T.i.P. reporter Paige Carruthers tries on a gown at Lorraine Roy dress shop.
photo by Ping Zeng // Artists for Humanity

Dressed for prom: chic & shimmery

“There are two great times to be a girl: your wedding and prom night,” says Amanda Sanford Smith, store manager of Lorraine Roy, a dress shop in Danvers.

This spring is a great time for female teens in Boston and the suburbs to show off their girly side as the 2008 prom season shifts into high gear. Through the years, prom fashion has evolved from the classic Cinderella look to more mature and daring styles. Teens in Print staff visited Lorraine Roy, where we found out that there is a dress for every girl in this year’s collection. The wide variety of styles, prints, and materials makes it easy to find the perfect dress to suit your taste. Check out what’s hot for this year’s prom and how you can be part of the party.

• Be the star of your prom. A metallic colored dress will make you shine. Make a bold statement in a bronze, gold, or silver dress. You will look luminous and chic. Wearing a dress made of a lamé material gives the wearer a shiny look with lots of depth. If you don’t want to wear a metallic dress, pair a simple dress with glistening metallic accessories.

• Bring out your wild side on prom night. (But please, not on the dance floor.) Animal prints are making their debut this season. Be adventurous with zebra stripes and leopard prints. To go for a more retro look, combine different prints. Animal prints and polka dots create a fun combination.

• Try on a cocktail dress for a sleek and sophisticated look. These garments are long, form-fitting, and modern. Most cocktail dresses emphasize the three Bs: bust, back, and bum. Dresses with “back interest” show off your back and are popular this year. Some dresses may have criss-cross straps, lace cut-outs, or trains. Some backs plunge to almost revealing depths.

• Consider a dress with beads to make a simple dress more detailed with carefully woven floral and leaf patterns. Bead work is concentrated on the bodice or straps of the dress. This makes it unnecessary to wear a necklace. Simple, sparkling earrings pick up the color of the beads and make the whole look come together.

• Say no to your mother’s prom dress. Instead of an innocent looking blue or puffy pink prom dress, the traditional look takes a modern twist. The Cinderella style dress is now more daring in dark colors such as black or red. The lacing detail gives it a Spanish sensation. Bodices are slim fitting with clean lines to help you show off your figure. Most important, puffed sleeves are history.

Lorraine Roy: one stop prom shop

Classic pre-prom scene: You find yourself scrambling to Macy’s frantically looking for the perfect dress for the big night “or the big disaster,” you think, as you haphazardly throw dresses into a fitting room. Nothing you see has that WOW factor. After trying on 20 dresses you finally find one that’s similar to what you’re looking for. You get in line, exhausted from the ordeal, and that’s when you realize the girl in front of you is holding the same dress. And you haven’t even gotten your shoes and accessories yet.

If you’ve witnessed this scenario from the sidelines, or have experienced it yourself, here’s the good news. Lorraine Roy, a Danvers dress shop, located at 30-32 Maple Street, solves this problem. This stylish boutique is the go to place for formal dresses. With their motto, “one dress, one school” it’s impossible to go through the awkward “same outfit experience.”

Lorraine Roy carries a select and versatile inventory of dresses. They carry designers such as Jovani, La Femme, Terani, and Faviana, known for its celebrity knock-off dresses, like replicas of gowns Beyoncé and Eva Longoria wore at 2007 award shows. While they carry esteemed designers, prices are reasonable, ranging from $150-600, which fits into the average prom dress budget of about $300.

Not only are they budget friendly, but body type friendly. Store Manager Amanda Sanford Smith says, “This is a judge-free zone.” Their sizes range from 0 to 26 so no one should worry about going on a no eating diet just to fit into a dress two sizes too small.

But if you’re looking for someone to say you look good in a dress too small, Lorraine Roy isn’t the place. Staff pledge to be honest about what they think. Long time customer Lauren Hovey, 17, says, “They’re always complimenting you, and if it doesn’t look nice they’ll tell you.” This ‘honesty is the best policy’ approach keeps teens like Hovey coming back year after year.

Also, customer service is impeccable. Founder Lorraine Roy laid the foundations when she said, “I treat people as if I’m welcoming them into my home.”

With an onsite seamstress, shoe and handbag collection, and colorful variety of dresses, Lorraine Roy (978-774-0825) may be the only place to shop this year.

Lorraine Roy dress shop in Danvers offers one stop prom shopping.
photos by Ping Zeng // Artists for Humanity