Styles at Dillard's range from sleek and slinky to full and puffed, she added, and feature touches of rhinestones, glitter and flowers. My daughter, however, is determinedly clinging to plain, black and simple. I'm sure that our shopping trip is doomed. Another employee, Kim Davis, stops at our dressing room during one of her quick circuits through the store, eyes my daughter appraisingly and brings over a two-piece dress with a top that laces up in the back. She's got the figure for it, and it's brand new.
Nobody has it yet.
It's just 11 a.m., but the store already is busy. From January through April, Goodwin said, it's crowded most days with customers getting ready for proms, cotillions, pageants and weddings. This morning, there already are lines for dressing rooms and fittings. In the back room, on an elevated stage in front of a wall of mirrors and surrounded by boxes of black, white and gold strappy sandals, Goodwin is pinning-up a navy blue prom dress for a girl from Scottsboro who drove here, she said, in search of stylish plus sizes. Under Goodwin's expert fingers, the dress gets nipped and tucked in just the right places, and the girl smiles gratefully.