Sara Loree’s Bridal & Formal keeps more than 500 prom dresses on the floor at 524 North Broadway, in a city of about 20,600 people inside a county of roughly 39,000. That number is the whole argument for the store. The shop has been on Broadway since 1999, when Sara Narges opened it, and its stated aim is bringing big-city fashion to southeast Kansas rather than sending shoppers over the state line to find it.
Prom shopping here does not need an appointment
Bridal requires one. Prom, semi-formal and tuxedo shopping does not, and walk-ins are welcome during business hours. For anyone driving in from out of town, the store recommends booking anyway: the free one-hour prom appointment guarantees a fitting room on arrival. Skipping an appointment without cancelling at least 24 hours ahead costs $25.
The posted shopping rules, worth knowing before you load the car:
- Two guests per shopper, maximum
- One hour per fitting room
- No outside food or drink
- Stylists handle zippers and lace-up backs
Sizes, prices, labels
In-store samples run size 4 to 40. Special orders can be placed anywhere from 0 to 40. The store’s own FAQ puts most prom dresses between $199 and $799, while its homepage advertises in-store gowns starting at $99, and it says discounts and sales run through the year. If a specific style is what you are after, the shop will check whether it is on the rack and can look at live designer inventory to order it.
Alyce Paris, Amarra and Dave & Johnny are confirmed through those brands’ own retailer locators. The store’s prom page also shows Faviana, Ava Presley, Sydney’s Closet and a house line it calls Prom x Sara Loree’s. Sydney’s Closet is a plus-size label, which tracks with samples going to a 40.
Who drives to Broadway
Pittsburg has two high schools of its own: Pittsburg High, the Purple Dragons, with just over 1,000 students out on East Fourth, and St. Mary’s-Colgan, the Catholic school at Ninth and Elm whose oldest rivalry is with Frontenac, four miles up the road. Past that, the trade area is the Cherokee-Neosho-Crawford League — Frontenac, Girard, Columbus, Galena, Baxter Springs, Riverton — plus Southeast in Cherokee and Northeast in Arma. Most of those towns are inside a half-hour of the store.
The nearest real alternative is across the line in Joplin, Missouri, about 31 miles southeast on Route 171 and a 40-minute drive, where there are other formalwear shops. After Joplin, the options get expensive in time: Wichita is 157 road miles west, close to three hours each way.
Tuxedos are ordered, not pulled off a rack
The store does not stock tuxedos on site. Measurements are taken in person, samples are there to try on, and the order ships in before the event. A rental covers a full week, the Tuesday before through the Tuesday after. Same-week shipping exists, but with fewer style options and additional charges, so a prom date who waits until the week of is paying for the delay.
Getting there
Hours are Tuesday through Friday, 10 to 6, and Saturday, 9 to 3. Closed Sunday and Monday. The Saturday close at 3 matters, because Saturday is when most of the county shops and it is the shortest day of the week. The store sits a couple of blocks north of Block22, the restored bank and commerce buildings at Fourth and Broadway that hold restaurants and a coffee shop, so the trip can carry lunch with it. Pittsburg State University is on the far south end of the same street.