For its first several years this was a Vinton County store. Nicki Martin opened Weeping Willow in 2018 on West Main Street in McArthur, a village her own store history puts at about 1,300 residents in a county of 13,000 with “a single traffic light.” In 2025 she moved the boutique roughly 25 miles west along US 50 to 100 North Paint Street, in the middle of downtown Chillicothe. The prom racks came with it, which is why the drive changed direction for a lot of families in southern Ohio.
Ross County is where those families were already going for everything else — the hospital, the high school games, the grocery run. Chillicothe sits about 45 miles south of Columbus on US 23, close enough that the Polaris and Easton stores are a real alternative and far enough that the trip eats a Saturday. A downtown shop with four national prom labels changes that math.
The brands you can count on
Four designers list this store on their own official retailer locators:
- Alyce Paris
- Amarra
- Ava Presley
- Jovani
The boutique’s own prom page adds Portia & Scarlett, Tiffany and Aleta to that list, and states prom sizing of 00–16 — worded as the range they carry “for right now,” so it is worth a phone call before you drive in for a specific size. Everyday clothing on the floor runs small through extra-large.
One thing to be clear about: this is a boutique that also sells prom, not a gown warehouse. The same room holds jewelry, handbags, body care and Basha bracelets. If you want to walk a thousand dresses, that is a Columbus trip. If you want to try designer gowns without leaving the county and talk to the owner while you do it, that is this store.
Whose prom it is
Ross County runs Chillicothe City Schools plus six county districts — Adena Local, Huntington Local, Paint Valley Local, Southeastern Local, Union-Scioto and Zane Trace — along with the Pickaway-Ross Career & Technology Center. Chillicothe High School, on Yoctangee Parkway, enrolls about 795 students in grades 9–12 by federal count, and it is the largest of the group. Seven districts means seven separate prom dates across April and May rather than one weekend that drains the racks, though the “is anyone else from my school buying this dress” question is a live one when the shops are this concentrated. Ask. Small-town boutiques usually keep track.
The old McArthur customers have not disappeared either. Vinton, Jackson and Pike County families who used to drive into McArthur now come up US 50 or US 23 instead, and the store still ships online orders out of Ohio for the ones who would rather not.
Getting there
North Paint Street is the spine of downtown Chillicothe, a block off the Main Street intersection, with street parking and locally owned restaurants and pubs within a short walk — enough that a dress appointment can be the front half of an afternoon. The store’s listings show hours of 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday, which is later than most of the block and useful if you are coming after work or after practice.
Before you commit, know the return terms. The published policy is exchange or in-store credit only, no refunds, within seven days, with the item unworn, tagged and free of makeup or deodorant marks. That policy is written for online orders; confirm how it applies to a gown bought in person, and confirm alterations, because the shop does not advertise an in-house seamstress.