Jovani at a glance
- Founded
- 1983
- Founded by
- Jacob Maslavi
- Owned by
- The Maslavi family
- Based in
- New York, New York
- Design lead
- Julie DuRocher
- Size range
- 00 to 24
- Plus sizes
- No separate line; 14 to 24 in main line
- Typical prom price
- $500 to $1,000
Checked 2026
Scale is the Jovani story. The company says more than 2,000 retailers carry it worldwide, and in our own listings it turns up in more prom shops than any other label. If you shop prom at a boutique, you will probably see Jovani on the rack whether you went looking for it or not. That reach is the practical case for it: more shops means more chances to try a style on near home.
Jacob Maslavi started the business with Abraham and Saul Maslavi, and the family still runs it from New York's garment district, with Saul as president and CEO and Abraham as CFO. New York State records date the company to February 1983.
Four decades, four dates
1983
Starts as a 10-person shop with 15 designs
2008
First styles under JVN, its lower-priced label
2023
Marks 40 years with its first New York Fashion Week show
2024
Dresses every Miss America contestant for the pageant
The collections are designed in New York under Julie DuRocher, Jovani's design director, who has worked in eveningwear since 1984.
Finding your Jovani size
Jovani says its dresses generally run true to size. True to Jovani sizing, that is, not to your jeans. The brand's own example: a girl who wears a 4 in jeans can need an 8 in a fitted gown. That gap is the best reason to try one on in a shop and let the stylist tell you which size to order. Between two sizes, Jovani and its authorized retailers both say to go up and alter down.
Plus sizes live inside the main line rather than under a separate label. The plus collection is cut in 14 to 24, and the brand says it doesn't limit plus styles or charge extra for them. Availability still varies by style and color, so ask before you fall for one.
Jovani prom sizes
00 to 24
- 00
- 0
- 2
- 4
- 6
- 8
- 10
- 12
- 14
- 16
- 18
- 20
- 22
- 24
The prom collection runs 00 through 24, with plus styles in 14 to 24. The dashed line marks a typical 00 to 16 run kept on the floor.
To Jovani sizing, not your jeans size. Try it on in the shop; between sizes, go up and have it altered.
Plus sizes
14 to 24, in the main line
No separate label, no limit on styles, no extra charge.
Beads, corsets and a $2,090 ceiling
Jovani calls its approach "creative twists on the classics." DuRocher builds a dress around where the waist sits, how it is structured and how the fabric drapes, and in her words, "a dress succeeds when the woman who puts it on feels like the best version of herself." In practice that means glamour cut close to the body: fully beaded gowns, sequins, corset bodices and hand-sculpted 3D floral appliqués, on mermaid, ball gown, A-line and fitted column shapes. Beads, pearls and sequins are sewn on by hand.
On price, Jovani sits in the upper middle of the prom market. Most full-price prom gowns land between $500 and $1,000. Lavish, an authorized retailer in Morgantown, had a median of $699 on the first page of its catalog, and Couture Candy's Jovani prom listings fall in the same band. The widest spread we found ran from $328 for two JVN styles at Prom Headquarters to $2,090 for style 39377 at Couture Candy, as of October 2026.
Full-price Jovani prom gowns at authorized retailers
Jovani prom gown prices
$328Most $500 to $1,000$2,090
Median at Lavish $699
The 2026 prom line runs past 1,000 styles, split into three tiers: Couture for the luxury pieces, Core for the main run, and Under $500. Jovani says the under-$500 gowns come from the same design team and are built to the same standards, with the savings found in fabric sourcing and thinner margins.
Tariffs are part of the price story now. In an April 2026 opinion piece in The Hill, co-founder Abraham Maslavi wrote that effective tariffs on dresses can run from roughly 17 to 34 percent once surcharges are counted, "costs that ultimately reach families at the register."
Ordering a style your shop doesn't have
Every Jovani gown has a style number, and any authorized shop can order any style by that number, even if it has never hung in the store. Orders ship from Jovani's New York warehouse. A special order adds time, so ask the shop for an expected arrival date before you pay a deposit.
Returns follow the retailer, and terms vary, special orders included. Get the shop's rules in writing, and budget for alterations too: Jovani puts a simple hem at about $60 and a heavily beaded, four-layer gown at $200 or more.
When the new Jovani prom styles show up
Next spring's prom collection starts reaching stores in October and November, and the main collection drops in early winter, with new styles added as the season goes on. Jovani's own advice is to shop in January or February, when size runs are fullest and tailors still have room, and to buy at least six weeks before the dance, since alterations alone take 2 to 3 weeks. Florida, which leads our listings, often holds proms in March or early April, so Florida shoppers have the least slack.
-
October to November
First of next spring's prom styles reach stores
-
Early winter
The main collection drops
-
January to February
Fullest size runs, per Jovani
-
6+ weeks before prom
Buy by now; alterations take 2 to 3 weeks
Spotting a fake Jovani
The store locator is your first check. Fake sites lift Jovani's photos and ship poor copies, the brand warns, often with no real way to send them back. Every authorized store also has a JAC ID, printed on an authorization plaque it should display. The JAC ID identifies the store, not the dress: enter it on the JVN by Jovani authenticity page and the store's details should come up. Jovani's own line is blunt: "If a store/website is unable to provide you with their JAC ID, then you are likely buying a fake dress!" On the gown itself, expect a woven Jovani label and branded hangtags.
Price is the other tell. Authorized retailers follow designer pricing, so legitimate sellers differ by only a few dollars. Jovani's example of a red flag is a dress that normally sells for $500 listed at $89. Jovani has also gone after counterfeit sites in court: in 2016 it joined Alyce, La Femme, Mon Cheri and Mori Lee in a federal suit against counterfeit websites.
Knockoffs are everywhere for a reason. In 2012 a federal appeals court ruled against Jovani in a copyright suit over a copied prom dress, holding that a dress's sequins, ruching and tulle can't be separated from the garment itself, so they can't be copyrighted. A design can be copied. The Jovani name can't, which is why the label and the seller are what you check.
Buying secondhand? Ask the seller for the style number and the receipt or the store it came from, then compare the dress with Jovani's photos. Missing built-in corsetry or bra cups and a cheap plastic zipper point to a copy. And check the length: a hem that has been cut can't be let back down.
How to tell
- Photos lifted from Jovani, poor copies shipped
- No JAC ID, or one that doesn't match the store
- A $500 dress listed at $89
- Secondhand with no corset, no cups or a plastic zipper
- On the store locator, with a JAC ID plaque
- Woven Jovani label and branded hangtags
Where Jovani runs deepest
Florida leads our data, followed by Pennsylvania, Texas, New York and New Jersey. Three of those five are in the Northeast. Some stores go well past a single rack:
Black blocks are the Northeast three: Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey, 83 shops between them.
Morgantown, West Virginia. Calls Jovani its best-selling line.
Coral Springs, Florida. Gives Jovani Prom, Homecoming, Evening, Couture and Cocktail each a collection page of their own.
Sewell, New Jersey. Says it is an official Jovani Couture retailer and stocks the JVN line too.
Red carpets, pageants and a reality-TV chant
Jovani's celebrity record is real, if more reality TV than Met Gala. Ciara wore Jovani Couture to the Vanity Fair Oscar Party in 2017. The Real Housewives have worn it often: Kyle Richards, Lisa Rinna and Erika Girardi wore it in their Beverly Hills cast portraits, and Luann de Lesseps tours her cabaret show in it. In 2018 Dorinda Medley shouted "Jovani! Jovani!" during that show in the Real Housewives of New York finale. The chant became a meme, and Luann released a song called "Feelin' Jovani" the next year. Jovani also names Taylor Swift, Selena Gomez and Carrie Underwood among the stars who have worn its dresses.
Pageants are the other stage. For the 2024 Miss America pageant, Jovani dressed every contestant for the opening number and the evening gown competition, plus red gowns for a gala benefiting the American Heart Association. It made its New York Fashion Week debut in September 2023.
The company also gives a lot of dresses away. Jovani says it donates more than 30,000 a year, and in 2018 it let every girl at Yonkers' eight public high schools pick a prom dress.
Questions shoppers ask
How much does a Jovani prom dress cost?
Most Jovani prom styles list for about $500 to $1,000 before markdowns, based on prices posted by authorized retailers. JVN pieces and the Under $500 tier start near $328. Couture, evening and heavily embellished gowns climb past $1,000, up to about $2,090.
Does Jovani make prom dresses in plus sizes?
Yes, in 14 to 24, inside the main line and at no extra charge. Few shops keep the whole range on the floor, so ask which sizes are in stock before you book, and expect the largest sizes to be special orders.
How early should I shop for a Jovani prom dress?
New styles reach stores in October and November. Jovani suggests shopping in January or February and buying at least six weeks before prom, since alterations take 2 to 3 weeks.
What is JVN?
JVN is Jovani's lower-priced label, sold since 2008. Its styles carry a JVN prefix on the style number, and they are among the least expensive Jovani gowns we found, from $328.
How do I know a Jovani shop is authorized?
Find it on Jovani's store locator and ask for its JAC ID, the number on the authorization plaque an approved store displays. Enter it on the JVN by Jovani authenticity page and the store's details should come up.