Non- ‘girly girl’ opens local dress shop

Rewind to before last year’s prom season and Diana Vermeulen never would have thought about opening a dress shop. She describes herself as “one of the least girly girls you will ever meet.” And then, one day, her teenage daughter needed a prom dress.

Finding the perfect dress, Vermeulen said, turned out to be a nightmare for her and her daughter. With their high prices and limited size options, she continued, it was nearly impossible. This is when an idea formed in her mind, one which she said eventually would lead her to founding Hometown Event Dresses in Holyoke.

By scouting dress stores across the country, plus some donated dresses, Vermeulen found approximately 1,200 dresses of various styles. Currently, her inventory stands with half of her dresses new and the other half used. She hopes to expand the inventory with casual dresses and possibly men’s formal attire. The store also offers handbags, accessories and shoes.

According to Vermeulen, she focuses on ensuring the store’s dresses will range from sizes 00-32. She includes tax on all of the price tags; thus, the price on the dress is the actual price. Vermeulen is proud to say that the highest price item in the store is priced at $264, including tax. To further ensure the perfect dress, she offers tailoring and alterations.

Hometown Event Dresses can be found at 127 South Interocean Ave. With the dress store being opened for a month, she has high hopes for the future. Some events she is currently planning for are a Second Chance Prom, where adults can attend prom again, as well as a fashion show before prom. She additionally plans on donating dresses to the Boards of Cooperative Educational Services special needs prom. Half off dresses will be available next homecoming season in exchange for a donation dress. To donate dresses, Vermeulen said, “Just bring them in!”

Hometown Event Dresses’ hours are from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Monday, Friday and Saturday. The store also takes appointments that can be made by contacting the phone number 970-515-2726. Vermeulen further hopes she can provide an environment where girls from any point in life can feel like a princess in the perfect dress.