The prom racks here share a building with cocktail dresses, shoes, statement jewelry, lamps, serveware and a consignment section of antique furniture and china. The store puts its own footprint at 25,000 square feet, which makes it less a boutique than a small independent department store sitting on old Route 11 in Augusta County, in the Shenandoah Valley a few miles north of Staunton.
Its neighbor is county government. The Augusta County Sheriff’s office is on the same stretch of Lee Highway, with Greer Road running between the two — when VDOT closed the rail crossing on Dick Huff Lane and had to detour traffic bound for the county government center, it used the Fashion Gallery as the landmark in its own notice. The county school division’s central office is a short distance away on Government Center Lane, and Augusta County’s new courthouse on Dick Huff Lane moves the county seat from Staunton into Verona.
Two prom brands are confirmed through the designers’ own retailer lists:
- Alyce Paris
- Dave & Johnny
The store’s site describes its special-occasion department as running from cocktail to black tie in petites through plus sizes, including pant suits and separates, and says alterations are available in-store. That last part matters more than it sounds: a hem or a bodice take-in handled where you bought the dress is one fewer errand in Staunton in the two weeks before the dance.
Who is buying dresses here
Augusta County runs five high schools, and Verona sits near the middle of them: Fort Defiance up Route 11, which enrolled 731 students in 2024–25, plus Wilson Memorial in Fishersville, Buffalo Gap in Swoope, Riverheads south of Staunton, and Stuarts Draft. The Staunton and Waynesboro city divisions are both a short drive off. Since one sales floor serves all of them, it is worth asking at the fitting room whether anyone from your school has already taken the dress you are holding.
Why the drive is shorter than the alternative
Mall prom shopping is no longer a local option. The Staunton Mall — which stood on county land despite the name — lost its remaining tenants, was rezoned in 2021 for mixed-use redevelopment, and had been largely cleared by early 2023, with residents still complaining to the Board of Supervisors about the empty site in mid-2024. That leaves independent stores like this one, or a half-hour north up Interstate 81 to Harrisonburg.
Getting there and calling first
From I-81, Exit 227 puts you on Laurel Hill Road (Route 612), which meets Lee Highway about a mile and a third west of the interchange. Parking is a lot out front, no meters or garages. Hours are the one thing to verify before you drive: the store’s own site lists Monday through Saturday, 10 to 5, while several third-party listings show earlier openings and Sunday afternoons. Call (540) 248-4292 and confirm, especially if you are coming from Harrisonburg or over the mountain from Charlottesville.
The shop dates its opening to November 1981, in part of the brick building it still occupies.