New formal wear store opens in Crystal Lake

CRYSTAL LAKE – No one knows exactly how Gipper Formal Wear got its name. But Roy Skibbe decided to keep the name when he bought the McHenry business in 1984.

He and his wife, Rebecca, opened a second Gipper Formal Wear in the Commons of Crystal Lake on April 2.

“In 1984 we were just a tuxedo store, strictly men’s formal wear. There were only one or two in the county that rented tuxedos,” Roy Skibbe said.

“That really has changed. We finally had to change our business plan because you can rent a tuxedo in a lot of places.”

Skibbe said the 5,000-square-foot Crystal Lake location is going to “morph into bridal dresses as we get into fall.”

But now, it’s prom season. And both locations are doing big business filling prom tuxedo and dress orders.

“It’s insane,” said Rebecca Skibbe. “Fifteen schools are having their prom on the same weekend, May 5.

Last year the store sold prom dresses and tuxes to 43 different schools in McHenry and Lake counties and southern Wisconsin. “We shipped a few dresses to other states,” she said.

She expects to serve more schools this prom season.

Prom fashion is “really red carpet this year,” Rebecca said. “Very blingy, very sequiny.”

The average price of a prom dress is $350, but she has a champagne-colored dress with ostrich feathers available for $3,000.

She said the store owns its own tuxedoes that it rents and does tailoring in-house.

The inventory includes traditional black and brown tuxes, but the store still gets request for the “Dumb and Dumber” look with everything all blue and all orange, down to the hat and cane. There’s even a camouflage tux.

Tux rental is about $149. The store has offered embroidered keepsake ties and pocket squares for $29.99 since 2007.

“The important part of the tux is the vest and tie combo,” Rebecca said. “Start with that and work your way up from that.”

The store also does “a ton” of middle school dances, with age-appropriate dresses for eighth-grade girls. “They know what they want,” Rebecca said. “They’re shopping the same way as prom girls.”

Gipper Formal Wear also is a popular spot for homecoming fashions. “Everyone goes to homecoming, not just juniors and seniors, she said.

Roy and Rebecca have been married for 2-1/2 years. Working with them in the stores are Roy’s son, Jon, and Rebecca’s daughter, Elizabeth.

“We’ll be getting into wedding dresses more with the new store,” which is double the size of the original McHenry store, Roy said.

The Crystal Lake location also has a special occasion area and a “little black dress” area.

“it’s an interesting business,” Rebecca said. “It never stops changing.”