Jon M. Oliver owns Silver Spoon Formals. He spent more than a dozen years as state executive director and executive producer of Miss Kentucky's Outstanding Teen. He is a Miss America certified judge and has judged local and state pageants in several states. He grew up in London, taught music for Laurel County Schools, and taught on the music faculty at Union College. He has run the store, along with Dogwood Market next door, through Silver Spoon Partners II since 1997. For a family shopping for a pageant gown in southeastern Kentucky, that is rare. The person selling the dress has produced the show and scored the phase.
Where to find it
The shop is at 312 North Main Street, in Block 300 of downtown London. It moved here from East Fourth Street. It sits next door to Dogwood Market and directly across Main from First Christian Church, the pink brick building with the stained glass. There is free curbside parking plus three city lots: one beside the church and two behind the building.
What is on the floor
Four brands list Silver Spoon Formals on their own retailer pages: Alyce Paris, Amarra, Johnathan Kayne and Tiffany Designs. Kayne's studio is in Nashville, and his gowns turn up on Miss America and Miss USA stages.
The store's own designer page adds Portia and Scarlett, Rachel Allan, Jessica Angel, Sydney's Closet, Tease Prom and Johnathan Kayne for Sydney's Closet. It also carries its own label, J. Michael London, sold only here. Plus sizes are their own collections, not a rack at the back: Sydney's Closet, Rachel Allan Curves and Tease Prom. The store says it registers each gown it sells. That matters in a county where nearly every junior and senior is at one of two high schools.
Tuxedos and suits are a real second business here. The store rents and sells through Jim's Formal Wear and stocks suits from Michael Kors, Kenneth Cole and Ike Behar. It runs a tuxedo counter called The Tux Bar and does alterations in house. One trip can cover both halves of a couple.
Who shops here
London is the seat of Laurel County, a city of about 7,600 in a county of roughly 63,000. Both high schools are in town. North Laurel on East Hal Rogers Parkway has around 1,300 students. South Laurel on South Laurel Road has about 1,100. That is roughly 2,400 high schoolers in one county, three times the enrollment of Corbin High School down I-75. It is also more than Rockcastle County in Mount Vernon or Clay County in Manchester.
London sits on I-75 with two exits: 41 for KY 80 and 38 for KY 192. Hal Rogers Parkway ends here and brings traffic west from Manchester and Hazard. KY 80 runs in from Somerset. Lexington is about 75 miles north and Knoxville about 98 miles south, so a mall trip takes most of a day. Downtown London is the closest thing in the region to a full formalwear floor with tuxedo rental attached.
Before you go
- Hours on the store's site: noon to 6 Monday through Friday, 10 to 4 Saturday, closed Sunday. It also sets hours by appointment.
- Book through the store's online scheduler. If you want a specific dress, call ahead with the style number.
- The World Chicken Festival closes Main Street the last full weekend of September. Shop the week before or after if parking matters.