Most formalwear shops build their year around March and April. This one starts in January. Deedy’s Formals & Tuxedos sits at 1202 Government Street, in downtown Ocean Springs, on a stretch of the Mississippi Gulf Coast where Mardi Gras is a season with its own dress code. The store’s own summary of what it stocks puts Mardi Gras first, ahead of homecoming, prom, pageants and mother-of-the-bride.
That ordering is not decoration. The Ocean Springs Carnival Association night parade rolls the Friday before Fat Tuesday. It starts at Front Beach, runs north on Porter, turns onto Washington Avenue and then onto Government Street, ending at the school district office at 2300 Government — which puts the route past this block. The association dates the night parade to 2009. In 2026 it falls on February 13, with Fat Tuesday on the 17th. So ball gowns and prom dresses hang in the same room during the same weeks, and a shopper in early February is competing for fitting-room time with someone dressing for a krewe ball.
The labels that list this store
Eight designers name Deedy’s on their own official retailer locators:
- Alyce Paris
- Amarra
- Ava Presley
- Colette
- Dave & Johnny
- Jasz
- Jovani
- Tarik Ediz
Faviana lists the store on its site as well. The range spans prom-driven lines like Dave & Johnny and Ava Presley through evening-wear houses like Tarik Ediz — which is what a shop needs when the same racks have to serve a seventeen-year-old in April and a ball guest in February. Prices are not published anywhere; call and ask before you drive.
Hours, appointments, tuxedos
Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed Sunday. Walk-ins are taken during those hours, but the store asks shoppers to book ahead so someone can give them undivided attention — worth doing in January and in the four weeks before prom. The phone is (228) 875-2011.
Tuxedos are rented and sold here; Deedy’s is a Jim’s Formal Wear affiliate, so the rental catalog is that company’s line. Shoes, jewelry, bags and accessories are in the store too, which matters if you are coming in from Vancleave or Gautier and would rather not make a second trip. The owner is Deveaux Carter, and the business describes itself as family-owned.
Whose prom this is
Ocean Springs High School, out on Old Spanish Trail, enrolled about 1,950 students in grades 9 through 12 — a big prom by Coast standards, and a lot of duplicate-dress anxiety in one gym. St. Martin High, with its Ocean Springs mailing address on Yellow Jacket Boulevard, adds roughly 1,300 more. Vancleave High up MS 57 (about 745) and Gautier High to the east (about 900) are in the same Jackson County district as St. Martin, along with East Central. Biloxi and D’Iberville students cross the Biloxi Bay bridge; Pascagoula and Resurrection Catholic come from the other direction.
Getting to the door: from I-10, take Exit 50 and head south on Washington Avenue about three miles, then turn onto Government. From Highway 90 — Bienville Boulevard — Government Street runs parallel a few blocks north. Parking is on-street. The big-box stores are all up on 90; this is the boutique-and-restaurant end of town, with Government Street Grocery two doors down at 1210, so the trip can be a lunch as well as a fitting.