Gals grab glamorous garb at inaugural dress swap
DEVIN WEEKS | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 3 hours, 51 minutes AGO
Seamstress and Hayden mom Analyn Brant is seen among the gowns Monday at the inaugural Mom Prom Dress Swap at Barre Length + Strength in Hayden. Funds raised at the swap will help pay for two moms to go to Mom Prom, which is Saturday, May 2.
DEVIN WEEKS/Press
Amanda Goodwin tries on a dress Monday at Barre Length + Strength during the inaugural Mom Prom Dress Swap. Mom Prom will be Saturday, May 2 at the Coeur d'Alene Eagles.
Devin Weeks is a third-generation North Idaho resident. She holds an associate degree in journalism from North Idaho College and a bachelor's in communication arts from Lewis-Clark State College Coeur d'Alene. Devin embarked on her journalism career at the Coeur d'Alene Press in 2013. She worked weekends for several years, covering a wide variety of events and issues throughout Kootenai County. Devin now mainly covers education, entertainment, human interest stories and serves as the editor of North Idaho Live Well magazine. She enjoys delivering daily chuckles through the Ghastly Groaner and loves highlighting local people in the Fast Five segment that runs in CoeurVoice. Devin lives in Post Falls with her husband and their two eccentric and very needy cats. | April 27, 2026 1:08 AM
The inaugural Mom Prom Dress Swap attracted curious customers and generous benefactors, all interested in helping moms feel great and look beautiful when they attend the May 2 mom-centric event.
"I'm going with all my mom friends," seamstress Analyn Brant of Hayden said Monday.
The mother of one perused the racks of glittering, sequined, colorful and shimmering dresses that lined the walls of the backroom at Length + Strength Barre Studio in Hayden.
"I love this because I was going to go to the Goodwill anyway and I'd much rather go to some place that has a ton of options rather than just a few here and there," she said.
As a true dress swap, those who visited were encouraged to bring dresses, shoes and accessories to donate.
"I brought two of my old dresses that hopefully somebody else will enjoy," Brant said.
She said she'd heard about Mom Prom but just missed it when she moved to the area about a year ago.
"I was like, 'I'm going to go to that next year, because it's so fun,'" Brant said. "You get to relive the prom days."
She said as a seamstress, she is currently in the thick of prom season for local high schools.
"I get to see all these beautiful dresses and I'm like, 'I want to go to prom!' and now I get to," she said.
Dress swap participants bought gently used gowns to be sold for suggested $10 donations.
"We were able to send two moms to prom from the proceeds," Mom Prom founder Doree Handford said.
Mom Prom is an event of A Parent's Paradise Charities, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting families and parents, helping them gain access to resources and fostering community to create a culture of empowered parenting.
The third annual Mom Prom will be from 6 to 10 p.m. May 2 at the Coeur d'Alene Eagles Lodge, 209 Sherman Ave., Coeur d'Alene. Tickets begin at $60 per person. The event will feature food from local restaurants, music, games and prizes.
Mom Prom is a yearly fundraiser for A Parent’s Paradise Charities. The first Mom Prom brought in $10,000. The 2025 event raised $17,000.
Info: aparentsparadisecharities.com
Amanda Goodwin tries on a dress Monday at Barre Length + Strength during the inaugural Mom Prom Dress Swap. Mom Prom will be Saturday, May 2 at the Coeur d'Alene Eagles.ARTICLES BY DEVIN WEEKS
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The inaugural Mom Prom Dress Swap attracted curious customers and generous benefactors all in the market to help moms feel great and look beautiful when they attend the May 2 mom-centric event.