It’s the second full week in April, and if you’re a young lady in high school getting ready for the prom, you should probably start thinking about finding a dress.
And not just any dress. Ladies, this is your prom, so you might want to make sure this is the perfect dress. After all, the boy you go with may be long gone, but that picture will be around forever.
We understand it can be a little overwhelming and normally we’d tell you we’re here to help and all that kind of crazy nonsense, but we don’t know the first thing when it comes to finding the perfect prom gown. That’s where Tina Smith comes in.
She’s the owner of Bravo Boutique on North Main Street and has plenty of experience when it comes to finding exactly what you envisioned – from color to backing to straps. Smith has owned Bravo for less than two years after purchasing the business from AJ Silva, but this is her second prom season in charge (she also worked there for a year prior.) So she has a good handle on what’s going on when it comes to prom season.
Believe it or not, she sold her first prom gown for this year all the way back in December, and there’s been a steady stream of young ladies coming through the door for a while now.
“January is really when prom season starts for us,” Smith said. “It’s been a crazy season for us and kids are still coming in.”
And Smith has a system when it comes to making sure that special dress stays special – and it’s quite simple. If a lovely lady from, let’s say, Concord High, buys a certain gown for her prom in June, Smith will not sell the same dress to another Concord prom attendee. Yes, it limits the number of potential dresses for others, but it also makes sure there aren’t 25 of the same dresses at the same prom.
“Last year we sold dresses to girls at 36 different schools and totaled four states,” Smith said.
When it comes to helping a potential customer, Smith wants them to feel at home. They laugh and have fun, she asks them what color they’re looking for and takes measurements.
“I try to put myself in their shoes,” Smith said. “I want people to feel great in what they’re wearing, feel beautiful in what they’re wearing.”
She has them try on a handful of different styles and wants them to learn something from each one. Sometimes they find the one that fits right off the rack, others need a little altering (which they do in house) and others end up ordering a different size/color from the catalogue.
“I’ll tell them if there’s something you see, grab it,” she said. “Some girls will try just about every single dress on.”
And you don’t have to spend a year’s worth of allowance – if kids even get that anymore – for the perfect gown. Smith has prom dresses that range from $195 to $565, and all she asks is that you put half the money down when it’s ordered and the rest when you take it home. You can pay it all at once or a little bit each week.
Red and blue always seem to be the most popular colors, but this year white and gold have been strong contenders. More shoppers have been looking for dresses with straps than the previously more popular strapless options.
It’s to the point now where the lines she sells are out of stock for some of the gowns, so she has to sell them right off the racks.
And Smith has seen plenty of the same girls from last year coming back and others who were told about Bravo by one of those girls.
“Word of mouth is 100 percent why people walk in here,” she said.
But Bravo isn’t all about prom gowns. They have gowns for other occasions as well, along with dresses for weddings – they just don’t sell wedding dresses, if you know what we mean. They have tops, blouses and skirts, and plenty of handbags and accessories to compliment any attire.
Even if you didn’t buy your gown at Bravo, you can still get your alterations done there.
“I love that I have that here,” Smith said. “Not everything fits everyone. It’s another nice little service to have for our customers.”
When Smith bought the business from her former employer, it kind of came out of nowhere.
“He had a potential buyer,” Smith said. “And then he called me literally the day the person said no. He said ‘I got to talk to you about something.’ He really wanted someone who loved Bravo.”
At the time it was located at the corner of Capital and North Main. Less than six months in she needed to find a new spot – but it wasn’t going to be far from that location.
“I knew I wanted to stay on Main Street,” Smith said. “Not a question in my mind that I’d go anywhere else. I love this little street.”
Now close to two years later, the former pediatric nurse who still works in the medical field when she’s not at the store, couldn’t be happier with her location – even with the Main Street redesign currently happening right outside her front door.
“The flow of it, the size of it, the location is just incredible,” she said.
So ladies, if you’re still looking for that perfect prom gown for your high school soiree or the upcoming mom prom, check out Bravo. You might just find that perfect dress.
