The stone building at the bottom of State Street was a bank before it was a dress shop, and it still has the bones of one: three full floors, with an elevator to the upper levels. Prom shoppers never have to leave the street level, because the formal department fills the first floor, and the store is proud of how it set that floor up.
Our first floor houses our formal wear department, complete with a stage and runway!
That runway is the reason a prom visit here feels different from a fitting room with a mirror. A gown can be walked, turned and seen from across the room by the people who came along, which is how it will actually be seen at the dance.
The store's own directions place it right next to Bangor Savings Bank at the bottom of the hill on State Street, which the store describes as the heart of Bangor's historic downtown.
Three floors, one building
The Bangor store has gone by two names, and the company behind it now runs three stores.
2011
Grayce's founder buys her first bridal shop in northern Maine
2016
The bank building opens in January as Blush Bridal & Formal, the first location ever to carry the Blush name
2021
Takes the Grayce name in November, alongside the company's other Maine stores
The founder's account of those early years on the company's Our Story page singles out formal shoppers among the moments that hooked her: "a girl feeling beautiful for the first time in her life as she was zipped into a formal gown." The Bangor building is laid out like this, floor by floor:
- First floor: prom, pageant, homecoming and evening gowns, with the stage and runway. Traditional mothers' dresses are not carried.
- Second floor: wedding gowns, reached by elevator, with a private suite for each bride.
- Third floor: the Luxe appointment room, the business office and the seamstress department.
That third-floor workroom matters to prom shoppers. Among the company's stores, only Bangor has an in-house seamstress, who takes work on a first come, first served basis. Every Grayce customer also gets an email and a text after purchase with a list of recommended seamstresses, so there is a backup option when the in-house queue is long.
What prom shopping costs and includes
The formal department carries Sherri Hill and Ana Sophia Occasions, the company's private label. Not every Sherri Hill style hangs in the store, but staff will special order any size, style or color the designer still offers.
Prom and pageant
Formal gowns, typically $400 to $900
- Stocked from size 000 up to 28
- A rack of discontinued and discounted prom dresses to buy off the floor
Homecoming
Its own collection at $60 to $300
- Stocked in sizes 0 to 24
- Ordered as large as 32 for fall dances and winter formals
No appointment is needed for prom. The formal floor takes walk-ins during regular hours, while bridal appointments are the ones the store prefers to book. Groups can upgrade to a Prom Party Appointment, offered at the Maine stores:
- Two hours on the formal floor for up to five shoppers.
- Signature Grayce mocktails and a gift for each girl.
- A $10 credit for each girl who buys a prom dress during the appointment.
- One adult guest per shopper, booked at least a week ahead.
Grayce also recruits high school students each year.
Formal Ambassadors
Students model new styles for the store's social media and website and earn $20 toward their own prom dress for every friend who buys one with their code
Girls in Leadership Scholarship
Ambassadors can apply for $500 from the company's sister business
Bangor High School is in the same city, Brewer High School sits just across the Penobscot, Hampden Academy and Hermon High School are to the south and west, and Old Town and Orono are up the river. For shoppers in central Maine, it is the Grayce location closest to home. Families in southern Maine can try Grayce's South Portland store, which runs a separate formal floor of its own. Menswear is no longer offered at any Grayce store, so a prom date's tuxedo will need to come from somewhere else.
Grayce Bangor prom questions
Can the Bangor store alter my prom dress?
Yes, on the third floor. Bangor is the one Grayce location with an in-house seamstress, working first come, first served, so bring the gown in early in the season.
What if the Sherri Hill style I want is not in Bangor?
Staff can special order it in any size, style or color the designer has available.