Prom FAQS

Prom Shopping at KooKoo's FAQS

Where are you located?

KooKoo’s Nest is located at 1019 East Interstate Avenue in Bismarck, North Dakota. (Next to the North A&B Pizza)
If you are traveling on I-94 to come shop with us use exit 159.
If you are traveling on Hwy 83 once you arrive in Bismarck turn West on East Interstate Avenue.

Where should I park?

KooKoo’s has parking located at the front, both sides, and in the back of the building we share with A& B Pizza. We do not have designated parking spaces for our store, feel free to what where is convenient.

Do I need an appointment?

Appointments are not required for shoppers visiting during regular store hours; however they are highly recommended. We have a large volume of prom girls coming to shop with us. If you can come during the week, there may be a better chance of coming in as a walk-in. We help all of our formalwear clients with one on one customer service to maintain our reputation of exceptional customer service and to ensure all of our gowns are properly managed. To keep our store as organized as possible, customers are unable to browse the floor without the help of a consultant, this will make it much easier for you to navigate the dress racks and where to shop for what you are looking for.
Customers who walk-in and choose not to book an appointment are helped on a first come first serve basis. If all of our consultants are helping other clients or have appointments about to begin we will add your name and number to our waitlist. You will be notified via text when a consultant and a fitting room become available. We prioritize customers who have appointments, walk-ins are not guaranteed a try on time and may have to wait a lengthy period of time.
To keep our waitlist moving in a timely manner, walk-in customers are limited to the quantity of gowns they are able to try on.
We recommend booking an appointment to skip the wait in line and to have a designated start time. Appointments are helped at a slower pace, whereas coming in as a walk-in can feel very fast paced. The line for walk-ins at times can get lengthy and we want to allow all of our customers in line the opportunity to try on.
Appointments are offered seven days a week during prom season, both within store hours and extended hours as well. Please give us a call if you have questions about appointment availability if you don’t see your desired date/time available at 701-955-4083.

How do I book an appointment?

All potential appointment slots are listed on our website at shopkookoos.com.
We only book appointments via our website in order to maintain quantity.
If you are having difficulty navigating our website or booking an appointment simply call and our team can invoice you via email.

When is the best time of the year (season) to come shopping?

The first opportunity to shop the new seasons collections is the first Saturday after Christmas each year. This year the first opportunity to try on dresses with an appointment is Saturday, December 27. We will be able to help walk-in customers starting January 2, 2026.
Our inventory levels of prom dresses are the highest are late December to late January. We continue to receive new arrivals almost daily until the middle of March.
We also recommend shopping early in the season for more options for special ordering from our designers. This is for our clients that would like a different size or color from what we have available in stock.
Pro Tip: for a calmer shopping experience try to visit us or plan your appointment during the week. We usually have a little more flexibility during the week and less shoppers in the store.
Most seamstresses would like your gown 4 to 6 weeks before your event. If you bring your dress to alterations last minute rush fees will be added.

How many people can come with me?

The guest count policy is firm to accommodate the volume of guests in the store, we physically do not have room for additional guests. Based on years of first hand experience children under 12 are not ideal for the prom shopping experience.
We can accommodate the following:
- Walk-in shoppers: 2 guests
- Standard appointments: 2 guests
- Classic appointments: 2 guests
- Luxury appointments: 4 guests
- Diamond appointments: 8 guests

What do I do if I don’t know my dress size

It's our stylist's job to help you find the best fitting dress, we will try on an assortment of sizes, styles, and fits in order to determine what dress is the best for you.
Please note that formalwear runs small, and you will be a different size in different designers, fits and fabrics.
Our staff is trained to never say size numbers out loud, our team’s priority is to help you find a gown that fits beautifully, the number on the tag is irrelevant to us.

How does special ordering a dress work?

The gowns we carry are available in additional colors and sizes. If a customer is interested in ordering a gown in store in a specific size and color this is called “special ordering”.
Our store owner will work to ensure the correct size is specially ordered based on our designer's size charts. We will suggest a size we believe should be ordered, but ultimately you will make the final decision!
We will not size you until you are ready to order and place your deposit.
Before we special order your gown our consultants will build the dress on you. This means trying on the neckline, the fabric, the silhouette, the color and more. We want you and our staff to be able to visualize and confirm that you will love what you are ordering.
Once an item is special ordered, we will not be able to change the size or color, and we will not be able to cancel the order.
Shipping and delivery time frames will vary based on our designers.
Expected shipping times will be discussed at the time of ordering.
We will do our best to communicate with our designers to ensure your item will arrive on time. If any delays occur, we will contact you to keep you informed and aware of the situation.
If, for any reason, the item arrives incorrect based on the size or color ordered, we will work with the designer for it to be replaced.

Does KooKoo’s Nest do alterations?

KooKoo’s Nest does not offer in house alterations, however we maintain a list of our recommended seamstresses around the state. LIST HERE
During your appointment we can make alteration recommendations however each seamstress has different pricing so our team can never estimate the exact cost of alterations.

How does the prom dress registry work?

One of the benefits of shopping at KooKoo’s Nest is our dress registry. We do not sell the same dress to the same school/event in the same color.
Prom gowns are registered by style number and color per event. Some styles look similar or complement each other but our registry is based on style number and color only.
If the same dress is attempted to be purchased at a school it is already registered to; it will flag the sale and it cannot be completed in our point of sale. Our staff is not allowed to share who purchases what gowns.
Disclaimer: Our registry does not affiliate with another store that carries the same designer. It only tracks gowns purchased directly from KooKoo’s Nest.
Our dress registry will reset each season and is only registered to the season it is purchased for.

When should my date get their tux?

Most of our tux customers tend to come in February/March, typically once their dates have chosen a dress. If needed we can help you as late as the week of prom however rush shipping fees will apply.
We recommend setting up a tuxedo appointment to avoid waiting in line. We also would be happy to assist you in your tuxedo selection if you stop in as a walk in.
To get your rental ordered we require a $30 deposit or a $30 booking fee from you tuxedo appointment.
We recommend bringing in the dress, color swatch, or number provided by KooKoo’s to match the tie and pocket square.
We also offer ala carte rentals of just bowties, ties, pockets squares and more.
ORDER BEFORE MARCH 15TH FOR A CHANCE TO WIN YOUR RENTAL FOR FREE.
Here is a link to our Tuxedo Book for style options, ideas and inspiration.

What is your return policy?

At KooKoo's Nest all sales are FINAL, we do not offer any returns, refunds or exchanges.
All deposits and payments are non transferable and non refundable.
Alterations are always an additional charge.
Our products are not warrantied.

Dressing room FAQS/What to expect when you're shopping:

Upon arriving you will be checked in by a member of our staff. If you are a walk-in client we will add your name and phone number to wait list. If all of our staff is helping clients or we are about to begin appointments we will contact you via text message when a consultant is available to help you as a walk-in.
We help all of our formalwear clients with one on one customer service to maintain our reputation of exceptional customer service and to ensure all of our gowns are properly managed. To keep our store as organized as possible, customers are unable to browse the floor without the help of a consultant, this will make it much easier for you to navigate the dress racks and where to shop for what you are looking for.
We will begin with your try on form to get some information about you and what you are looking for. Once your stylist is ready they will come and greet you and your guests and show you to your fitting room.
During the winter months we ask all our shoppers and guests to remove their shoes at the door to protect our gowns. Everyone is welcome to bring a pair of dry inside shoes or even slippers. The majority of our guests and shoppers go around in socks.
Each shopper will be allowed to have one guest at time come over to the prom shopping area to help them select gowns for try on. Your other guest(s) will be seated near your fitting room and will wait for you to being the try on process.
As a walk-in, a limit of 2 gowns will be allowed to be selected for your first round. This helps us keep gowns on the floor for other customers to shop through. as well as keeps our wait list moving in a timely manner.
Our stylists will do all of the carrying of the gowns to and from the dressing room area.
Only 1 girl and 1 dress provided by a staff member are allowed to be in the dressing room at once. The rest will be outside the fitting room.
Only KooKoo’s staff members are allowed to zip gowns. Please do not try to zip or lace yourself to preserve the quality of our gowns.
All gowns should be stepped into.
If you feel like a tight-fitted dress will not go past your hips, please ask the staff member working with you if there would potentially be another size to try on. This helps us keep zippers, hooks, and material intact so that we don't have damaged gowns for customers to try on.
If the dress is over a specific price-point our staff will assist in helping you put on the dress to maintain the integrity of the dress.
All tulle and ball-gowns will be tried on with the assistance of our staff to prevent any potential damage.
Absolutely NO gowns should be left on the floor, please be respectful and hang up the gown the best you can or ask your stylist for assistance.
Please hand the gown you're taking off to the staff member helping you before you try on the next dress.
Please do not ask moms, friends, boyfriends, etc., into the dressing room to help you.
Swapping gowns with friends in dressing rooms is not allowed.
Once you try on your 2 gowns you will get back in line in the order of our prom waitlist to start another round of shopping. You can also book an appointment after you try on your 2 gowns, if one is available you can transition to appointment style shopping.