Prom dresses - any physical shops I can try?

[RenegadeKeeblerElf]

DD wants to start looking for her prom dress early, and it's probably quite sensible as she is very fussy! As much as I am trying to steer her towards second hand she isn't having any of it (but she is going to cover the price difference between what I would be happy to pay and the cost of a new one!). I am struggling though to find any shops where we can actually go in and try things on - online is such a pain as I can see us buying and returning dozens of them before finding the right one. Department stores seem to be dying a death and bridal shops will be crazy expensive. Any ideas for options in Surrey/London?

We went to David's Bridal shop in Westfield (Stratford). It was surprisingly reasonable. Or at least not extortionate! You needed an appointment though and their uk
website is shit. The American site had an online brochure you could look through though.

I'm sure DD's dress was something like £130 last summer. Much less than I was expecting.

Fonthill road is supposed to be very good, near Finsbury Park

Other than bridal shops we want to Quiz and John Lewis and found THE dress and the almost dress there. We didn’t find anything in bridal shops that she liked as much.

THE dress was in the sale and cost £35.99 and IMO was one of the best dresses there. I know I’m biased but it was stunning, fit her perfectly without any alterations and everyone commented on it.

Argh it won’t let me edit. TK Maxx is worth a go too

Good to know John Lewis is a good option, I couldn't see much on their website but I get discount so it will be first choice! A trip to Westfield sounds like a good plan as all the shops mentioned seem to have a presence there.

I knew Mumsnet would have the answer!

Do you have a Boundary Mill or TK Maxx near you? They can be really useful for the more dressy outfits.

Lots of shops on Fonthill Rd in Finsbury Park, north London. It's well connected by tube, train, bus so should be easy if you can get to London.

We went to a prom dress boutique, not cheap but you get an appointment and personal shopper service, with only two customers at a time. it was in Hampshire not far from the Surrey border.

My daughter's came from TK Maxx, it was a few years ago, black beaded number