I didn't realize that prom dress shopping was such a "big deal" these days and walked into Cinderella's Closet expecting nothing more than what I could see anywhere else. WRONG!
The facility is ENORMOUS; every time I turned a new corner there was a whole other room, whether it be for dressing rooms, more dresses, or both.
I wasn't in need of a plus-size dress for my daughter, but they have an entire room dedicated to plus-size ladies and just the selection there is more varied than what I have seen in other stores for ladies of ANY size.
Associates are very helpful. We visited on a weekday evening and it seemed busy to me, but I was told that it was a walk in the park compared to weekend visits. However, I was also told that all associates work on weekends to handle the traffic that comes in. Associates work one-on-one with you, which I appreciated. I was pleasantly surprised to have my associate with me at the dressing room, handling the dresses for me. I had to do that myself at other stores. She was actually helping another customer at the same time as us, but I never felt neglected. The associates even go and pull dresses for you that they think you may like based on your price range and style preferences. This was a HUGE plus, because both my daughter and I felt very overwhelmed by the amount of dresses in the store.
The employees are very up-front with you about stock, as well as what can and cannot be ordered at that point in time based on what the manufacturers themselves have available to be shipped. I felt bad for our associate, who we kept sending off to check inventory for us to locate our sizes, but she did it all with a smile, like it was her pleasure.
My daughter ended up with what is a "Limited Edition" gown, which the store told me means that Cinderella's Closet has exclusive rights with the designer and had the dress made specifically FOR THEIR store. My daughter loved the fact that the dress couldn't be bought anywhere else and that there were limited quantities of it. It made her feel really special and unique. It also shocked me that Cinderella's Closet has that kind of power and standing with the manufacturers.
I got into conversation with a couple other mothers in the dressing area while our girls were in the dressing rooms, and one mother was from Alabama and the other had driven from South Carolina just to come to this store! Associates told me that this is a very common practice, as the store is the largest in the southeastern U.S.
The whole thing was incredible to me. I am sad that this was my daughter's senior prom and I won't be able to bring her back for another prom season. I feel like I missed out last year! However, I am having her tell all her underclassmen friends about Cinderella's Closet. Everyone should have a turn in this store!
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