Christina Reed's shop has dressed Casper since 1980, though it started out as something else entirely. Formal gowns took over soon after it opened, the name changed to Christina's Prom and Bridal, and the store has kept moving to bigger rooms ever since. Christina is still the owner, and three addresses later the store still serves prom shoppers from across central Wyoming.
The shop's motto has not changed with the addresses.
Making Special Moments Magical and Making Dreams Come True since 1980.
Gowns and tuxes in one building on Casper's east side
Each move gave the store more room for gowns and, later, tuxedos, and the move to Hilltop put the store on the east side of Casper. For families coming in from Evansville, or up I-25 from Glenrock, that is the near side of town, and a shopping-center lot makes an afternoon of trying on gowns with a mother, an aunt and a friend in tow a lot less of a production than a downtown curb.
1980
Christina Reed opens Christina's Lingerie on the Sandbar, a small strip mall. Prom and bridal gowns soon become the main business.
1981
The store moves into the Eastridge Mall
1987
Crown Formal Wear, the tuxedo rental side, starts in the back room of the mall store
2002
A larger space in the Hilltop Shopping Center, where it still operates
The back-room tux counter from the mall years is a big reason the shop is such an easy stop for prom couples. A gown and a rental can be sorted in the same building, by people who do both every spring. The team includes a manager, several consultants, a seamstress and three tux specialists, so the menswear side gets real attention.
What the formal floor carries
The prom and formal catalog is broad. The shop's own formal collection names these labels:
- Alyce Paris, Amarra and Ava Presley
- Clarisse and Colette by Daphne (Colette)
- Ellie Wilde and Morilee
- La Divine by Cinderella Divine, Nox Anabel, Nina Canacci, Amoris and Juliet Dresses
Christina's carries hundreds of dresses in stock and special orders from many designers. That combination suits a Natrona County High School junior who wants to try on a lot of shapes in one sitting, and also a Kelly Walsh High School senior who has already picked a style number and wants it ordered in her size and color. Pageant dresses share the formal floor too, which helps anyone who needs an evening gown for a local or state pageant later in the year.
Prom accessories are part of the inventory as well. The store sells shoes and jewelry, and one customer review credits Christina's with having size 14 dress shoes and a tie when no one else in town did. Another parent wrote about a daughter who fell for a purple gown in the display window and went home in it. On the menswear side, Crown Formalwear rents designer tuxedos.
Tuxedo rental
Crown Formalwear
Designers
Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren, Perry Ellis, Allure and Lord West
Vests
Larr Brio
Colors
Black, gray and navy to blue and tan
Made for
Prom, weddings and every other formal occasion
For a Casper couple, that means a single appointment request can cover the dress and the tux, and the rental can be measured while the gown is being tried on.
Appointments are optional for prom. The booking form lists Prom as its own interest alongside bridal, bridesmaids, tuxedos and accessories, and it asks for a budget so the consultants can pull options in range before you arrive. Fitting areas seat three guests comfortably. Roosevelt High School and the smaller Natrona County towns round out the local prom calendar, and the shop's sizing and special-order options cover all of them.
Maggie Sottero, Allure Bridals and a January bridal show downtown
Alongside prom, Christina's runs a full-service bridal boutique with one-on-one bridal consultations and wedding gown appointments. Its wedding gowns include Maggie Sottero and Allure Bridals. Bridal is the department where appointments are preferred, and a credit card is required for bridal appointments. A bride who buys her wedding gown here receives discounts on all of her wedding purchases, from veils to bridesmaids to shoes, and the store also offers discounts for larger wedding parties. Each January the store runs a bridal show downtown, with runway segments that include suits and tuxedos.
Before you visit Christina's in Casper
Can Christina's order a prom dress that is not on the rack?
Yes. The store keeps hundreds of dresses in stock and also special orders from many designers, so a style can usually be ordered in your size and color.
Where does the tuxedo for prom come from?
From Crown Formalwear, the tux rental side of the same business, which has operated inside Christina's since 1987. Shoes and ties are sold in the store as well.