Prom Dresses With a French Twist [PHOTOS]

Most every girl dreams of going to prom in a perfect dress that conjures up images of a glamorous evening. Knowing this, Anick Darbelle, the owner of the 4-year-old dress shop in Westhampton Beach, says she has selected the most fashionable and unique prom dresses to hang on her racks this season.

"I try to find not-your-typical prom dress," said French-born Darbellay. "I look for dresses that are young and modern."

This season, Darbelle, who has been in the dress industry for 40 years, previously running a shop in East Hampton, said she has 25 prom dress styles available, each hand-selected and priced to sell.

"They are all under $200," she said.

Pulling dresses off the racks, she pointed out that she carries dresses for nearly every girl from short to long, sizes 6 to 14. And the color selection she said is all the rave, with shades of blue, flesh and tangerine.

Proud of her stock of dresses, Darbelle, whose shop also has an array of matching accessories and jewelry as well, said she's already seen a jump in business in prom sales with teens walking in off the street and driving to her shop from Staten Island.

Much of her business, she said, is generated from referrals and from a prom dress fashion benefit she participates in every year at Mattituck High School.

"The best compliment you can get is when a woman refers her friend to your shop," she said.

Priding herself on the uniqueness of her dresses, Darbelle said that before making a prom dress sale, she looks to ensure that no other teen will be wearing the same dress at the same school prom.

Aside from prom dresses, Darbelle's shop has dresses for all occasions, from weddings to nights out on the town — all, she said, are also one-of-a-kind, coming from designers in Canada and even Vietnam.

She also has a selection of made-to-order dresses in more than 100 colors. The dresses are designed by Darbelle and made locally.

That selection she said, "took a life of it's own," with several different sleeve treatments and scarves to match.