Morilee at a glance
- Founded
- 1953
- Founded by
- Evlynn Udell and Morvin Leibowitz
- Based in
- New York, New York
- Design lead
- Jiyup Kim
- Size range
- 00 to 28
- Plus sizes
- No separate prom line; sizes to 28
- Typical prom price
- $399 to $659
Checked 2026
Morilee is a bridal house first and a prom label second, and that shapes how you shop it. CEO Terri Eagle told Glossy in 2024 that the company sells through more than 2,500 retail partners, a count that includes its bridal salons. Its prom gowns carry the name Morilee Party, and the house has revived an older prom name, Paparazzi. If a shop's prom page lists either one, it is the same company.
The company dates itself to 1953 in New York's Garment District. In January 2025 it signed a 10-year lease on a floor at 158 West 27th Street, for its headquarters in Chelsea.
1953
The house starts making gowns, the company says
1967
First use of the Mori Lee name, per trademark records
1985
Madeline Gardner joins the design team
2014
ShoreView Industries takes a majority stake
2024
Jiyup Kim becomes Chief Design Officer
The company's 70th-anniversary release names Evlynn Udell and Morvin Leibowitz as its founders. It is no longer a family business. ShoreView Industries took a majority stake in 2014 and later listed Morilee among its former investments, and Terri Eagle has run the company as President and CEO since 2018. Madeline Gardner, who designed for the house for 39 years, stepped back in April 2024 and stayed on the board. Jiyup Kim took over design that year.
Prom came late. Gardner said in a 2023 interview that when she arrived in 1985, Morilee was "a tiny little brand where we made about 12 wedding dresses a season and a few bridesmaids," sold mainly to department stores. Evening and prom gowns came later, and the business turned toward independent shops. Prom has since grown into a full line of its own, Morilee Party, with well over a hundred styles in sizes up to 28.
The house is bigger than its prom rack. Shops on this site list a whole family of lines under the name, so a tag that looks unfamiliar may still be Morilee:
Prom
- Morilee Prom
- Paparazzi by Morilee
- Mori Lee Party
Quinceañera
- Vizcaya
- Valencia
- Valentina
Wedding party and occasion
- Morilee bridesmaids
- MGNY
- MLNY
Finding your Morilee Party size
Morilee Party runs 00 to 28. Leave your jeans size at home. Formal sizes sit on their own scale, and the brand gives no advice on whether its prom gowns run small or large, so the fitting room settles it. Try the gown on and let the shop tell you which size to order.
Take extra care at the top of the run. Above 22, the jump from one size to the next is far bigger than it is lower down. A gown that is snug in one size can be loose in the next, so try both if the shop has them, and plan on alterations.
There is no separate plus prom line. Morilee Party simply keeps going to 28, though some styles stop short of the full run. Julietta, the plus-size label under the Morilee name, makes wedding gowns, not prom.
Crystal tulle and a $1,399 top
The company credits its gowns to atelier construction, embroidery and textile work, and says they are hand-crafted by artisans. On the prom side that means sequins, beaded and glitter tulle, corset boning and 3D floral appliqués.
Morilee leaves prom pricing to its retailers, so the shops tell the story. At Prom Headquarters, most Morilee Party styles fall between $399 and $659, and the median is about $519. Style 49116 sets the floor at $349. The listing grid tops out at $869, but style 49309, a crystal-beaded gown, lists at $1,399 on its own page.
Morilee Party prices at Prom Headquarters
$349Most $399 to $659$1,399
That is a step below Jovani, whose full-price prom gowns mostly run $500 to $1,000. Four figures is rare here. At Prom Headquarters, one style gets there.
Ordering Morilee through a shop
Morilee sells only through authorized retailers, and its FAQ says so in plain terms. For prom prices, it sends you to your local authorized shop. The brand's store locator is how you find one, or check a shop you already have in mind.
Morilee publishes no lead time for prom special orders. Prom Headquarters checks your wear date against the maker's delivery schedule before it places an order, which is the right habit for any shop. Ask for an expected delivery date before you pay a deposit.
Returns follow the shop, and terms can be strict. Some shops, Prom Headquarters among them, won't take back a special order at all, since it was ordered in your size. Get your own shop's rules in writing.
The Paparazzi name returns
Paparazzi isn't a new name. Mori Lee registered it as a dress trademark in 2010, with first use dated to 2003, and a Paparazzi by Madeline Gardner mark followed. Both were cancelled by 2018. The brand has since revived it for prom, party and pageant gowns.
The brand announced the revived Paparazzi line with a waitlist rather than a launch date. Ask your shop whether it carries Paparazzi styles and which ones it can order.
Morilee Party remains the main prom name. Trademark records date that name to October 2025, so expect it on tags and shop listings from fall 2025 on. Morilee names no regular release month for prom, which makes your shop's order calendar the best guide to when new styles land.
Checking a Morilee seller
Morilee's advice is short: buy from a shop on its store locator. A "Morilee" gown from a seller that isn't on it comes with no promise that the house made it.
Secondhand, the old names help you. A gown tagged Paparazzi from the 2000s or 2010s can be real Mori Lee, since the company used that name then. Ask the seller for the style number and the shop it came from, and be wary of one who can't say.
Where Morilee runs deepest
Pennsylvania, Texas and Florida have the most Morilee shops in our listings, with New York close behind. Some of them lean on the label harder than the rest:
Barbie's Boutique, Sarasota, Florida
Morilee is the deepest prom selection it posts, with dozens of styles.
Joani's Fashion Boutique, Shelby Township, Michigan
Posts about 40 Morilee prom styles.
Blye's Bridal Loft, Kokomo, Indiana
Builds its posted prom gallery around Mori Lee styles.
The Winner, Sharon, Pennsylvania
A Mori Lee Bridal Boutique store with a full bridal salon next to the prom floor.
Bridal runways, not red carpets
Morilee's big stage is the bridal runway. For its 70th anniversary it showed a Platinum Collection at New York Luxury Bridal Fashion Week in October 2023. In 2025, with Jiyup Kim leading design, it showed at National Bridal Market Chicago and Barcelona Bridal Fashion Week.
The prom record is quieter. We found no verified celebrity wearers and no pageant partnerships, and the company doesn't claim any. Judge a Morilee Party gown on fit, price and the shop that sells it.
How much does a Morilee prom dress cost?
At Prom Headquarters, an authorized seller, most Morilee Party gowns list for about $399 to $659, with a median near $519. The lowest we found was $349, and one crystal-beaded style reaches $1,399.
Is Morilee a bridal brand or a prom brand?
Both, with bridal the bigger business. Prom runs as Morilee Party, next to quinceañera lines such as Vizcaya and occasion lines under MLNY. Several shops here sell its wedding gowns as well as its prom styles.
Does Morilee make plus-size prom dresses?
Yes, inside the main line. Morilee Party runs to size 28, though not every style is cut that high, and Julietta, the brand's plus-size label, is bridal only.
What is Morilee Party?
It is the name Morilee uses for its prom and party gowns, in use since fall 2025 according to trademark records. Morilee also revived an older prom name, Paparazzi, so ask your shop which of the two it carries.
How do I know a Morilee shop is authorized?
Look it up on Morilee's store locator. The brand says its dresses are only available through its network of authorized retailers, so a seller missing from the locator is a risk.