WE BASE OUR DRESS SELECTIONS ON THE NEEDS OF OUR LOCAL CUSTOMER – YOU – NOT A NATIONAL SALES PLAN, ENSURING YOU OF A BROADER RANGE OF CHOICES
Occasions Boutique prints that buying philosophy in capital letters on its About page, and it sums up the little shop on King Street in Malvern's small downtown. It has been open since 2000, it buys with local families in mind, and its prom racks show it. The store calls its selection of evening, prom, communion and christening gowns widely regarded as the best in the area, and its site backs that up with readers' choice badges.
Main Line Media News
Best of contest
Readers' choice badge
Daily Local News
Best of Chester County
Readers' choice badge
The prom and homecoming floor
The prom page opens with a promise of the widest selection of gowns and dresses from your favorite designers, from simply elegant to simply dazzling. In practice that means a mix of high-end and budget-friendly dresses, a range of silhouettes and fabrics for different body shapes, and red carpet inspired gowns next to cleaner, unembellished styles. Plus sizes are carried, and every collection page states it.
The page's headline is "Life is Art: Live Yours in Color!" and the copy leans into it, promising a variety of colors and styles that work with your body shape and skin tone, all within your budget. Some girls want a black, edgy statement dress, others a classic, streamlined style free from embellishments, and the stylists help each one find the version that flatters her.
The designer logos on the prom page are a strong list for a shop this size:
- Jovani and its younger JVN line
- Mac Duggal
- La Femme
- Faviana
- Ellie Wilde
- Colette
- Scala
- Nicole Bakti, Andrea and Leo, and Atria
Homecoming shares the same page, so a sophomore who finds a good fit in the fall can come back in the spring knowing the staff. Walk-ins are welcome for prom, and appointments can be set up by phone for anyone who wants a stylist's full attention. The shop has also run prom clearance sales with steep markdowns, so a late-season shopper should ask about the next one.
Why the service feels different
The staff go past the dress. A stylist can suggest underpinnings, shoes, jewelry or a bag, and the shop stocks every one of them. The About page calls customer service the hallmark of a small business like this one, where people are the focus and a satisfied customer is the goal.
Senior sales consultant Susanna Morgenweck has been with Occasions since the doors opened. Her bio says she thoroughly enjoys working with children, prom teens and mothers of the bride or groom, which is an accurate summary of who walks through the door. The testimonials page includes a parent who worried that prom dress shopping would be stressful for her and her daughter and found it pleasant and special instead. Another parent credited Susanna's knowledge of style and fit with finding a stunning dress suited to her daughter's frame.
For fit, the prom page notes that a list of customer-recommended seamstresses is available, while the women's and bridal pages mention the shop's own talented seamstress. Ask which route makes sense for your gown when you buy it.
Getting there
King Street is Malvern's main street, and the shop points out that free parking is available in municipal lots behind the store and across the street. Great Valley High School is the hometown school, and shoppers also come from Conestoga High School in Berwyn, Phoenixville Area High School and Downingtown East High School in Exton. For more prom shops around Chester County, Pennsylvania, see the state page on this site.
The store's other departments mean many families come back for years, and the shop is often familiar long before prom.
First Communion
Dresses, with a dress registry organized by church
Girls' department
Party dresses for cotillions, graduations and portraits, sized for little girls, big girls and tweens
Bridal
A small selection
For prom, though, the draw is simple: a deep designer lineup chosen for local shoppers.
Quick answers for a Malvern prom visit
Where do I park for Occasions Boutique?
Free parking is available in the municipal lots behind the store and across King Street, according to the shop.
Do the King Street prom racks go into plus sizes?
Yes. The store states that it carries plus sizes across its collections, including prom.