Township Resident Moving Collingswood Dress Shop Across Avenue

Owner of , Marlene Gagliardi has a Haddon Avenue roster that's made simply of numbers.

Storefronts 705, 707, and currently 710 Haddon Ave.—all of them have been occupied by Gagliardi at one time or another. But let's begin at the beginning.

The 65-year-old Erial resident first opened salon at 705 Haddon Ave. with husband John, who ran the business, in 1971. Five years later, the duo expanded into 705's second-story space, implementing a men's cuttery.

But it was in 1982 that Gagliardi first opened her well-known women's formal wear store, Marlene's Dress Shop, in its original location at 707 Haddon Ave.

Fast-forward six years. The Gagliardis, after eyeing a space across the street, tore down two former businesses to open the still-standing Avenue Mall in 1988. 

It's inside this enclosed mall—which is no longer owned, but rented, by the Gagliardis—that Marlene's Dress Shop still sits, bearing its 710 address.

But not for long.

The Gagliardis have once again chosen to explore greener pastures—ones lying directly across from the current Marlene's.

Marlene's Dress Shop has occupied the 710 spot on Haddon for the past 23 years. But Gagliardi had reasons for uprooting the shop.

"My husband closed (his 705 Haddon Ave. salon, Total Image) on Sept. 1 of this year when he retired," she said. "His retirement was a perfect opportunity for me to redo the salon and move (Marlene's) into there, to a much larger location."

Alone, the 705 spot is not larger than Marlene's current space at 710. But Gagliardi is joining 705 and 707 Haddon Ave. into one enormous store.

"Right now (at 710), Marlene's is all of 2,000 square feet," she said of the Avenue Mall space. "When we move into the new store, we'll have 4,000 square feet of space (once 705 and 707 are combined, as both lots are owned by the couple). That's double the size of our current location."

And Gagliardi knows exactly what to do with all that extra room.

"Right now, at the current Marlene's location, we have sportswear, mother of the bride and groom gowns, evening gowns, accessories and prom dresses—all squeezed into one small shop," she said. "We're moving it all across the street into the new store.

"But since there'll be more space, we're expanding our collection to include makeup, wigs and hair extensions, a much larger collection of fabulous costume jewelry, handbags, shoes, and hair accessories," said Gagliardi.

Gagliardi plans to section-off the store, separating prom gowns, dresses and sportswear, wigs, registers and a makeup bar.

"I don't want our clients to worry—we're literally moving directly across Haddon Ave. You won't be able to miss our new location; we have a hot-pink awning coming in," she said, laughing.

Gagliardi said the multi-generational, family owned and operated dress shop holds titles like Courier-Post's Best of South Jersey for more than 15 years, and South Jersey Magazine's Best Gowns and Sportswear.

Praise for the shop, and its loyal base of longtime clients, would likely follow Marlene's Dress Shop wherever it went—across the street, up the hill, down the lane—no matter how many times the number above Gagliardi's shop awning changed.

But for the businesswoman, this impending move may prove the final addition to her roster of downtown business addresses.

Because if all goes as planned, Marlene's Dress Shop will soon be inking its best numerical sequence yet: storefronts 705 through 707 Haddon Ave.

 Marlene's is tentatively set to reopen at 705 through 707 Haddon Ave. in the first week of December 2011. New hours of operation are TBD, but will extend later than currently-posted hours. The shop number will remain 856-858-4777. Visit the store website (currently under construction for a brief time) for updates, at www.MarlenesDressShop.com. Clients—and those seeking immediate updates following a release of new shop hours and an opening date—may send their contact information, including email address, to MarlenesDressShop@aol.com.