Girls go to great lengths to find that perfect formal dress, literally. They drive so far as an hour and 45 minutes to get to King of Prussia Mall, over an hour to get to Christiana Mall, and 40 minutes to get to Towson Marketplace. Gas prices are too high to waste on driving so far to a place where the perfect dress may not even be found. Instead of driving a ridiculous amount of time to find a dress, just head to a place less than five minutes from school.
Not only does Main Street in downtown Bel Air feature a few dress stores, but it is also close to home and worth a try. Walk into B. Fabulous, Tiger Lily, or The Pink Silhouette to find a dress, some accessories, a great conversation, and a JC alumna.
Right off the side of Main Street is a tiny cottage with a sign that reads “The Pink Silhouette.” The only way to describe walking into the cottage is walking through the wardrobe into Narnia. The entrance into the plain-faced cottage opens to a wonderland of color that will leave anyone with a smile on their face.
The Pink Silhouette does not have formal dresses for Ring Dance or Prom, but there are plenty of dresses for girls looking for something to wear for Ring Breakfast.
Brightly colored Lilly Pulitzer dresses line the shelves of the store and adorn the mannequins placed neatly all around. The prices for the dresses range from $60 to $300.
The Pink Silhouette and B. Fabulous are both owned by JC alumna Susan Patti. Patti describes Pink Silhouette as “more branded” versus B. Fabulous which is darker, edgier, and more unique with “funky, chunky jewelry.”
B. Fabulous is also a small boutique without a huge array of formal dresses that girls consider for Prom or Ring Dance. However, there are also plenty of dresses for Ring Breakfast and the Ring Ceremony.
Tiger Lily is very feminine and has a much bigger array of formal dresses which are shipped in every two weeks, all of which are priced over $200 and are worth each penny in style.
This store is better equipped for formal dances as it features more changing rooms and even heels just for girls to try on to see the complete look. Clare Sneddon, class of ’07, works at Tiger Lily and makes sure to help out customers in their search for the perfect dress.
Tiger Lily has even kept in mind the problem of two girls showing up to one dance with the same dress. “[We] keep track of what dresses go to what school,” Sneddon said. She admits that girls may buy the same dress from another store, but the small boutique does play a hand in limiting the problem.
For Prom and Ring Dance, avoid the headache and go to Tiger Lily to get a formal, lengthy evening gown. Ring Breakfast and Ring Ceremony dresses can easily be found in B. Fabulous as well as The Pink Silhouette.
Chioma Iheoma is an A&E Editor for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com