Clarisse Designs is a family-founded, family-run formalwear company in Philadelphia, built across two generations. Dan Adrian is its founder and president. It is a wholesale label. In its own words, it partners "with independent retailers throughout the country and around the world." Prom is the heart of the line, with pageant, homecoming, evening and bridal styles around it.
Its store locator lists about 430 locations, mostly in the US. In our listings New York has the most Clarisse shops, followed by Illinois, then Pennsylvania, Georgia and Florida.
Three things set it apart on a prom rack: a size run that reaches 30, fitted lace-corset looks in strong colors, and prices that mostly stay under $600.
Where the size run stops
Sizes 00 to 30, but not in every gown
The promise
Sizes 00 to 30
Clarisse says its sizing runs from 00 to 30. That is wider than most prom labels, at least on paper. Each dot here is one gown from a full spring prom line, 117 in the one we counted.
8 of 117
Eight stop at 12
The run thins fast. Eight styles in that line go no higher than a 12.
56 of 117
Fifty-six stop at 16
About half the line stops at 16. If you wear a size in that range, most of the rack is yours.
27 of 117
Twenty-seven stop at 24
Another big group stops at 24. Larger sizes sit inside the main collection, style by style, with no separate plus label.
7 of 117
Seven go past 24, four reach 30
Only 7 styles go past 24, and just 4 reach 30. If you wear 26 to 30, get the style numbers that go that high before you book an appointment, and ask the shop which of them it can order.
Finding your Clarisse size
Check each style
Clarisse says its sizing runs from 00 to 30. Formal sizes rarely match street sizes, so try the gown on and let the shop tell you which one to order.
The small end goes further than the brand's own 00 suggests. Eleven of the styles we counted start at 000.
There is no separate plus label. Larger sizes sit inside the main collection, style by style. One authorized retailer tells in-between shoppers to pick the larger size: extra fabric can be taken in, but missing fabric can't be added back.
Lace corsets, slits and convertible skirts
The look is fitted and a little bold: beaded or metallic lace corset bodices, high slits, lace-up backs, and sequins or glitter fabrics in strong colors. Fabrics run to stretch jersey and charmeuse, often with crystal or stone accents.
Two lengths, one dress.
One idea the brand keeps coming back to is the 2-in-1 dress. A detachable skirt turns a long gown into a short one.
Mid-market, and easy to plan
A spring prom collection runs to about 120 styles, and the prices are mid-market. Across 118 of them at one authorized retailer, most full-price gowns fell between about $345 and $600, with a median near $460.
Styles 800259 and 810180 set the floor at $298. Style 62229, a geometric beaded gown, set the top at $804. Nothing in that line came near four figures, so a Clarisse budget is easy to plan.
Where a real Clarisse comes from
Buy from a shop on the Clarisse store locator. If your shop doesn't have the style you want, Clarisse suggests asking it to place a special order, and the company can ship the dress straight to you.
The locator is also your check on a seller: look up any shop on it before you pay. Buying secondhand, ask for the style number and check which sizes that style was made in. A listing in a size the style never came in is worth a question.
When Clarisse posts its spring line
The brand doesn't name a release month. Its own product dates show a habit, though. New spring prom lines have usually gone up in October, a few months ahead of the dances they are made for.
The timing can slip, and styles carried over from earlier seasons sometimes get the new season tag before the fresh designs arrive. If you want a brand-new style, ask your shop which of the new designs it carries.
The paper trail behind the name
Trademark records give the clearest timeline. The CLARISSE formalwear mark claims first use in September 2003. Promgirl, Inc. filed it in 2005 and it was registered in 2007. Promgirl, Inc. also filed a bridal CLARISSE mark in 2009. Clarisse, Inc., a Pennsylvania corporation, owns both today.
Pageants are the one stage the company points to. In October 2023 the Miss Universe Organization named Clarisse the official pageant wear sponsor for the 72nd Miss Universe. The label was named to dress all 90-plus contestants for the opening numbers of the preliminary and final shows in El Salvador that November, and those dresses became its Miss Universe Collection. We found nothing showing the sponsorship continued after 2023, and the brand names no celebrity clients.
Besides Verra Valle, the company runs the White Collection and "Yours, by Clarisse" private lines. Prom stays the main event, with bridal kept under its own name:
Prom
Clarisse
Prom gowns at the core of the line, with pageant, evening, cocktail and homecoming styles around them, and mother-of-the-bride looks as well.
Bridal
Verra Valle
A separate label run by the same family, with hand-embroidered lace, beading and appliques.