Three prom labels that most central Kentucky families expect to find in a Lexington mall are stocked instead in a storefront on West Main Street in the state capital. Bourbon Belles & Babes appears on the official retailer locators for Alyce Paris, Clarisse and Jovani, which is unusual for a shop this size in a city of roughly 28,000.
That matters mostly in terms of driving. Frankfort sits 29 miles from Lexington by car on I-64, about a half hour without traffic, and 54 miles from Louisville. If you want a Jovani gown on your body instead of on a screen, the alternative to Main Street is that drive, twice, plus whatever the alterations trip costs you.
The store describes itself as local and veteran owned, selling affordable formal, homecoming and prom alongside regular clothing. Downtown Frankfort Inc. lists it among the shops in the downtown core, and the Frankfort tourism commission carries a listing for it as well.
The schools in range
Frankfort is a small city with two school districts and three public high schools inside it, which concentrates a lot of formal-season demand in a short radius:
- Franklin County High School (Flyers), 1100 East Main Street, about 970 students
- Western Hills High School (Wolverines) on Doctors Drive, about 855 students — Franklin County is listed as its rival, and the two split the county district
- Frankfort High School (Panthers), the Frankfort Independent district’s high school, sited near downtown with the rest of that district’s schools
Past the county line, the two nearest comparable schools are Woodford County High School in Versailles, with roughly 1,220 students, and Anderson County High School in Lawrenceburg, home of the Bearcats, with about 1,160. Both are county-seat towns a short drive from Frankfort, and both are closer to downtown Frankfort than to any mall. Kentucky State University is also in Frankfort, on the east side of the same Main Street.
What the year looks like
Homecoming in the fall, prom in the spring, and pageant work in between — Downtown Frankfort Inc. headlined its own post about the shop with all three. Because the store also sells everyday clothing, it functions as a walk-in option for the last-minute dress, not only the six-weeks-out appointment. One customer review describes arriving an hour before closing the night before a homecoming and having the owner pull “at least 12 to 15 dresses at $100 or under,” then staying past close while a niece tried them on. That is one review, not a policy, but it is the kind of detail that tells you what size of operation this is.
Going there
Plan around the early week: the shop is closed Mondays and Tuesdays. Listings agree on Wednesday through Friday evenings until 8, Saturday until 6, and Sunday afternoons from noon to 5 — the Sunday hours are worth knowing, since most independent formalwear shops are dark then. The two listings disagree on whether the weekday opening is 10 a.m. or noon, so call first if you need the morning.
One more reason to call: the address on file here is 234 W. Main St., while the tourism listing and the shop’s own Facebook page have at different times shown 331 St. Clair, a block away in the same downtown grid. Confirm which door before you drive in from Versailles or Owenton. Parking downtown is on-street and metered in places, and the Old Capitol block, Rebecca Ruth’s candy shop and the downtown bookstores are all within a few minutes’ walk if the fitting takes a while.