Britni Knable made her own prom dress. The News and Tribune opened its March 2018 story on her new shop with that detail, under the headline "New boutique satisfies need for unique prom dresses," and it still explains House of K Boutique better than any slogan. When she opened the store in downtown New Albany that spring, StyleBlueprint's Louisville edition described a shop specializing in prom and special-occasion dresses, and quoted Knable on how she stocked it: "I curated each dress, hand-picking them to look modern, but still stylish and sophisticated."
Prom shopping at House of K runs on walk-in terms, which the store spells out right under its bridal booking button.
* No appointment needed for prom, special occasion, flower girl, first communion, mother’s, headcandi or accessories shopping.
So a group of friends can come in on a weekend afternoon without a reservation. Bridal is the only part of the business that runs on booked appointments.
The woman behind House of K and Headcandi
Knable owns two businesses, and they overlap in a way that suits the Louisville metro. Headcandi is her hat company, and the shop's Our Story page describes its custom hats and fascinators as worn by celebrities and stylish women at the Kentucky Derby for years. Hand-picked Headcandi pieces are sold at House of K, and the shop's own description of her career puts it at almost 20 years of making women look and feel beautiful.
That background shows up in what she buys. The store says it travels the nation's fashion markets to find gowns to suit any age, size, occasion and personality, and Knable shops for more than gowns on those buying trips.
For a prom shopper, that means the earrings and the clutch can come from the same buyer's eye as the dress.
The racks are not all prom. The same space carries gowns for galas and other special occasions, flower girl and first communion dresses, mother's dresses, and a bridal and bridesmaid selection the store describes as non-traditional. In spring, though, prom takes the lead, and the shop's tagline, "Be your own kind of beautiful," fits a prom shopper who wants a gown that looks like her and nobody else.
The calendar helps explain the mix. Prom season in this part of the state lands in April and May, the same weeks Louisville spends getting ready for the first Saturday in May at Churchill Downs. A boutique that sells both prom gowns and Derby hats can serve a mother and a daughter shopping for two different events in the same spring, and the jewelry, handbags and accessories StyleBlueprint noted at the opening serve both.
Who comes through the door
The store sits in historic downtown New Albany, where the Floyd County seat's older commercial blocks run along Market and Main streets a few blocks up from the Ohio River. New Albany High School and Floyd Central in Floyds Knobs are the two big public schools in the county, and Providence High School in Clarksville, Jeffersonville High School and Silver Creek High School in Sellersburg are all close by in Clark County. The Sherman Minton Bridge carries I-64 straight into Louisville, and the shop's 502 phone number, which takes calls and texts, reads as local on both banks of the river.
For shoppers anywhere in southern Indiana's river counties, House of K is a downtown stop with a specific point of view, run by an owner who knows prom from both sides of the fitting room.
Before a visit to House of K
When did House of K open?
Britni Knable opened House of K in downtown New Albany in the spring of 2018, after a pop-up that March.
Can I buy a Headcandi hat or fascinator at House of K?
Yes. Hand-picked Headcandi pieces are sold in the boutique, and no appointment is needed to shop them.