The shop exists because of a problem Brittany Low kept hearing about. She was doing alterations out of her house in Northwood, in the top tier of Iowa counties, when she noticed local girls buying and selling prom dresses through social media — meeting up in gas station lots, trying gowns on in bathrooms. In early 2017 she opened Fringe and Lace by Brittany as an alterations and consignment shop for prom dresses and tuxedos. In February 2018 it moved into its current storefront in the 800 block of Central Avenue downtown, and bridal and bridesmaid gowns came with the move.
That origin still shapes how the store runs. Dresses sold here are recorded against the buyer’s school so the same gown isn’t sold twice into the same prom, and Low avoids selling the same style in a second color to the same crowd. In a county of about 7,400 people, where a graduating class can fit in a few rows of bleachers, that record is doing real work.
What it stocks now
The consignment racks are gone. Prom gowns are new and available to order, and the store is listed on the retailer locators for Alyce Paris, Amarra, Dave & Johnny and Jovani. Tuxedo and suit rentals run through Jim’s Formal Wear, which lists the Northwood store as an affiliated dealer. Alterations are done in house — the part of the business that came first — and the shop also handles bridal, mothers’ dresses, bridesmaids, flower girl dresses, homecoming and accessories.
The calendar
Low told the Albert Lea Tribune in 2024 that dress buying peaks from January into early March, and that the store, normally closed Sundays, opens seven days a week during prom season. Six people were working there at that point, counting her. Her advice in an earlier Tribune interview was blunter about timing: March is still fine to be shopping, but have the dress about a month before the dance. North Iowa proms land in April and early May — Northwood-Kensett posted its 2025 grand march information at the start of April — so a January or February appointment leaves room for hemming and a second fitting without a rush.
Who drives here
Central Avenue is the old Highway 105 route through town, and the trade area runs across the state line. Albert Lea, Minnesota is 17 miles north; Low grew up there, and the Tribune describes the shop preparing dresses for proms on both sides of the border. Lake Mills is 11 miles west, St. Ansgar sits at the east end of 105, and Mason City is roughly 25 miles south. I-35 exit 214, the last one in Iowa, is seven miles west of downtown, next to the Top of Iowa Welcome Center and the Diamond Jo — which makes this a straightforward stop for anyone already driving that stretch between Des Moines and the Twin Cities.
The building is part of the Central Avenue commercial district, listed on the National Register in 2006. Hours shift with the season and listings for the store disagree on the details, so call (641) 323-7400 before driving in; appointments are the norm, especially for anything that needs alterations.