Kris Mars opened Chrysalis on New Year’s Day 2011 — 1-1-11 — then a new storefront on Central Avenue, and the Sioux City Journal found high schoolers already trying on prom dresses in the back while she talked about wedding gowns. That mix has not changed. The shop is now at 106 1st Street SE, a block off Central, in the walkable downtown of Dutch-fronted storefronts near Windmill Park.
Orange City is unusual for a town of its size in northwest Iowa: it has two high schools. MOC-Floyd Valley, the only high school in its district, draws from Orange City, Alton, Hospers and the surrounding countryside, wears purple and white, and competes as the Dutchmen and Lady Dutch. Unity Christian is a few minutes away in the same town. Chrysalis is the dress shop for both, which is the practical reason to ask about the register: two schools in one town means two prom dates and a lot of overlap in who will be photographed next to whom.
What’s on the racks
Three prom labels are confirmed through the designers’ own retailer locators:
- Jovani — the shop has carried it since the first prom season in 2011.
- Dave & Johnny — also there from the start; the lower-priced end of the floor.
- Amarra — heavier beadwork, higher price point.
Prices now are worth a phone call rather than a guess. For reference on how this store has always been positioned: in 2011 the prom racks started at $170 and the wedding gowns at $450.
It is still a bridal salon as much as a prom shop, so a Saturday in February can mean a bride in one room and three juniors in another. Call ahead if you want unhurried attention, and ask whether an appointment is needed for prom — policies at small salons change season to season.
Getting there and when it’s open
The store’s own posted hours run 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. No Wednesday, no Sunday. That short Saturday window is the thing to plan around if you are coming from Sheldon, Rock Valley or Le Mars — four hours of Saturday is not much, and it is the same four hours everyone else in the county is using.
Downtown parking is street parking. In mid-May, when the tulip festival fills Orange City with visitors, expect the blocks around Central to be busy, but by then most prom shopping is over.
The one-morning comparison
The nearest other prom shop is Reflections Prom & Bridal in Sioux Center, the next town over. Two stores in one morning is realistic here, which is not true of most towns this size. If neither has the dress, the next stops are considerably farther: Dream Dress Express on Floyd Boulevard in Sioux City, or a full day north to Sioux Falls. Starting local is the cheaper experiment.