A Dress for Every Occasion!
Montana Dress Co.
Billings, Montana
Photography by Stu Hoefle
November issue - 2025
A life of many occupations and diversions… learning to sew while growing up on a North Dakota ranch, earning a master’s degree, serving in corporate America, and owning a small business… Barbara Wells says the winding road her life has followed prepared her for where she is today.
Barbara is the youngest of five children, and grew up raising sheep, showing horses and excelling in foods and fashion review in 4-H. She began sewing at the age of nine, and it became a lifelong passion.
“We didn’t have a lot of money growing up,” Barbara said. “But I never lacked for anything. We had a huge garden, a freezer full of beef, and we made all of our clothes. It’s just what I knew.”
While other kids were going back-to-school clothes shopping, Barbara and her mother went to the fabric stores. “Mom would buy an entire bolt because not only did we make all my clothes, we made my dad’s and brother’s shirts; complete with contrasting yokes and pearl snaps.”
Barbara remembers only one time that she wore a store-bought dress. “For years I would come home from school on Friday night, clear the dining room table off and sew all weekend. I just loved it.”
Barbara also loved 4-H livestock showmanship classes, but she said it was the Consumer Choices division that taught her about product comparison.
“It was all about comparison,” Barbara said. “Similar to livestock judging, but with clothing or food. I still use those principles today.”
A master’s degree in Extension led to Extension Agent positions in Montana, Wisconsin and Wyoming. She left that field to pursue time in the corporate world, including JoAnn Fabrics in Independence, Missouri where she delved into learning as much as she could about fabrics and fibers. It’s also where she put her Consumer Choice experience to work and educated customers about what fabrics to choose for which project. As the Community Education team leader, Barbara scheduled classes for customers to learn new and creative ways to use fabrics.
“That was a great job,” Barbara said. “I loved it. When new fabrics came in, it was up to me to decide how to promote them. I got evaluated by the cash register. It taught me a lot about business.”
In 2004, Barbara relocated to Billings with her husband and son and Montana has been her home ever since.
While working in the dress department in Dillard’s Barbara had a revelation. One day, a couple of mothers brought their teenage daughters in to look for prom dresses and couldn’t find anything.
“There were no youthful dresses in junior plus sizes,” she said. “These girls deserved to look beautiful for prom, but they couldn’t find any dresses in their size.”
Taking a step of faith, she decided to start her own prom dress shop. With a loan from her husband for $10,000. she bought as many prom dresses as she could in a variety of styles and sizes. Since she already had a commercial embroidery business and was experienced with pop-ups, she had the transportation and equipment to have a mobile prom business.
“I had the trailer, I knew about traveling, so with the money my husband gave me, I put together a pop-up store,” she said.
Barbara traveled to outlying towns as far away as Lewistown, Cody and Miles City and either partnered with existing stores or set up her shop in hotel rooms where she would display her dresses and help young girls pick out a style and color that suited them.
“I did well,” she said. “But prom season is only for a few months. So, I knew I needed to do more.”
She rented space in a salon to display her merchandise, but when she heard about a retail location opening in downtown Billings, she seized the opportunity. Keeping the name, Montana Dress Co, the brick-and-mortar store in downtown Billings has gained the reputation of having a dress for every occasion and is also a popular spot for women’s casual wear.
“I wanted to be downtown, close to other shopping,” she said. “Downtown Billings has great shops and restaurants. This has been a perfect spot for us.”
With her expertise in sewing and her knowledge of textiles, Barbara is discerning about the clothing that she sells at her store. Her upbringing to be budget conscious and her experience with difficulty in finding attractive and youthful dresses have all contributed to her business plan at Montana Dress Co. Open for ten years in the same location, Barbara is proud of her company and who she serves.
Over 60% of the store’s sales are from women outside of Billings who have seen her website, her Facebook page, or are repeat customers.
“I say that we are a size-inclusive, intergenerational store,” she said. “We have dresses in sizes from 000 to 30. We’re the shop that a teenager can find a prom dress and the mother of the bride, or the grandmother will too. That appeals to a lot of women.”
With over 4000 dresses to select from, Barbara is sure that she can help even the most discriminating shopper.
“When your son or daughter or grandchild gets married, you need to have something nice,” Barbara said. “Prom, formal dinners, weddings, whatever the event, a woman should look and feel beautiful. We truly have something for everyone.”
In addition to formal dresses, Barbara also carries casual wear. Her most popular items are jeans and shoes.
“People come to shop for clothes, but they don’t shop for a dress until they need it. The best way I can help them is to visit. Ask them questions. What’s the event, when is it, where is it? I’m not a salesman; I’m an educator and I lean toward the woman who appreciates nice clothes. We’re very budget friendly. No one will have to mortgage the ranch to buy a beautiful dress from Montana Dress Co,” she laughed.
Watch for Montana Dress Co’s 10th Anniversary Celebration, Tuesday, Jan 13, 2026
Visit Montana Dress Co. at:
2814 2nd Ave N, Billings
Check out their website: montanadress.com
or follow on Facebook: Montana Dress Co.