Long before there was a store in Charles Pointe, Melissa Hays made her own prom gown in high school, and her date was Dale, the man she later married. The family history page of House of Fashions tells that story first, and the Bridgeport shop grew out of it. Melissa has been sewing for more than 40 years, a talent the site traces to her mother, Alice Bolyard. When her older daughter Shannon reached high school, Melissa hand-beaded a prom gown for her over nearly three months. Pageant gowns, interview suits and a full wedding party followed.
Her younger daughter, Keri, picked up the pageant habit at 16 and kept competing through college, with her mother building the wardrobe. The site lists where that sewing went next.
2006
Melissa makes national competition gowns for Miss Michigan Teen USA, who placed in the Top 15
2008
National competition gowns for Miss Michigan USA
2010
Melissa and Keri turn that experience into a store
A model home turned prom showroom
The building is part of the story. A 2020 feature from the Bridgeport Convention and Visitors Bureau explained that the shop occupies a former Grafton Homes model home, moved to its lot in pieces. Keri Hays Snell, now co-owner and buyer, described the job this way: "We used three different companies; one to disassemble it, another to move it eight or nine miles by tractor trailer and a different company to reassemble it." The same feature put the inventory at more than 1,000 gowns, with prom and homecoming stocked in sizes 00 through 30.
The house got bigger in 2021. Connect-Bridgeport reported a 48-by-60-foot addition joined to the original showroom by a breezeway, with a ceiling that rises to 32 feet in the middle. Keri explained the reason in terms any prom shopper will recognize: "Girls are shopping with more people. A girl may come in looking for a Homecoming dress and have six of her friends and family members with her." The new room gives that entourage space to sit and watch. Upstairs, the addition holds a workspace for the in-store seamstress so alterations move faster.
That last point shapes how the shop handles fit. Alterations happen in-house, and the store page asks customers to book an alterations appointment so the seamstress is free when they arrive. For a prom gown that needs a hem or a taken-in bodice, the work stays in the building where the dress was bought.
What hangs in the prom room
The vendors page lists the prom, homecoming and special occasion lines by name:
- Sherri Hill and Jovani
- Ellie Wilde and Rachel Allan
- La Femme and Mac Duggal
- Scala and Terani Couture
- Morrell Maxie and Tony Bowls
The page describes the mix as a blend of established names and newer, up-and-coming lines, chosen to give shoppers a variety of choices. Pageant gowns are kept as an in-store surprise, which the site frames as protecting the "WOW" factor.
The site counts custom work among the things that set House of Fashions apart, and the shop handles more than the gown itself.
Custom gowns
Made-to-measure prom, bridal or evening gowns, with an inquiry form that asks about the event date, budget and the dress you have in mind
Tuxedo rentals
Available for dates
Accessories
Shoes, jewelry and headpieces to go with a gown
A custom gown also solves the duplicate problem in the most complete way possible, since nobody else at the dance can own the same one.
Near the end of the history page, mother and daughter agree that every formal, from prom to a wedding, should be about the experience.
The experience of finding the right dress, that fits you right, that makes you light up and smile, that makes you feel like you are beautiful.
Bridal is the other part of the business, with sample gowns ordered in the bride's size and custom bridesmaid dresses available, but the family's own path into the trade ran through prom and pageant first.
Which schools shop Charles Pointe
Charles Pointe is the mixed-use development off I-79 in Bridgeport, and the shop pulls from across Harrison County and the counties around it in north-central West Virginia. Bridgeport High School is the closest. Robert C. Byrd High School in Clarksburg, South Harrison in Lost Creek and Lincoln High School in Shinnston are all Harrison County schools, and Grafton High School and Fairmont Senior bring shoppers in from Taylor and Marion counties. With store hours that shift between the off-season and peak prom months, checking the shop's Facebook page or phoning before a visit saves a wasted trip.
Before a visit to House of Fashions
Can House of Fashions make a prom gown from scratch?
Yes. The custom page offers made-to-order prom, bridal and evening gowns, drawing on Melissa Hays's decades of sewing, and it has an inquiry form for describing the design.
Who does the alterations?
The store has its own seamstress on site. Book an alterations appointment so she is available when you come in.