from 2013 through 2022, then again in 2025 and 2026.
What prom shopping looks like here
The prom floor is built for variety. The store's own description runs through two-piece gowns, slender silhouettes, jersey knit and full ball gowns, then trendy prints, heavy sparkle and short, flirty styles. That range earns its keep in a town with several big high schools, where nobody wants to show up in the same look as three other girls.
On the designer side, the store names Ashley Lauren, Johnathan Kayne, Colors, Mori Lee Party, Portia & Scarlett and XOXO among its prom, pageant and homecoming lines, and says there are many more. Ashley Lauren and Johnathan Kayne are both big names in the pageant world, which is no accident given how much pageant work this shop does.
Prom and pageant shoppers do not need an appointment. The store's FAQ confirms it, which makes it easy to stop by after school or on a Saturday without planning a week ahead. Bridal is different, and brides schedule their visits, but the prom racks are open to walk-ins.
The guys are part of the plan too. The prom page says prom is "not just for the ladies," and the store can outfit a date from head to toe. Tuxedos and suits come through Jim's Formal Wear, which the shop calls one of the largest tuxedo rental companies in the country.
Head to toe for the date
Jim's Formal Wear tuxedos and suits
Range
More than 40 styles and thousands of color options
Couples
Can rent or buy
Out-of-town dates
Jim's has a network of more than 5,000 stores, so a date who lives out of town can get measured near home and call the numbers in
A pageant shop with a hometown pitch
Pageant is a serious line of business at Perfect Dress. Its pageant page says the store has dressed contestants from Miss Rome to Miss Georgia and everything in between, and makes a simple local argument: there is no reason to drive to the metro area for a competition gown. The racks cover the full range, from 12-month glitz pageants and little girl dresses to appearance gowns, qualifying pageant looks and homecoming court.
That overlap is good news for prom shoppers. A store that dresses girls for a stage under bright lights knows how a gown moves, how it photographs and how it fits when it has to look right from every angle. Those same instincts carry over to a prom grand march.
The owner and the shop's roots
Alison Smith owns Perfect Dress. The store was founded by her aunt-in-love, Reesa Milton, and Alison grew up dreaming of working there. In 2010 she got the chance not just to work in the shop but to buy it. She is a native Roman, and the store's site lists a long run of community work: Make-A-Wish, High School Leadership Rome, the Chamber of Commerce board, the local school governance team for Coosa High School, and Night to Shine prom, among others. For a prom shop, that kind of local tie counts. The people dressing your daughter know the schools, the dances and the families.
The store is just as known for wedding gowns, with bridal lines like Allure and Casablanca, but come spring, the prom racks take center stage.
Shoppers come from across Floyd County and beyond. Coosa High School sits west of town, Model High School is up in Shannon, and Rome High School is the largest in the city. Families also drive in from Chattooga High School in Summerville and Cartersville High School in Bartow County. For anyone in northwest Georgia who wants a full-service formal shop without the interstate drive to Atlanta, this is a familiar stop.
The store's policies, in brief.
Pageant appointments
Encouraged if you want personalized service.
Layaway
One-fourth of the total opens it, and the balance is charged to a card over the next three months.
Alterations
Handled by outside seamstresses from the store's recommended list.
What Rome families ask Perfect Dress about hems, layaway and tuxes
Who hems a prom dress bought at Perfect Dress?
The shop does not do alterations itself, but it keeps a list of recommended seamstresses to send you to.
Does Perfect Dress offer layaway on prom dresses?
Yes. Layaway is available with one-fourth down and the remainder charged monthly over three months. Deposits are non-refundable.
Can my date rent a tux at Perfect Dress?
Yes. The shop rents and sells tuxedos and suits through Jim's Formal Wear.