Sloan’s Formals

Ten prom labels sit in the top menu at Sloan's Formals, before you ever reach homecoming, pageant or anything else. That list is the clearest picture of the shop. Its sister boutique site goes further and runs a banner calling Sloan's the largest selection of formals in northwest Louisiana, and the menu backs up the scale: Sherri Hill, Jovani, Ava Presley, Ashley Lauren and six more prom lines, each with its own page of styles.

The business is owned by Patti and Taylor Maughon, and its about page dates the start to 2016, when Sloan's opened as a formal wear store. It has since added everyday boutique clothing under the Sloan's Formals & Boutique name, but gowns came first and still lead. There are two storefronts now: the original on East Texas Street in Bossier City and a second on Youree Drive in Shreveport, so families on either side of the Red River have a store on their own side of town.

Ten prom lines, then homecoming, pageant and cocktail menus

The prom menu on sloansformals.com could pass for a wish list from a junior class group chat. Each of these has a dedicated page:

• Sherri Hill, featured among the homepage's top designers
• Jovani, with separate pages for prom, couture, evening and the younger JVN line
• Ava Presley, also featured on the homepage, with long gowns posted from under $400 to past $1,400
• Ashley Lauren
• Ellie Wilde
• Faviana, including a separate plus-size page
• Johnathan Kayne
• Portia & Scarlett
• Collette for Mon Cheri, the line this site files under Colette
• Vienna Prom

The prom list is not the only lineup on the site.

• Homecoming

  Ava Presley, Faviana short styles, Jovani and JVN

• Cocktail

  Built around Primavera, including its curvy short styles

• Pageant

  Jovani pageant and couture gowns, plus Johnathan Kayne's Sugars line for younger contestants

• Children's

  Ashley Lauren Kids and Ava Presley's little-girl gowns

For a family with a senior at prom and a younger sister in a pageant, that range matters more than any single label.

One feature on the site is worth using before you leave the house.

A girl who wears a 20 or a 24W can check the racks from her phone before anyone books a Saturday around it.

Accessories get their own corner of the menu. Jim Ball earrings and bracelets are listed there, shoes have a page, and Sydney's Closet short styles round out the party-dress side. Mothers attending a wedding or a gala can look at Cameron Blake and Montage, but that is a small side menu next to the prom list.

The family side of the business is spelled out in two sentences on the about page, and they explain why the shop feels the way it does.

Sloan’s Formal is a family affair! Our owner’s mother was in the dress business, and we’re on a mission to carry on the formal wear tradition.

That tradition shows up in how the store talks about its customers. The same page sets out to help women of every age and shape, and it promises dresses that will make your friends say "wow." It is a cheerful pitch, and it fits a shop that dresses girls for their first pageant and their senior prom from the same building.

Bossier, Shreveport and the schools in between

The East Texas Street store pulls first from Bossier Parish. Airline High, Parkway High and Bossier High are all in Bossier City, and Benton High and Haughton High send students in from the north and east ends of the parish. Across the river, the Youree Drive store sits on the Shreveport side, home to big campuses such as Captain Shreve High, C.E. Byrd High and Caddo Magnet High. A Byrd senior and an Airline senior can shop the same labels without either one crossing the bridge.

Proms in this corner of the state fall in spring, so gown shopping here tends to begin in winter. Sloan's posts its events and trunk shows through a VIP email list on the events page, which is the easiest way to hear when a designer's new season lands. The boutique site also points shoppers to its Instagram, @sloansformals, for messages and new arrivals.

Sloan's Formals questions from Bossier and Shreveport families

Can I shop sizes past 20 at Sloan's Formals?

Yes. Misses sizes on the in-store stock filter go from 000 up to 32, and women's sizes from 14W to 32W. Faviana has its own plus-size page as well.

Are formal gown sales final?

The return policy on the Sloan's boutique site says all sales are final on formal wear, while everyday ready-to-wear clothing can be exchanged within a short window. Try on carefully and decide in the store.

Does Sloan's dress younger pageant girls too?

It does. The pageant menu includes Johnathan Kayne's Sugars and toddler lines, and the children's pages carry Ashley Lauren Kids and Ava Presley's gowns for little girls.