New Dress Boutique Specializes in Communion and Teen Formalwear

From ASK Boutique

SHOREWOOD, IL — Two local moms opened a boutique that specializes in teen formal wear and communion dresses. Following a two-week soft opening, a grand opening trunk show is scheduled for Saturday.

The ASK Dress Boutique, 707 W. Jefferson St., located near Diva’s Salon and Dairy Queen in the Apple Tree Plaza, will feature the New York fashion line, Jovani, during a grand opening trunk show Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., according to Karen Drew, co-owner.

“We’re different for this area,” Drew said, largely because the shop caters to the girls and young women, ages 13 to 21, as well as communion dresses.

The owners, Drew, a Joliet native, and her partner, Sarah DiGiovine, a Plainfield native, said they two got the idea after shopping for clothing for their own daughters. After too many bad experiences hunting for dresses, they believed they could offer something better.

They struggled to find quality dresses, often wasting time in far-away malls, or shopping online. Though online was easier, most sellers have a no-return policy, which is risky when they didn’t know how the dresses would fit, she said.

“The girls want to feel pretty, and we want to find something that looks good on them,” Drew said.

Another challenge was finding appropriate gowns that met the area schools’ dress codes. The store has styles that would be accepted by Joliet Township High Schools, Joliet Catholic Academy, Plainfield High Schools, Minooka High School, and all the area junior highs and middle schools.

“Many of the styles in the malls are not accepted by the schools,” Drew said.

Together the moms decided to fill an “obvious need,” in the area, she said. Their goal is for girls to feel great about how they look.

“All girls want to feel pretty, and we want to find the perfect dress that accentuates their beauty,” DiGiovine said.

With new inventory arriving every day, ASK Boutique offers “a wide selection of styles from classic to trendy,” that are age appropriate in a variety of price ranges, the owners said.

“We want the girls to be happy,” Drew said. “We want the moms to be happy, too.”

Another service the store offers is tracking which school event the gown is purchased for. The store will not knowingly sell the same dress in the same color for the same dance, Drew said. Customers should be prepared to say what the event is before they try anything on because the owners do not want a girl to fall in love with a dress and told after they can’t have it, Drew said. They will offer the same style in a different color instead.

“We want the girls to feel special,” she said.

Most of the dresses are available off the rack, although special orders can be made.

“We’ve had a lot of requests for communion, so we have a beautiful selection of communion dresses,” Drew said. “Right now, what we’ve tried to do , we have a pretty wide variety."

The store is open year round Tuesdays through Fridays from 11 a.m. to 7 pm., Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday by appointment only. During prom and homecoming season, the store will also be open Sundays.

For more information, visit www.ADressBoutique.com, or call 815-630-3009.

Lauren Clementi, of Joliet, tries on a gown from the newly-opened ASK Dress Boutique, located near Dairy Queen on Jefferson Street in Shorewood. Co-owner Karen Drew, who is fixing the train, wants each girl to feel special | submitted image