Walk-in prom shopping is the house rule at Alyssa's Bridal & Tuxedo, the family-owned salon on South Memorial Drive in Tulsa that this guide used to list as Alyssa's for Glitter Designs. The name over the door says bridal, but the prom menu is the longest one on the site, and it is the side of the store a student can visit on a free afternoon with no booking at all.
The shop recently moved. Its own banner now places it across from the Scheels lower-level parking lot, the sporting goods anchor at Woodland Hills Mall, which makes it one of the easier formal shops in south Tulsa to find, and a regular stop for prom shoppers from all over the Tulsa side of Oklahoma. Families from Union High School, Jenks, Bixby and Broken Arrow have a quick run up Memorial or across 71st Street, and students from Tulsa's Memorial High School and Owasso come down for the selection.
The prom wall, by designer
Alyssa's About page presents the store as a full-service salon serving the Tulsa metropolitan area and beyond, and the prom section backs that up with more than thirty collections. The labels group roughly like this:
- Headline prom labels
- Sherri Hill, Jovani Prom and JVN Prom, Mac Duggal Prom and Couture, Terani Prom
- Statement and couture gowns
- Portia and Scarlett Prom and Couture, Johnathan Kayne, MNM Couture, Colors Couture, Mac Duggal Ballgowns
- Wide-range prom lines
- Ellie Wilde, Alyce Paris, Jessica Angel, Colette, Morilee Prom, Colors Dress, Cassandra Stone, Ritzee Originals
- Short and homecoming
- Jovani Homecoming, JVN Homecoming, Terani Homecoming and Cocktail, Mac Duggal Cocktail, a Short Dresses - Homecoming collection
- Plus and extended sizes
- Fabulouss by Mac Duggal
Flash and Ieena for Mac Duggal, Glow by Colors Dress and Mac Duggal's Black White Red capsule add more options at different price points, and Terani's pageant line sits in its own menu for girls who compete as well as attend prom.
The online catalog runs at designer list prices, and the store's online sales policy notes that in-store prices are not necessarily the same as the website's. Treat the site as a preview of the styles and then see the actual price tag on the floor.
One tool on the catalog saves a wasted trip. Each collection page has a search for in-stock dresses by size, with a filter for in-store stock, so a shopper who wears a 4 or a 20W can see which styles are physically on the racks before driving over. The store's About page credits years of tradition and family ownership for its reputation, and much of its business, it says, comes from referrals.
Tuxes, quince gowns and trunk shows
Tuxedos are part of the name for a reason. The tuxedo department gives dates their own section of the catalog, so a couple can sort out both outfits at the same South Memorial address. Quinceañera shoppers get their own section too, with Morilee's Vizcaya and Valencia lines and a separate menu of damas dresses for the court.
The bridal side, with labels like Allure and Sophia Tolli, still asks for appointments. Prom does not, a split the store spells out at the top of every page.
The salon also posts trunk shows on an events page and offers a sign-up there for email or text alerts when a new one is scheduled. A trunk show brings a designer's full line into the store for a few days, so it is the moment to see colors and sizes that are not normally on the racks.
No appointments needed for Prom!!!
Before heading to Alyssa's on Memorial
Where is the new Alyssa's location?
Still on South Memorial Drive in south Tulsa. Its banner gives the spot as across from the Scheels lower-level parking lot near Woodland Hills Mall.
Does Alyssa's carry homecoming dresses as well as long prom gowns?
Yes. Jovani, JVN and Terani homecoming lines are listed alongside a dedicated short-dress collection, so fall dances are covered by the same racks that serve spring prom.