Gowns and Dresses For Rent and For Sale

Fairy Tales Formals specializes in rentals and sales of designer dresses and gowns to suit any formal event. We are the only formalwear rental location in Massachusetts that rents women's formalwear and we encourage you to come check out our selection for your next event. And yes, we do carry plus–size formalwear.

With a consistently changing inventory, you can rent any gown or dress in stock for $60 plus alterations. You can also buy any gown or dress in stock for less than our competitors. Most gowns and dresses are brand new, and those that aren't new are in like–new condition. Our quality standards are tough to meet, so rest assured that the dresses we carry are only of the highest quality.

Check out our Wedding Party Rental Package

Finding The Perfect Dress

There's no point in looking at gowns and dresses that simply don't do you justice, or those that make you wonder if you'll be proud to have worn it ten years from now. So, we'll eliminate those from the vast list of possibilities right away. Simply stated, the right gown or dress for you is the one that fits you on the outside just as well as it fits your personality and most of us also need to consider price in the equation, but that doesn't really help does it?

Let's start by making a list of what's important to us and why those things are important when shopping for that perfect gown or dress. I've said gown or dress because most formal dresses fall into the evening gown category, but not always is this the case. For instance, a cocktail dress can be considered appropriate formalwear for the event you're attending, and an evening gown would just make you look silly and over–dressed. That's the first item we need to determine on our list; what type of event am I attending and what would be appropriate formalwear for that event?

Here's a good rule of thumb to use for determining what type of event it will be and what level of formalwear will be acceptable: If the word formal or the phrase black tie are in the event description or title it's a safe bet to go with an evening gown. If it's an event that attendees are mostly friends or family, you should be okay with a cocktail dress or similar. For instance, weddings, unless you are in the bridal party, are usually family and friend events and therefore a cocktail dress is a pretty safe bet; however, High School Prom is a formal dance and therefore a evening gown is expected, but not necessarily required; an invitation to a dinner reads, Please join us in celebration of our third annual black–tie dinner, you'll need to be dressed to impress and therefore evening gowns are great.

You might also wish to take ticket price into consideration if all else fails. For example, if you receive the invitation to the black–tie dinner, but the ticket price is less than $100 per plate, you can probably get away with a nice cocktail dress as long as your date (if male) is dressed in a tux. So, bringing it all together we have:

• Friends/Family or less than $100 ticket, cocktail dress is fine.
• Formal/Black–tie event or more than $100 ticket, evening gown is best.

From here on, if you decided you need an evening gown, replace the word dress with evening gown, but I'm going to make it simple and only use the word dress.

Next on the list, let's determine the color of the dress. To do this, look in the mirror with different tops on to determine what colors bring out the best natural tone in your skin. Narrow them down and write down the top three colors - those will be your color preferences.

Many times we find the urge to look at magazines to find the perfect dress and that doesn't often pay off. Instead, let's look at the budget... how much can you safely afford on a new dress and how important is it that you're able to wear this dress more than once? The average dress life is only about 3 years, so don't think about wearing it again ten years from now (if you can, more power to you), but think about what other possibilities you'll have within three years to wear this dress again. Decide what price you feel comfortable with and write that down - that is the maximum you are willing to spend, which is usually pushed upward a little when you actually find the perfect dress.

Now that we have the basics about the dress, let's make it fit you. What dress style can you see yourself in: empire line, princess cut, full skirt, column dress, mermaid, strapless, spaghetti straps, etc. Consider neckline, shape, and sleeves/straps at least. Write down your top three choices for each option you considered. Now, you're ready to start looking in magazines and online for examples of the dress you want.

When you find one, tear the page out of the magazine or print a copy of the photo. Use it as an example every time you walk into a store and give it to the sales associate right away accompanied with the statement, this is the basic type of dress I'm looking for in either [insert colors]. Can you help me? If they seem confused or uncertain of anything, thank them and either go to a different sales associate or store. It's that simple.