Debbie Smith sews. That's the place to start with The Right Fit Dresses & Alterations, because the owner being a professional seamstress shapes everything about how this Sewell shop works. You pick the dress and get it fitted in one place, for one price, and the person who owns the store has been doing the sewing herself for 30 years.
The store backs that up with numbers of its own. It keeps more than 5,000 dresses in stock in sizes 000 to 28, and by its own account it has been nominated for and won Best Formal in Washington Township for 10 consecutive years. Prom is the main event, with homecoming, pageant, Sweet 16, mother of the bride and groom, bridesmaid and flower girl dresses filling out the floor.
Debbie Smith's alterations room
The alterations side isn't an add-on. Per the shop, its seamstresses bring 30 years of experience, and fittings are booked by appointment with a typical turnaround of two to three weeks. They'll also take on dresses bought somewhere else, for an added outside fee. For a prom dress bought here, that means the hem, the bodice and the straps get handled by people who already know the gown.
The pageant work is the shop's calling card. Debbie Smith's alteration clients have included these titleholders, a list the shop publishes on its About page:
- Mallory Hagan
- Miss America 2013
- Kira Kazantsev
- Miss America 2014
- Joy Jones-Carmack
- Mrs. United States 2013
- Brenna Weick
- Miss New Jersey 2016
The same page says she has fitted hundreds of other pageant and prom girls, too. A stage gown and a prom gown have more in common than people think: heavy beading, a fitted bodice and a hem that has to be right in heels.
Timing works in your favor here. With a turnaround the store puts at two to three weeks (it notes that everything is subject to change), a dress bought in March can still be fitted comfortably for a May dance. The earlier you buy, of course, the more room there is for a second fitting. Bring your prom heels to the fitting, since a hem is only as good as the heel height it was measured for. Jewelry is sold in the shop, so the finishing pieces can be tried against the altered dress at the final fitting.
What's on the prom racks
The Right Fit is an official Jovani Couture retailer, per its site, carrying Jovani and JVN, and it stocks one-of-a-kind dresses designed by Julie Durocher that, according to the store, can't be found anywhere else. Beyond those two, the store's own collection pages include these labels.
On the collection pages
Also in the mix
- MGNY by Morilee
- Colors Dress
There's a plus-size prom section and a short prom and homecoming section, so the size range is real across styles. The pageant side runs deep as well, from Rachel Allan's Perfect Angels, Princess and Prima Donna lines to a little girl pageant section, and there's a couture and red carpet category for the most dramatic gowns in the store. Mother of the bride and groom dresses have their own racks for the adults in the family. The store's homepage puts its policy in capital letters: appointments are required, but walk-ins are welcomed. In practice, book ahead from January through May, and drop by whenever you like in the off-season.
Students come from all over Gloucester County. Washington Township High School, one of the largest high schools in South Jersey, shares the Sewell mailing address. Gloucester County Institute of Technology, Clearview Regional in Mullica Hill, Delsea Regional in Franklinville, Glassboro and Kingsway Regional are all within reach. According to the store, it serves the whole state and the Greater Philadelphia area, and its own testimonials page includes a family that drives in from Lancaster, Pennsylvania. For families in Sewell and across Gloucester County, New Jersey, it's simply the local shop that also happens to fit Miss America.
Ask anyone who has shopped here what the place stands for, and you'll likely hear the shop's motto. It's printed across the site, quirks and all:
If It's Not the Right Fit, It's Not the Right dress!
Alterations and stock at The Right Fit
Does The Right Fit alter prom dresses bought at another store?
Yes. Outside dresses are accepted for alterations with an added outside fee, and alterations are by appointment.
How big is the prom selection in Sewell?
More than 5,000 dresses are in stock, in sizes 000 to 28, with a plus-size prom section and a short prom and homecoming section.