“OVER-PROTECTIVE” dads and schoolgirl feuds are in the firing line as a south Essex boutique finds viral fame for its comedy sketches on TikTok.

Krystalls Boutique in London Road, Leigh, has attracted millions of views and hundreds of thousands of likes on social media, as staff make fun of “the everyday goings on” at the popular prom dress shop.

The boutique started going viral on TikTok in January. Since then, its following has jumped from 1,000 to nearly 33,000. The most popular video, skewering a hesitant dad who wants his daughter “to cover up as much as possible”, has reached more than 6.2 million views.

Owner Kristy Chamberlain, 43, said: “People are watching us in the UK, USA, Poland, Germany, Hungary, Greece, Spain and more.

“We’ve seen a massive increase in people coming through the door.”

 

@krystallsboutique Do you have an overprotective dad like this? #dadtok #10k #prom #trending #viral #krystallsboutique #promdress #coverup #leighonsea #essex ♬ original sound - Krystalls Boutique Prom Shop

 

Kristy says she had to learn how to use TikTok “from scratch” after realising its huge popularity among young people.

She recalled: “I stayed up late one night and thought, ‘what can I do that’s different?’

“So, I started writing scripts about all the things I’ve seen in my 12 years of owning the business.”

Kristy and her team re-enact the “weird and wonderful” experiences they’ve seen as teenage girls and their parents hunt for the perfect prom dress.

She said: “For example, people get stuck in dresses all the time, usually because they haven’t undone the zip.

“Some of the biggest tomboys come in and say they don’t want anything sparkly. But then they go away with the blingiest dress in the whole shop.

“And the mums always lie to the dads about the price of the dress.”

Kristy started the business from her kitchen in Canvey in 2012, later converting her garage before moving to a shop in Hadleigh in 2017 - and finally to a bigger premises in Leigh in 2022.

Her advice for girls shopping for a prom dress is to “come in open-minded”.

She said: “You don’t know what will suit you until you try it on. Like a wedding dress, you’ve got to feel good in it.”