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Formalwear Questions?
We can help you with that! From start to finish, Always & Forever is dedicated to helping our clients find their perfect dress for homecoming, prom, or whatever special life event you are celebrating!
Appointments are strongly encouraged when formalwear shopping at Always & Forever for less wait time. Every client is paired with a personal stylist and fitting room dedicated to them while they shop, and appointments receive priority when you arrive.
Wait times can occur for walk ins, especially during peak shopping seasons, so if you know when you're planning to visit A&F, we recommend booking your appointment before coming in to shop!
Booking your prom or homecoming appointment is easy! You can reserve your appointment online through our website anytime or call us at 479-646-1997 during store hours and our team will be happy to get you booked.
Appointments are strongly encouraged for less wait time. Booking ahead reserves a personal stylist and fitting room for you and gives you priority when you arrive. During busy prom and homecoming shopping days wait times can occur.
There is no fee to book an appointment, but a credit card is required to reserve your time. Your card will only be charged a $25 fee in the event of a no-call/no-show.
Each prom or homecoming appointment is reserved for one person trying on dresses. Because every shopper is paired with her own personal stylist and fitting room, two friends or sisters who both want to try on will each need their own appointment.
Want to shop together? Absolutely! We recommend booking two appointments at the same time so you can share the experience while still getting your own fitting rooms and dedicated stylists. If you're having trouble finding two appointments together online, give us a call at 479-646-1997 and our team will be happy to help.
Your 60-minute formalwear appointment at Always & Forever is all about helping you find a dress you feel amazing in! You'll be paired with a personal stylist who will start by getting to know you, your event, what you're looking for in a dress, and anything else you want her to know. From there, she'll help you find dresses to try on and be right there in the fitting room to help with zippers, lace-up backs, clamps, and anything else you need.
While you shop, your stylist will also check each dress you try on against our event tracking system by designer style number and color. This helps ensure A&F does not sell the exact same dress in the same color to someone attending your event. Throughout your appointment, your stylist is there to answer questions, offer guidance, and help you find the dress that makes you feel comfortable, confident, and most like yourself.
The earlier, the better! Shopping early for your prom or homecoming dress gives you the best selection of styles, colors, and sizes before dresses begin selling and being tracked to events. We receive new arrivals throughout the season and typically have more than 1,000 homecoming dresses in store, with our selection growing to nearly 2,000 dresses during peak prom season.
Shopping early means more dresses to choose from, fewer styles already tracked to your event, and plenty of time to enjoy the experience without feeling rushed. Pair that selection with your A&F personal stylist, and you're setting yourself up for the best possible prom or homecoming dress shopping experience!
Our prom and homecoming dresses range from approximately $299-$899, with most dresses priced between $398-$798. During homecoming season, our average dress price is around $418, and our short homecoming dresses average around $345. We also have a large selection of designer formal dresses on sale, with sale styles currently averaging around $299.
We want you to find a dress you love AND feel good about the price! At the beginning of your appointment, your personal stylist will ask what price point you're most comfortable with and help guide you toward prom or homecoming dresses that work for both you and your budget.
Our in-store prom and homecoming dress collection includes sizes 000-28, with dresses available to try on across a wide variety of styles, colors, designers, and price points.
Because formalwear sizing can vary between designers and even between different dress styles, don't worry too much about the number on the tag! Your personal stylist will help you find the sizes and dresses that fit comfortably and make you feel your best.
Absolutely! Always & Forever carries plus-size prom and homecoming dresses in store up to size 28, with options across different styles, colors, designers, and price points. We want every girl who shops with us to have beautiful dresses to try on and options that make her feel comfortable, confident, and completely herself.
Your personal stylist will help you find dresses that work for your style, your event, and the way you want to feel in your dress. The number on the tag is never the most important part of finding the one you love.
Always & Forever carries prom and homecoming dresses from Sherri Hill, Amarra, Ellie Wilde, Kate Parker, and Ava Presley. Together, these designers give us a wide variety of styles, colors, sizes, and price points so every girl can find a dress that feels like her.
Our prom and homecoming collections are carefully selected with Arkansas and Oklahoma girls in mind, from the trends everyone is loving to styles that feel completely different from what everyone else is wearing.
YES! Always & Forever has our largest selection of short homecoming and formal dresses ever, with hundreds of short dresses in store in sizes 000-24. From homecoming dances and court to pep rallies, parades, freshman formals, winter formals, and more, we have short dresses for all the events you're celebrating!
Girls from across Arkansas and Oklahoma can shop our Fort Smith collection for short dresses in tons of colors, styles, designers, and price points. Whether you already know exactly what you want or need help figuring it out, your personal stylist will help you find the short dress that feels the most like you.
We do everything we can to make sure your A&F dress stays YOUR dress for your event! Every prom and homecoming dress purchased at Always & Forever is tracked to your event by designer, style number, color. Once we sell a specific dress and color to your event, we will not sell that same designer style number in that same color to another girl attending your event.
Why? Because finding a dress you love should also come with the confidence of knowing we're protecting your choice. Our stylists check dress tracking while you shop, so you'll know which options are available for your event before you fall in love.
We can only track dresses purchased from Always & Forever, and different designers often have similar-looking styles. We take our tracking policy seriously because it's one more way we make prom and homecoming dress shopping at A&F feel personal, special, and focused on YOU.
If a prom or homecoming dress is already tracked to your event in that exact designer, style number, and color, we won't have you try it on. We never want you to fall in love with a dress we already know we can't sell to you because another A&F girl has it registered for your event.
But don't worry, that doesn't mean the style is completely off the table! Your personal stylist can check whether we have the same dress available in another color that is still open for your event. And you might be surprised by how different the exact same dress can look in a new color!
If that dress still isn't an option, your stylist will keep helping you explore our 1,000+ dresses in store to find something you love just as much. . . or maybe even more.
Possibly! If you fall in love with a prom or homecoming dress that we don't have in the color or size you need, our team is always happy to check with the designer to see if a special order is available. Availability depends on the specific designer, style, color, size, and how quickly you need your dress, so special orders cannot be guaranteed.
If a special order isn't available in time for your event, don't worry! With more than 1,000 formal dresses in store during homecoming season and an even larger selection during prom, your personal stylist can help you explore other options and find a dress you love that works for your style, size, event, and timeline.
Yes! Always & Forever offers interest-free payment plans on regular-priced prom and homecoming dresses to give you more flexibility when purchasing your dress. Our standard 60-day payment plan divides your purchase into three payments: 1/3 is due when you say "YES," another 1/3 is due within 30 days, and the remaining balance is due within 60 days.
Shopping less than 60 days before your event? No problem! You'll still pay the initial 1/3, and our team will work with you on a payment timeline that fits within the time you have before your event. Your dress will stay safely at A&F and must be paid in full before it can leave the store.
Formalwear payment plans also require the purchase of a $32 deluxe gown bag so your dress can be properly stored and protected while it stays with us. Clearance dresses are not eligible for payment plans.
We recommend planning for your prom or homecoming dress to need some type of alteration to get the fit just right for you. Sometimes that may be as simple as adjusting the straps or perfecting the hem for your height, while other dresses may need additional adjustments based on the style and how you want it to fit.
Always & Forever does not have an in-house seamstress, but we're happy to provide a list of recommended seamstresses throughout western Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma. Alterations are completed and paid for directly with the seamstress of your choice after you purchase your dress from A&F. Because each seamstress operates independently, we're unable to quote alteration pricing or timelines.
Because prom and homecoming dresses are purchased for specific events during a limited shopping season, all formalwear sales at Always & Forever are final. Dresses cannot be returned, refunded, or exchanged after purchase. This also applies to deposits or payments made toward special orders and payment plans.
That's why your personal stylist is there to help you feel comfortable and confident in your decision before you say "YES." She'll help you with fit, price point, event tracking, and any questions you have along the way so you can choose the dress that feels right for you and your event.
Always & Forever is located at 1200 S. Waldron Road, Suite #133, Fort Smith, AR 72903. You'll find our prom and homecoming dress store behind Central Mall, right next to the Malco Theatre.
Our location makes A&F an easy prom and homecoming dress shopping destination for girls and families throughout western Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma. Whether you're coming from right here in Fort Smith or making the drive to shop with us, we can't wait to help you find your dress!