Mum expands booming Brighouse prom dress business with help from her daughter
Donna Gadd has completely revamped her flagship store in Bethel Street and opened a new one with daughter Lia.
A mum has expanded her booming West Yorkshire prom business with help from her daughter.
Donna Gadd, 55, has completely revamped her flagship store, The Prom Den, in Bethel Street, Brighouse, with a new model catwalk, social media areas for pictures and video and seven swish new changing rooms.
Her daughter Lia, 23, has launched a new Prom Den outlet in Horsforth to serve clients in Leeds and North Yorkshire.
Prom season has come early this year as pupils bag the most popular dresses months before their big night.
The best sellers for 2025 are slim fitted corset dresses and quinceañera dresses - big ball gowns with a tight bodice and a floor length skirt with lots of tulle layers.
The average price of a dress is between £299 and £495 and Donna works closely with schools and social workers to support families and young people by giving away dresses to pupils who, without help, would not be able to experience prom.
Donna said: “Big is beautiful this year. The trend is for huge quinceañera dresses which really make a statement.
“They are so popular that I am devoting a whole new floor to the Prom Den to showcase all the dresses. We will be opening the ballroom soon with all these beautiful and very big designs.
“We are the ultimate prom destination and we have completely refurbished the store to make the whole prom experience even more special.”
Donna has never looked back after setting up the Prom Den seven years ago after the then 15-year-old Lia was left in tears buying her dress for her prom at Hipperholme Grammar School in Halifax.
Lia was a healthy size eight but was made to feel fat by the assistant who recommended a floaty dress to cover up her weight.
Donna knew she could do better and was soon selling dresses to girls in the area with the clear aim of making every customer feel special.
The business took off quickly and Donna moved to the store in Bethel Street which serves customers from as far as Edinburgh.
Donna, who lives with her partner and 17-year-old son in Lightcliffe, has invested thousands revamping the flagship store in the last year.
She said: “It has been completely refurbished to make the whole prom experience even more special.
“We have created a gorgeous space with a new floor and lots of new changing rooms, a catwalk and social media areas so the girls can share pictures and videos of their choices while they are shopping.
“They can get real time feedback from their friends on social media while they are looking for the best dress.
“What makes the store special is the small army of stylists who all grew up in the area and are assigned a new client with the aim of finding them the perfect dress.”
Most mixed schools in Yorkshire - state and private - have proms to celebrate the end of the school year after GSCEs - a tradition picked up from America where the prom has been part of the high school calendar for decades.
Donna refuses to sell the same dress - even in a different colour - to two girls from the same school, so every pupil looks special on the night with a unique outfit.
She was keen to expand the business further and roped in Lia to run her new Prom Den store in Horsforth to serve clients in Leeds and North Yorkshire.
Lia, who lives with her primary teacher boyfriend Harry Groves, 26, in West Vale, near Huddersfield, said: “I worked at the Brighouse store as a student and I wanted to provide that special experience mum provides for clients in my own outlet.
“Prom night is one of the most special nights in the life of any teenager and you want them to look and feel their best.”