Ruby Room helps low-income girls dance into high fashion

More than a thousand formal gowns hang in basement rooms beneath the Richard Hugo House on Capitol Hill. Beside them are enough shoes, purses and wraps to spin a fashionista's head.

The subterranean boutique is quiet most of the year, opening occasionally to dispense a homecoming dress.

Come Saturdays in the springtime, though, it bustles with teenage girls dressing up for the prom — and not one of them has to worry about a price tag.

The Ruby Room is a nonprofit dedicated to outfitting low-income teens with everything they need to look smashing at school dances. It gave dresses to 450 girls last year.

Wearing a floor-length, dark-blue gown with a fitted bodice and shoulder straps, Garfield High School senior Tran Huynh explained, "I wasn't going to spend a hundred-something dollars on a dress I'm only going to wear once."

Almost as an afterthought, she added, "And I'm low-income, anyway."

Huynh was among a couple dozen people who flooded The Ruby Room on Saturday morning, including friends and family who "oohed" and "aahed" while volunteer personal assistants zipped, unzipped and dispensed advice.

To get a dress, girls must qualify for free or reduced-price school lunches, but The Ruby Room does not check up on them. Since being founded in 2002, it has not had problems with honesty.

"People don't take advantage of us," said boutique manager Tia Hunsperger. "They have to call us and make an appointment, and that's kind of humbling."

Most girls take about an hour to choose an outfit, she said.

Rose Weller was an exception.

The Arlington High School senior knew just what she wanted — a black dress with a skirt that could be "poofed out" by a friend who sews. She found it, along with some jewelry and makeup, in about 30 minutes.

Her sister, Devin, who wanted a dress for middle-school graduation, was another story.

"So you think this might be the one?" her mother, Laurie, asked hopefully after the eighth dress.

"I don't know. It's growing on me, but I have others to try," Devin said before disappearing behind a burgundy dressing-room curtain.

The wait was worth it, said Laurie, who figured The Ruby Room saved the family money and a trip to Goodwill, where they would not have gotten the same selection or personal attention.

The Ruby Room, which relies on donations, still needs more jewelry, purses and plus-size dresses — but the choices are far greater than when Kate DesRosier started volunteering three years ago.

She enthused about this year's shoe selection while finding a pair of white high heels for Marilynn Tran, a senior at Marysville Getchell High School.

After almost choosing a stunning black sheath with rhinestoned halter straps, Tran settled on a strapless, blush-colored gown with an explosion of tulle at the bottom.

The dressing room erupted in applause when she appeared in it.

Her assistant, DesRosier, was happiest of all. "She said she wanted couture, and here it is!"

Melissa Allison: 206-464-3312 or mallison@seattletimes.com