Where did you shop for your DD prom dress? So many options…looking for a “nice” shopping experience. I’ve heard so many nightmares! 
Thank you!
We did the department stores- lord and taylor and macy’s and got lucky (mac’ys in the short hills mall recently expanded their fancy dress area significantly)
We did Rent the Runway. There is a brick and mortar store in Chicago, but you can do it all by mail as well.
Ebay. My kiddo got a gorgeous retro dress from the 80’s for fifty bucks and was insanely complimented and photographed by everyone. It was gorgeous, and being retro made it edgy and daring. No one else had anything like it, and we had a bigger budget for shoes and jewelry.
My daughter did Rent the Runway for her college formal dresses. They have plenty of information about how the dress fits different body types. A very positive experience.
People actually fly into Chicago Midway and take a taxi to Peaches Boutique about 2 miles away. The store is huge and the lines can be long. I don’t know if they take appointments.
We found both my daughter’s prom dresses at Bloomingdales, Short Hills. The first dress was so unique and beautiful that she had it cut to cocktail length after the prom. That dress was worn many times by many girls in college. The other dress was on such a good sale that we went straight to the Nordstrom and splurged on some absolutely gorgeous shoes.
Not sure what part of NJ you live in , but there is a shop in Atlantic County where most of the local girls go to called Rissy Roos. They keep track of where the prom is so no two girls show up wearing the same dress.
Back in the day when D was attending such events, the kids went to all the stores in the mall and some shopped thrift shops as well. Some even shopped sibs closets. Everyone did find something and looked lovely! D is very petite and each time ended up buying the one dress in all the shopping we did that fit her–it was always a choice of one with no alterations. Sounds like NJ has quite a few options for your to choose among.
@lje62 they kept track of dresses at ONE shop near here too…but…those dresses are sold all over the place.
Sounds like a cute shop, however.
My daughter had very good luck at Macy’s of all places.
D shopped the local Goodwill “glitter” sale and bought two dresses for $30! She looked great at both the prom and the Drama Awards. (And no one had the same dress. )
I’m in NY but I would second trying Bloomies. My D got a dress she loved on sale!
Try Betsey Johnson in Woodbury Common Premium Outlets
Great suggestions! Anyone familiar with Park Avenue South in Tom’s River, NJ?
@tpcrd66
im not familiar with that one, but New York City Glitz in bayville (pine beach, rte 9) gets rave reviews and everyone that i know who shopped there was very, very happy. its just south of TR.
D was a fan of Rent the Runway in college and after, but if your HS student can buy a dress for only a little more than renting, it can be worn in college, where is is unlikely to have been seen before by many of the same crowd. And it’s always good to own one dress in the event of a last-minute invitation or a RTR delivery fail.
Off-price (Saks Off 5th, Nordstrom Rack, Last Call) and consignment shops were good sources for formals in addition to sales at department stores. Niece had good luck buying on eBay, but you have to budget time and money for alterations if needed since you can’t try on/return.
A good online source of fancy duds is RealReal. One can get a barely worn designer dress for the price of a Macy’s dress. Again, like eBay, it is a fishing expedition - you never know what will appear there at what time.
Hope your daughter has a blast at the prom!
Two of the popular ones that girls use in our area are: Jan’s in Cherry Hill, NJ and Castle Couture in Manalapan.
There is a store at the Jersey Garden’s Mall that I hear is super popular with prom goers. The Bridgewater Commons Mall also has some nice options. My daughter’s friends had good success there - mostly at Macy’s I think. My daughter had excellent success at a local thrift store. She had a dress that was different from everyone else and that flattered her.
@kac425 …thank you! That shop was also recommended to me and not far from Park Avenue South…I will check it out for sure!!
Hello everyone! I wanted to report back…we did a 7 hour shopping extravaganza on Saturday. Unfortunately, we didn’t find “the dress” yet but had a very nice shopping experience. We spent 2 1/2 hours at Park Avenue South in Toms River…wonderful selection, very friendly, helpful and non-pushy staff. From there, we headed to NYC Glitz …also very nice staff, smaller selection but lovely dresses…almost found a winner. Last stop, Castle Couture in Manalapan…oh my…third largest prom dress selection in the country! We waited about 40 minutes to be called in from the waiting area but then we had a lovely salesgirl (again, very friendly…not pushy) but just couldn’t find the right one. We will head up north Jersey next trip. Stay tuned and again, thanks for all the great suggestions!!