NATCHEZ — When you’re buying a dress from Dara Shirley, she wants you to be able to answer the question — “Is this the one?”

Shirley recently opened The One by Dara, a formal attire, bridal and tuxedo shop at 10 N. Magnolia St. in Vidalia.

The shop’s name comes from the idea that customers will find that one special dress that will make their formal occasion — be it a minor life milestone such as a high school prom or a major commitment like a marriage — all the more special.

But the name also reflects how she wants customers to feel, Shirley said, like they’re the one the shop wants to serve.

“I want them — her or him — to feel special, that they’re not just a number,” she said. “I want them to leave feeling beautiful, and to be happy when they leave here so that they come back or send other people this way.”

The shop offers full bridal services, including bridal gowns, bridesmaids and flower girl dresses, accessories and tuxedoes. It also offers wedding consulting and event planning.

Opening such a shop has been a dream of Shirley’s for a long time. She graduated college with a degree in fashion merchandising, working for a time at David’s Bridal and completing an internship at a bridal boutique in Hammond.

“I always thought I would go to Dallas or New York, somewhere like that,” she said.

But after taking a few years to focus on family, the opportunity to set up shop in her hometown presented itself.

The store’s location was actually the house in which Shirley’s father grew up, where her grandfather operated a chiropractic clinic in the front and raised his family in the back.

In more recent years, it had been home to a flea market, but the family still owned the building.

After the flea market vacated the premises, Shirley and her family — the Probsts — updated the building to something more appropriate to a bridal shop, giving it an open, bright, contemporary feel and placing a full-body mirror on a platform in the middle.

While walk-ins are welcome, Shirley said she’d like for potential customers to make an appointment so she can give them the best experience possible.

“I would like for them to have an appointment, because it gives me the opportunity to go one-on-one with them, so I can set it up so it is just me and them, so we can talk about what their style is, what they’re looking for,” she said.

“I go in with them, helping them, and I tell them what I think, not just because I want to sell them a dress, but because I want them to leave feeling like they will look their best — I’m honest.”

After that assessment is when she asks the question — “Is this the one?”

The shop isn’t just Shirley’s dream, however. Her mother, Cheryl Probst, said it was something she also wanted to do in her younger years.

Now, with her business background — Probst is a retired business educator — the family can work together on the shared project, with Probst helping with the books while Shirley coordinates the fashion end of it.

“It is sort of a dream-come-true through her,” Probst said.

“It doesn’t matter if the girl is short, tall, skinny or broad, she treats them all like the Queen of England.”

Shirley said when it comes to selecting merchandise, she goes with her gut — but she also seeks help from a higher power.

“I pray over all the dresses, I really do, and I hand-pick all of them,” she said. “If I don’t feel it, I don’t do it, but I know that if I pick one, eventually that person is going to come along for it.”

For more information about The One by Dara, call 318-336-4443 or visit bit.ly/1qyRLMq.