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Alterations store preparing for prom amidst pandemic

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Nikki Caulfield, owner of Skirting the Rules, moved her business to 820 Washington Ave, a space owned by the Washington Square Mall, in July 2019. (Desiree Bauer / Tribune)

" Prom & Wedding: Don't worry. Once we are back I will have extended hours and I WILL be able to get your dresses altered and tuxes rented. We'll make it happen," reads the crimson sign posted in the Skirting the Rules window.

The downtown alterations and tux rental store is closed because of the coronavirus, but owner Nikki Caulfield posted the sign to ease students worries about their dresses and tuxes.

"One way or the other, I'll figure it out. I really want to make sure that it happens and it happens well for them," Caulfield said in a phone interview on Monday, March 23.

In a typical prom season, Caulfield alters about 100 dresses a year, making for her "most intense five weeks out of the year," she said. She usually alters dresses before and after her posted business hours, and expects to be doing even more of that this year.

"I've already seen quite a few (dresses)," Caulfield said. "This would be the week I'd start to see three, four, five a day. So obviously, that's getting pushed back."

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The sign says Skirting the Rules will reopen on Friday, March 27, but everything is fluid right now. Caulfield is hoping to have more than two weeks' notice to alter all the dresses, saying that "the more time the better, but it's going to be what it is." She's also hopeful that local proms won't be canceled, but is preparing for the worst-case scenario.

Detroit Lakes High School prom is scheduled for Saturday, May 2, according to their website , with Frazee High School's on the same date, according to a Facebook post . Lake Park-Audubon High School prom is the weekend prior, on Saturday, April 25, according to their website .

None have been canceled officially yet.

Skirting the Rules

Skirting the Rules
Skirting the Rules closed sign, seen Saturday, March 21, on Washington Avenue in Detroit Lakes. (J.J. Perry / Tribune)

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