The building gives it away before the racks do. Alexandra’s Too occupies the old Capitol Theatre on South Main Street, a playhouse that opened on February 1, 1926 and went dark in the late 1950s. The family behind Alexandra’s Boutique, the bridal flagship next door, bought the theater in early 2018, the same year a VOWS magazine profile described their prom sales as having grown more than fifteenfold in six years and the original building as simply out of room. Founder Fatima Benson’s son Zachary Leone left a finance career to help open it. The result is a prom, evening and quinceañera store spread over three levels, which the family puts at 20,000 square feet, with thousands of gowns on the floor and, as WJAR’s Studio 10 reported in 2024, more than 50 dressing rooms.
Fifty-plus rooms is the number to remember on a February Saturday. Prom here is walk-in, and the store is built so a walk-in system can actually move.
The walk-in system, step by step
There is nothing to book for regular prom shopping.
How a walk-in prom visit runs (a guide)
First
Scan a QR code at the door and fill out a short form on your phone
Then
The store prints a tag with your name and phone number
Next
Browse and pick five gowns
Last
A stylist walks you to a dressing room
Five is the limit for each trip into the room, not for the day, so a shopper can keep cycling through as many dresses as she likes.
WJAR noted that Presidents’ Day weekend is when the store’s busy prom season usually kicks off, and that weekday visits are calmer. The store’s own FAQ makes a related point about timing, and it is the one line every family should read before deciding when to shop.
We recommend shopping for a prom dress as early as possible to take advantage of in-store stock. Once a prom dress is gone, most cannot be special ordered.
Everything on the floor is ready to wear and can go home the day you buy it. Purchases are final sale.
Prices, sizes and labels
Prom sizes run 000 to 30. The labels the business names for prom include Sherri Hill, Jovani, Ellie Wilde, Portia and Scarlett, Amarra, Primavera Couture and Faviana, plus Allie B and Candy, and its online catalog adds Jessica Angel, La Femme, Jasz Couture, Ashley Lauren, Terani, Tarik Ediz, MNM Couture and Aleta. Thousands of gowns sit in the building, and tens of thousands more are available online with free shipping on orders over $250.
The store's listed prom range
$300Most $400 to $650$1,500
Prom is not the only floor. The same building handles evening gowns, dresses for mothers of the couple, and quinceañera, which runs by complimentary appointment with English- and Spanish-speaking stylists and gowns in sizes 00 to 26. Prom events through the season are also walk-in, with giveaways, branded swag and occasional designer appearances.
When walking in is not the plan
For shoppers who would rather skip the general floor, the store sells private prom experiences. Each one runs in a private suite with unlimited guests and unlimited try-ons.
Private prom experiences
Prom couture: one shopper, one hour
$50
VIP prom for one: 90 minutes
$100
VIP prom for two or three: two hours
$200
VIP prom for four to six: two hours
$300
Cancelling a paid appointment inside 48 hours
$75
Couture is a closed-door appointment with a personal stylist, for gowns priced $1,000 and up. The VIP visit for one comes with sparkling grape juice, cupcakes, a candy cart and a swag bag, and the group of four to six gets one or two stylists. VIP slots are weekdays only; couture runs all week.
As for who fills those 50-plus rooms: B.M.C. Durfee High School students from across the city, Diman Regional Vocational Technical High School students from Fall River and its neighboring towns, and families from Atlantis Charter School. Over the Taunton River, Somerset Berkley Regional and Joseph Case in Swansea send shoppers, and Westport High School and Dartmouth High School are close along I-195, with New Bedford High School a little farther east. Rhode Island families from Tiverton and Portsmouth come up Route 24. Its pull covers much of Bristol County, Massachusetts and the Rhode Island towns just over the line.
Parking is simple. A free lot sits behind the two buildings on Morgan Street, with metered spots along South Main and a paid public lot across Morgan when the free one fills. On Instagram, the prom side posts on its own account, @alexandras_too, which is the best place to see new arrivals before a visit.
Alexandra’s Too, answered
What does a prom dress usually cost at Alexandra’s Too?
The full range runs $300 to $1,500, but most of the stock is priced between $400 and $650.
Will the store alter my prom gown?
In-house alterations are limited to wedding gowns. Prom shoppers get a referral list of local seamstresses, so leave time for fittings after you buy.