At a lot of prom shops you try on a sample and order your size. Giana Rose Couture does it the other way, and its FAQ answers the sample question in capital letters.
NO! All the stock dresses are not samples, we sell ALL our dresses off-the-rack! Most stores do not stock the level of inventory we do.
That inventory is the story here. The shop on East Afton Avenue, in the middle of Yardley borough, stocks about 3,000 dresses at the height of prom season, by its own count. Its prom page calls it the largest selection of prom dresses in Pennsylvania and notes it has been voted "Best in Bucks County" year after year. You can try on a gown in your size and take it home the same day, and for a student who has watched friends wait months for a special order, that is a big deal. If your size or color isn't in stock, the store can still special order it, for a shipping fee, plus a rush fee if the date is close.
The prom racks lean toward the labels that dominate high school dances right now. The store lists Amarra, Jovani, Jessica Angel, Ellie Wilde, La Femme, Faviana and Primavera Couture, along with Chandelier, Atria and Nicole Bakti. Its designer pages also include Ashley Lauren, Portia & Scarlett and JVN. Sizes run from 000 to 24, or XXS to 3XL. Prom gowns start at $298 and go up to about $1,500, with most falling between $400 and $600.
Browse the website before you book. Each style page says whether a gown is in the store or an online exclusive, so you can tell what you will actually be able to try on. The shop's Instagram, @prombygrc, shows the newest arrivals as they come in. Homecoming has its own designer section too, with short styles from many of the same prom labels, so a sophomore can get to know the shop now and come back for prom in a couple of years.
Booking your hour in a fitting room
Giana Rose is a smaller store, and it says that is exactly why appointments are required for all formal gown shopping. That covers prom, sweet 16, quinceañera and bat mitzvah, black-tie wedding guest and bridesmaid shopping. The store has eight fitting rooms an hour. Cocktail dresses, the casual boutique and accessories don't need an appointment. A prom visit runs in five steps.
- Book a slot for each person shopping. Every appointment holds one fitting room for one shopper, so two friends need two bookings.
- Bring a parent or legal guardian over 25. This applies to every prom, sweet 16, bat mitzvah and quinceañera shopper, including 18-year-olds. If that's impossible, phone the store to work something out.
- Leave the entourage at home. The store limits how many guests can join each appointment.
- Pack shoes and any undergarments you plan to wear, and screenshot gowns you like from the website or Instagram so your stylist can pull similar styles.
- Use your hour. A personal stylist is assigned to you to pull dresses and help with zippers. If you go over, you may wait for another room to open.
All gowns are final sale, with no returns or exchanges, so the decision gets made in the room.
When to come in, and what happens after
The FAQ is specific about timing. Prom season at the shop starts in November, and the biggest selection of styles, colors and sizes is on the floor from December through February. For students at Pennsbury High School, the big public high school serving Yardley and Lower Makefield, that means shopping in winter for a spring prom. Council Rock North in Newtown and Neshaminy in Langhorne send shoppers too, and since Yardley sits right on the Pennsylvania side of the Delaware River, New Jersey shoppers are only a bridge away. The store reports shoppers from around the country, too.
Alterations happen outside the store. Giana Rose doesn't keep a seamstress on staff. Instead, every gown buyer gets the shop's list of recommended local seamstresses. Shopping in that December to February window leaves enough time to book a fitting before the spring rush.
The store also built a suite above the shop, and it holds about 1,000 special-occasion dresses for wedding families. Full-price dresses ordered online ship free by ground within the contiguous US.
School lists and returns, answered for Yardley shoppers
Does Giana Rose keep a list of dresses by school?
No. The FAQ states that the shop does not track which dresses go to which school's prom, and suggests checking your school's social media pages to see what classmates have bought.
Can I return a prom dress?
No. All gowns are final sale, with no returns, exchanges or refunds, so bring a parent and decide before you leave the fitting room.