Angela Oliverio Patsy owns and runs Oliverio's Bridal and Prom Boutique, and the shop has been in business in Clarksburg, in north-central West Virginia, since 1989. Its reputation, in the store's description, rests on the finest selection of prom, bridal and pageant gowns in the state. Sherri Hill, Jovani, Rachel Allan, Ashley Lauren, Alyce, Tarik Ediz, Johnathan Kayne, Tiffany Designs and Primavera Couture all have prom collections in the shop's catalog, with JVN by Jovani, Jovani short and cocktail styles, and a long list of homecoming lines alongside them.
The About page does not undersell any of it, and its prom line is short and sure of itself.
Our prom gown selection is phenomenal! We carry the top designers!
That confidence comes from a long run of fitting gowns for girls who will be judged on stage, which shapes how the staff approach a prom dress too. Fit, length and how a bodice moves under lights get the same attention whether the event is a county pageant or a Harrison County junior prom.
The pageant side, and why prom shoppers benefit
Pageantry has its own space in the store, with a runway and a private viewing area. Oliverio's is an official gown sponsor for the Miss West Virginia USA and Miss West Virginia Teen USA pageants, the Miss West Virginia America and Miss West Virginia's Outstanding Teen programs, United National pageants in several states, and a run of international titles from Miss Universe Iceland to Miss Universe US Virgin Islands. Its pageant record also includes top finalists at Miss Universe, along with winners across the state, the country and the world.
For a prom shopper, that runway is the useful part. Walking a gown down a real runway shows you the train, the slit and the hem in motion, which a three-way mirror never quite does. A few other pieces of the pageant setup carry over neatly to prom season.
Custom design
Designer Fernando Wong has made return visits, and his custom pieces are part of the regular stock
Makeup
Victoria Duke Beauty, booked for prom, homecoming, pageant and bridal through the shop's own phone line
Alterations
By appointment, scheduled directly with the store
Accessories
Jim Ball Designs jewelry, Touch Up and Nina shoes, dyeable heels and a pageant-grade stock of the small things a gown needs
Who shops the racks
Clarksburg sits where Interstate 79 crosses U.S. 50 in Harrison County, so the trade area stretches in four directions. Robert C. Byrd High School and Liberty High School are both in Clarksburg, Bridgeport High School is just east, South Harrison High School is down in Lost Creek and Lincoln High School is up in Shinnston. Marion County families come down I-79 from Fairmont Senior and East Fairmont, and Buckhannon-Upshur High School shoppers come up from the south. Pageant clients travel from much farther than that.
Homework before the visit is easy on this one. The online catalog lets you filter in-stock gowns by size, from 000 up through 26, and save favorites to a wish list, so a shopper from Shinnston or Fairmont can see what is physically on the floor in her size before she ever gets in the car. Homecoming has its own deep bench in the same catalog: Alyce short styles, Jovani homecoming and cocktail lengths, and JVN homecoming. A fall homecoming visit doubles as a scouting trip for the long gowns that follow in spring.
Prom season itself starts early here. New gowns land through the winter months, and the strongest pick of sizes and colors is on the floor before spring break.
After a recent remodel, by the owners' account, the freshened floor now carries more prom labels than most shoppers will get through in one afternoon. Carryover prom gowns have gone on sale at half the original price when new stock arrives, so it pays to watch the shop's events page from late winter on.
Bridal and tuxedos round out the building. The wedding gown side is full service.
The prom date's tux
Jim's Formalwear
Start
Build the tux online
Finish
Complete the order at Oliverio's
Shopping prom at Oliverio's
Which prom designers does Oliverio's stock?
Sherri Hill, Jovani, Rachel Allan, Ashley Lauren, Alyce Paris, Tarik Ediz, Johnathan Kayne, Tiffany Designs and Primavera Couture.
Can I book prom makeup through the shop?
Yes. Oliverio's carries Victoria Duke Beauty and schedules prom makeup appointments with its artists by phone.
How do alterations work there?
They are booked by appointment through the store, so set one up when you buy the gown rather than the week of the dance.