Elizabeth is going to prom. (So far the plan is to go with a friend group, not with a date.) She’s the first of my kids to go, and the selection of her outfit was causing me some stress: she is a busy kid with work and various clubs, and I didn’t know when we could find time to shop. But we did find a couple of times, and she found something she liked. It was missing its price tag, and I was thinking “Please not $300, please not $300…,” and then I found another one on the rack that did have its tag, and it was on clearance for $9.96. It felt like a decimal was wrong: if it had been on clearance for $99.60 I would have been delighted. But I looked through all the others on the rack, and they were all $9.96. The clerk warned us that it was not returnable, and we were both like “THAT IS FINE, AT THIS PRICE WE COULD BUY IT TO CUT UP FOR ART PROJECTS.”
I looked online for a photo, but could not find one, so I will attempt a description. What she wanted was the GIST of a dress, all one piece, but with the skirt portion divided into pants. I was afraid we would not find anything like that, but luckily she is the one who knows what’s In, and there were plenty to try on. She was hoping for black, and tried on many in black, but the one she ended up choosing is a cranberry color. It has spaghetti straps, and the bodice part is like thick lace; the lace is lined at the bust but unlined beneath, so skin shows through; the pants portion is high-waisted and solid, not lace.
[Edited to add: Okay, I took two terrible photos, but terrible is better than nothing:
Imagine this with her very short hair, which retains the remaining cranberry-esque tint of her Valentine’s Day dark pink hair-dye.
I was relieved, too, because one of her other finalist options was to wear flowy trousers with a STRAPLESS BEADED CROPPED CORSET. I was doing the when-do-I-as-a-parent-step-in math: she’s almost 17; she is not busty, which makes the look less Scandalous, more Red Carpet (like when a non-busty actress has a v-neck down to her waist); it DOES look really cool on her, especially with her extremely short hair; if the prom has a dress code I guess they can be the ones to deal with her; etc. But it was nice she found another option.
One thing she and I had to discuss afterward is whether or not it was Okay that the sales clerks (three of them, all the exact same Older Lady with Lots of Make-Up and Jewelry, Teased Hair, Long Highly-Decorated Fingernails, and Strong Regional Accents) KEPT MENTIONING Elizabeth’s size. “She’s nice and slim, she can wear anything,” one said. “Nice to see that outfit on someone who fits it!,” another said. “With her figure, she could model,” said the third. I raised the subject tentatively in the car, and Elizabeth immediately joined in, saying that she couldn’t put a finger on why it seemed Okay when it should have been Wrong, but it just WAS Okay. We agreed that a large part of it was that all three clerks seemed to be talking almost entirely from a Fashion point of view—like, pleased to have a good mannequin shape for their dresses to fit well on. Another part was something about the clerks themselves: their age, their extreme self-decor, their loud frank voices, their utterly lack of awareness that anyone could be anything less than glad to have their body remarked upon.
Next we have to shop for shoes and accessories. She wants SPARKLY, which should be fun.
Edited to add: Commenter Anna suggested we talk about our OWN prom outfits, and I think that’s a fun idea. My dress was tea-length, fit-and-flare, royal purple “satin” with a sequined bodice. I’d wanted something with at least an approximation of sleeves, and this dress had an off-the-shoulder swath of satin that fit that preference. I could not walk in heels, and all the colors of flats we tried looked meh with the purple (I should have tried strappy flat sandals, but I don’t remember that option occurring to me), and custom-dyed shoes were too expensive—but, if I am remembering this story correctly, my DAD…stopped at MARSHALLS or somewhere similar…and found PURPLE FLATS THAT EXACTLY MATCHED THE DRESS?? Did I DREAM this?
I had a sparkly rhinestone necklace with matching earrings. I pulled my hair back on one side with a big floofy purple thing, and wore purple eye shadow, purple eye liner, and purple mascara. I did not even particularly LIKE purple, but I’d tried on a bunch of dresses and none of them were right, and this one fit beautifully and was comfortable, and it only came in purple so I just went with it!
$9.96!!
Surely Visa, the Goddess of Shopping, has smiled upon thee this day!
I had the same experience with my daughter’s prom except it was $19.96, and it wasn’t marked as clearance so she picked it without knowing. When we got to the register and the lady said the price we acted like we had won the Showcase Showdown or something. Such a great (and rare) feeling!!
I took Cait for her prom dress this past week as well, and it was surprisingly painless. Prom! Can you believe it?
Oooo, what did she choose??
When I see pics posted of homecoming/prom, every single girl around here has exactly the same dress on: skin tight, spaghetti straps, so short you’re afraid you’re going to see underwear, wedge platform sandals with one strap across the toe. I am a mom of girls. I am a feminist. I believe my girls should wear whatever they damn well please and everyone else can suck it up. And I am still HORRIFIED that parents let their kids out like that.
From your description, Elizabeth is going to look fabulous. Have fun with the accessories shopping! And good luck with shoes, in my experience that’s the hardest part.
Also, can we have a separate post to talk about OUR prom outfits? Because I don’t want to hijack this post, but I do very much want to share 😆
I say go ahead and do it here!! I’ll add something to the end of the post to invite others to do the same!
A jumpsuit! How fun! The remarks about the sales clerks remind me of when a gay man says “thanks, honey,” at a retail store. It’s fine, maybe even charming. An older straight man? No.
This is wildly exciting and the outfit sounds fabulous, especially with Elizabeth’s hair as you described it. I wonder if you might be able to procure a Special Dispensation for posting a photograph of Elizabeth all decked on prom night? I mean, I understand if not, but it just sounds so fun and stylish and wonderful.
You could even put a little sticker over her face? I am sure it is a LOVELY face and of course it would be fun to see her in her full glory, but then maybe she can have privacy AND we can admire her look?
Blargh. Prom. 1994 & 1995. You know what was in short supply in those years? Dresses that fit me. and I wasn’t even particularly large. In fact, I think I was smaller than I am now and I can no problem find dresses to fit me. Or the same as now, ditto. So my choices were like $300+ or….not the best. It was off-white lace at the top? with a column skirt in black, one piece. Might have had buttons? And I wore my pearls? Maybe? (This was Jr. Prom) because I have pearls, but maybe I didn’t have them yet (add a pearl necklace that was in a perpetual state of “adding pearls” at the jewelers). My cousin french braided my hair upside down, I think? or right side up?
It wasn’t great. But, looking back, most of the dresses probably weren’t great.
Senior prom was made for me by the mother of a friend, blush satin with netting above the bust and short sleeves? And ballet slippers. Still not great. Better though. I paid someone to do my hair and it still wasn’t great.
Know who can do a KILLER updo now? me. It’s so easy. (high ponytail, wrap sections around fingers to create rolls, pin into ponytail elastic) I could probably do others but I did that one for friends multiple times, looks a treat. I’ve done it on myself too.
Why were all the things ick in 1995?
I was not tiny and slim. I have never been tiny and slim. I am now ok with it but dress shopping was a nightmare in 1995. There were not a lot of options. And thinking about this makes me appreciate Lizzo on the airplane even more, though sitting ANYWHERE while wearing that horrifies me for many reasons. Upholstered fabrics – YIKES! Metal – Yikes, but for a different reason. Public anything – YIKES.
I would love to see Elizabeth all decked out with appropriate measures taken to hide her identity. I”m way jealous of $10! And jumpsuits always strike me as fine…and a peeing nightmare.
That sounds like a lovely outfit! My prom dress (1991) was red satin, strapless, tight, just above the knee. (Not as risqué as it sounds since I had no curves whatsoever.) My boyfriend’s mother, however, insisted on lending me her white RABBIT FUR jacket, which I promptly left in the car.
I had a peach satin dress with lace overlay. Fitted to the floor with big satin puffy sleeves and some sort of rhinestone/pearl applique on the front. I thought I was the stuff!!! Pretty sure I had dyed satin shoes from Payless.
This is just a crazy coincidence.
For my prom I found a vintage jumpsuit at a thrift shop. It had a high neck and long sleeves but a slit that exposed a small bit of cleavage. It was black with wide legs. I bought it for $9. Yep, I wore a $9 jumpsuit to prom.
I loved it but was also nervous because it was just so different from what the other girls were going to wear. My date’s older sister paid me a compliment that put me at ease and I enjoyed the evening. Later my bestie wrote and directed a play in drama school called “the $9 prom dress” that was vaguely about our shopping trip.
I love this story of how a simple compliment can make a difference. ♥
Ooooooh, I love it so much! She’s going to look gorgeous! Please update us when she’s chosen all her accessories – I think that part of prom shopping is almost more fun than choosing the dress.
As for my own prom dresses, my mom made both of mine – I went to junior and senior prom. The custom at my school at the time was short dresses for junior prom and long dresses for senior prom (or “Senior Ball,” as I believe it was officially called). I will now proceed to provide way more detail than you probably expected or wanted.
My junior prom dress was light pink raw silk, with a slightly-above-the-knee poofy skirt with grey tulle underneath. The tulle extended a few inches below the hem of the skirt. If I recall correctly, each layer of tulle was a slightly different shade of grey so that it made a gradient, but I could be wrong about that. It had a corset-style strapless bodice that laced up the back and had a big bow on the butt. (My mom wanted to make it with a built-in bra but didn’t have any underwires, so she used some of my dad’s guitar strings. It worked!) I wore it with sheer black tights that had darker black pinstripes, my grandmother’s pearl necklace and earrings, and very very high black platform stiletto heels that I thought I could walk in but absolutely could not. (I ended up falling flat on my butt as I was getting out of the limo. I was fine but my ego has never fully recovered.) I got my hair done professionally for what I think was the first time ever, and it was in some sort of curly half-up-half-down updo. I wore light pink lipstick and grey eyeshadow. It was QUITE A LOOK.
I still really like my senior prom dress. It was very loosely based on a dress I’d tried on at JC Penney. (Same general shape, but completely different fabric.) It was floor-length with a mermaid skirt (form-fitting from waist to knees, and then poofy from knees to floor), light blue silk with a black lace overlay. The fabric was not stretchy at all and the top half of the skirt was very tight, which made going to the bathroom a bit of a challenge. My mom used the same bodice pattern for both prom dresses: corset-style, laced up the back with a ribbon. (She used the guitar string trick again.) This dress had spaghetti straps, though, because I spent way too much of junior prom pulling my dress up and didn’t want to deal with that again. I wore black dangly earrings and the same pearl necklace I wore to junior prom. My shoes were black heels (not as high this time but still pretty high) with bows on them. My hair was in a sort of twisty updo with blue rose-shaped hair clips in it. I went with a date and we didn’t really get along (this was uhh before I figured out I was gay), but at least my dress was pretty.
Again, probably way more detail than you wanted, but I LOVE TO TALK ABOUT PROM DRESSES.
I can’t remember which dress was for my prom and which was for my boyfriend’s the year before, but they were both the same silhouette – tea-length A-line skirt, fitted bodice and a sash-like thing at the top, around the bust and off the shoulders. One was black with a white sash (classic, elegant, would wear it today if I could fit into it) and one was EMERALD GREEN SATIN WITH A PURPLE SASH wtf wtf – they were my favourite colours and my mom said why don’t we just get a dress made like the black and white one in those colours. Oh well, it was the nineties and I got a lot of compliments.
I LOVE Elizabeth’s outfit. My daughter’s prom dress was ballgowny and a neutral/nude colour and it was beautiful, but one of her friend’s was crimson and it was stunning.
On the shopping thing, she came home for reading week and there was a formal in a few weeks we needed a dress for (something less ballgowny) and we found the dress and shoes in ONE DAY at the mall, and omg I was absolutely SPENT afterwards.
Hope she has a blast at her prom. Going with a friend group sounds like a lot of fun.
My prom dress was royal blue and made by a seamstress friend. It was quite simple, full length and exactly what I wanted. Shopping for a dress would have been uncomfortable for me as I’ve just never liked that sort of thing, had a small waist and big thighs that always seemed to cause problems when shopping. Anyway I loved my dress and on the rare occasion I look at the pics I can’t help but notice how beautiful all the young adults are. The short dresses of today; I still notice how beautiful everyone is but whew those are short!
I like how you normalized not going to prom in this post. My husband never went and is blasé about it. In my hometown it was like you HAD to go.
I see you added pics and more commentary to the post. Yay! Outfit looks great.
I love the photos! Gorgeous colors! Elizabeth will be stunning!
That’s a fabulous jumpsuit and she will be a star.
My dress was strapless emerald green satin with a sequined bodice and a crinoline under the skirt, floor length. I had my mom’s pearls and they BROKE and went all over the dance floor; my wonderful friends helped me pick every blessed one of them up (and one of my guy friends, blushing, was the one to suggest that some might have gone down my front, where in fact I found three.) The night was not ruined! I had a great time and I looked very pretty (for 1990, lol)
Oh man I went to prom my junior and senior years (1986 and 1987 respectively) and my dresses were exactly what you’d think of every 80s cliche. Junior year it was a tea length pink lace dress with a pink satin liner and a crinoline so it poofed out. It had a pink satin sash and was strapless (note: I’m small busted and haven’t worn a strapless in the over 30 years since because I spent all night worried it was going to fall off). My shoes were DTM pink. My senior year I went to two different proms so one dress was baby blue satin, floor length, poofy, with spaghetti straps and a matching shrug that went over it with again DTM shoes. The other was a sliver and black drop waist (think Gunny Sax) with a silver sash at the hips with silver shoes. Honestly, my prom pictures could be in the dictionary under: late 80s high school girl fancy dress party choices.
Oh her outfit is so pretty! And I had no idea that jumpsuits were a thing for proms now. I love them!
I went to prom in 1996 and 1997. My junior year my dress had a white lace top (lined) and then there was an empire waisted black velvet skirt. It had a slit and I wore black nylons (!) and black velvet-like heels with it. I want to say it was in the $80 range. At my junior prom a lot of people wore short dresses, so senior year I went with a short dress. It was about knee length, sleeveless, and in a pretty shimmery blue color. I think I wore silver sandals, but honestly I can’t remember. I think I paid about $40 for that one. Turns out almost no one wore short dresses that year.
I went with a group of friends both years and I am SO glad that I don’t go to high school now. Between the prom-prosals and grand marches, it is too much of a production now for someone who was pretty shy.
My prom was the year after Charles and Diana got married and my dress was white and poufy and DEFINITELY royal wedding inspired!
The “fun” thing (not really) was that I shopped with my father. My father who is color-blind AND a research scientist. He’d pull out a dress (not being able to tell the color) and ask if I liked it. 17-year old me would just say yes or no. He wanted specific details as to what I liked or didn’t like so he could apply his newly gained knowledge towards his future selections. My standard answer was usually “I dunno — I just don’t”. This frustrated him terribly!
I feel compelled to add a bit about my prom dress only because it features my dad, too (1988, my mom stayed home with us kids, did almost all the shopping with or for us). He’d been forced to resign at the same time I (the oldest of 3) was graduating high school (buying my prom dress, getting ready to go to college, etc.), and my parents were more money conscious than usual (they were always pretty frugal, but this was definitely noticeable to me), and when I bought a dress with friends (before I was aware of what was going on with my dad’s job), my mom was a little shocked at the price (I can’t remember what it was, maybe $100?), so my dad went to several other department stores and found the same dress on sale (maybe $30 less? I remember it was a significant savings, at least), and bought that dress and returned the other one so I could have the dress I wanted. I hope he knows how much I appreciated him doing that, just because it was so out of the ordinary family dynamic, and it helped both me and my mom feel better. (He did have another job before the end of the summer, which was lucky for all of us, because having him home all the time was driving my mother crazy! I have no idea how they would have handled a pandemic back then, because that much togetherness would have certainly driven her over the edge. But he’s long since retired and maybe because we’re all out of the house, so there are fewer people to deal with, they seem to be doing okay.)
So prom isn’t a thing here – the closest comparator is grad. My mom and I drove to the nearest city to find my grad dress and tried on every dress in the city, I swear, but none were great. So my sainted mother volunteered (or maybe I begged? I can’t remember) to make me a dress. We bought teal satiny fabric and got shoes dyed to match. My mom did a great job and the dress was lovely. This was 1990, so the style was fitted to the waist, probably with a V in front, tea length, and giant, I’m talking GIANT, poofy elbow length sleeves. The bodice and sleeves were covered in matching teal lace. And I think there was a large bow at the bust. I felt amazing beautiful. And of course my bangs were curled up two inches off my face. Ahhh, 1990. Looking at photos of my group of friends, nearly every single person had a variant of the same dress: shiny, giant sleeves, matching shoes. I’m sure my mom was so stressed making my dress, and I can guarantee that I didn’t appreciate it as much as I should have back then (teenagers, gah!), but I hope she knows now how much I appreciated it!
It’s a gorgeous outfit and by your description of her look and hair, I bet she will look just terrific. It sounds like it perfectly encapsulates her personality as well! Love it. As for the sales ladies, sigh. I mean, I know that they meant well, I am sure they did, but still, sigh. I think commenting on any woman’s body in any capacity, especially a young woman like Elizabeth, is icky, but I do think I know where they are coming from and the manner in which it’s meant. STILL SIGH.
Oh, and we don’t have prom, but my grad dress was a satiny red thing that was off the shoulder and I think tea-length as well. I had red shoes and purse dyed to match, and an updo with curls framing my face, which every girl in 1993 had. Also I wore pearls and a cream coloured wrist corsage.
What a beautiful prom outfit! She is going to look stunning!
Oh I am SO HAPPY that we are all talking about prom dresses now, thank you, Swistle!
Junior year (2002) I went to prom (with my new senior boyfriend) in a silvery pink princess seam dress with spaghetti straps that went down the back into corset lacing. I didn’t know what to do for a bra because of the open back, and I ended up not wearing one (small boobs) because the front of the dress had boning and provided sufficient support/nipple concealment. There was a matching shawl/scarf that was annoying and provided no warmth. I made a clutch purse out of shiny silver fabric. What was in it? Family cell phone (because 2002), lip balm probably. I wore my Converse sneakers because it was family tradition (from my dad) and I had been at a loss about what shoes to wear. I should have gotten clean, new ones, but bygones. My date wore a Hawaiian shirt with his tux because that was his thing, which has held up better in retrospect than it seemed at the time. Prom was held ON A BOAT because Seattle (Argosy cruises!) and no one could leave the boat to get drunk.
Senior year I went to my own senior prom with the same date (in army greens circa 2003), wearing a dress I found in a bridal magazine. It was a bridesmaids dress from Watters, so we got it at a bridal store, and on the invoice they put my name as Bride’s Name, which was weird because I was 18. Anyway, it was a floral slip dress, tan with red lilies and green foliage. My friend’s mom hemmed it badly and I wore silver strappy sandals because that was what the model wore in the ad. The theme of prom was “Take My Breath Away” because our senior officers were obsesses with Top Gun for some reason. Both times my hair was a total afterthought because I didn’t know what to do, so it was some kind of half up/half down curled something. Also I still wore glasses exclusively so those were a big part of my look, as was my watch and beaded bracelets from Girl Scout camp. The pictures are a total time capsule and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
I did not go to prom, my best friend and I ditched it and I think we went to the movies and then to a prom after party. I wore jeans and Doc Martens because that was what I wore in high school.
Elizabeth’s outfit sounds amazing and I, like many, would love to see a picture with her face cropped out. If you’re comfortable of course! I also thought her other finalist option actually sounded really good and made me think of the following tangent. My parents were very religious and very strict but for some reason (maybe because my mom was a seamstress and thus understood the importance of fashion as a form of self expression) they let me wear pretty much anything and dye my hair any color, and I made some quite questionable choices, but they never batted an eye. In retrospect this was one of the kindest things anyone has ever done for me, it was just so important for me at the time. So I guess what I’m saying is I can understand and get behind erring on the too permissive side.
Finally, I live in Texas and I know EXACTLY the type of salesclerks you’re describe and I would agree with your assessment that it was Fine, partly because of the type of ladies they are, but also partly because you just KNOW they will also find the exact right complimentary thing to say to a larger girl, or a girl who doesn’t fit into the standard mold. I think you know what I mean!
When my son needed a suit for Homecoming, the first one he picked was $700, and I blurted something horrified in. front of the salesperson. The second one he found had been marked waaay down, to about $70. He is fairly tall and very thin, so suits tend to be either very expensive or incredible bargains from the clearance rack
He also went to prom his senior year, for which he rented a tuxedo, and a word of warning to all tuxedo-renters out there: It takes a surprisingly long time to rent a tuxedo. (Also, do not use the term “dinner jacket,” which I guess no one uses any longer, so you will confuse people. Moms: They may stop punctuating texts but they will still show their age.)
My mom made my prom dress, back in the 80s. It was not very prom-ish, but I look back and think: That was a pretty dress. Just past my knees, windex-y blue with a square neck, Pintucks under the neck, short bell sleeves. I am typing that description and realizing that I didn’t need to say “80s” because the dress said it for me. My date gave me a wrist corsage.
I would just like it known that I will never stop punctuating my texts. ;)
::snortlaugh::
I recently used Google transcription to send a text while I was driving (specifically circling at the airport before picking up a kid), and *it* sent a text saying “OK.”
My kid thought I was angry about something — I had to send a follow-up text explaining that Google is less savvy about the Ways of the Youth than your average middle-aged suburban mom
I was not that into prom but I did go with friends… I found a clearance dress that was burgundy velvet with gold embroidery, but basically just a sheath dress? I think you call it? I remember describing it to someone and she asked but was it a WINTER dress because prom is in spring that Just Wasn’t Proper. I had no idea if it was a winter dress, I just liked it and it was cheap. So I wore it and it was fine.
I went to the Big City to get my dress in 1989 and it was black and white, with a little black jacket that clasped in the middle. In retrospect I’m sure it was a bridesmaid’s dress, totally age inappropriate. Ah well. Senior year I went with my same boyfriend but just borrowed a pink, tea-length dress from a friend, which I thought was very frugal of me. In fact, I suggested borrowing a dress to my daughter this year, but no dice. She’s getting one from Windsor and maybe it’s just me but man, it seems like their dresses are the cheapest things going. Apologies to anyone who loves Windsor!
I LOVE Elizabeth’s dress. The peekaboo lace is not too much at all, although I don’t know exactly what the vibe is in your part of the country. It would fly here in Oregon.
I was plus size in high school, so my two prom dresses were meh, slim pickings in the early 2000s. The first would have been a lovely mother-of-the-bride dress, but unfortunately I was 15. I also wore my regular everyday watch because I didn’t think to take it off. Ooof.
Love that outfit. She’s gonna look so fly. Although honestly the corset outfit sounds fly too.
My one feature I really wanted in my prom dress was a lace-up back, which happened to be kind of hard to find that year, but I found it! And then I got an updo with an upsidown french braid up the back of my head and was very pleased that it matched the back of my dress. The things that make 18 year olds happy!
Flashing back in amazement to the fact that my school had three formal events per year – winter formal, senior prom, and an event thrown by the the college-prep-level chemistry teacher called the Chemistry Affair, which was a sit-down lunch and stage show. This was for any sophomores who took his class PLUS chemistry alumni (juniors and seniors), so a good chunk of the student body was invited. Had I been particularly popular with the boys, this could have meant up to eight different formal events during my high school years. Fortunately for my mother, I was never invited to winter formal. Also fortunately, after my first chem affair (knee-length burgundy satin A-line dress with a sweetheart neckline and burgundy and gold, full-length lace sleeves), my sisters both got married, so we repurposed my bridesmaid’s dresses for subsequent events. Both were blue, one a gray-blue tea length and the other a sapphire-blue fitted dress (or top and skirt?) that went down to my ankles. I must not have been sick of blue yet by senior year (I remember regretting my choice of burgundy before my first chemistry affair was even over) because my prom dress was dark blue velvet, ankle length, with short sleeves, a scoop neck, and a straight silhouette – like a very long, very fitted velvet t-shirt, basically. I wore a matching, fitted blue velvet jacket over it, pinned with a white rose broach of my mother’s and matching earrings (there might have even been a matching necklace). It was the ’90s, and I’m pretty sure I looked like somebody’s grandmother, but I was pleased at the time to be doing something different than spaghetti straps, I guess. My mom made all the dresses.
Love, love, love that jumpsuit.
Love a jumpsuit! And love that colour. She’s going to look great!
My prom dress was…. not really what I wanted, even at the time, but my mum was paying and felt like she had some control over my choices. It was two piece, a kind of satin/silk fabric that was green but had a purple sheen in some lights, a bit like fish scales. It had a corset style top, straightish skirt, sequinned embroidery on the bodice. I wanted a super sleek, super simple navy blue dress but it cost more and my mum didn’t like at as much. Also my prom was rubbish, my date abandoned me and spent the whole night outside kissing one of my friends. I wasn’t romantically interested in him at all but it meant I had nobody to dance with for big chunks of the evening and I was SAD. Going just with friends would have been vastly better.
Elizabeth’s outfit is gorgeous!
I love how going to dances in a friend group is the norm now. Back in my high school days s (early 90s Chicago area in affluent suburb) the dance were all semi-formal/formal events that required a date. I desperately wanted to go to the dances but I was never dating anyone. Finally my senior year I went with a friend from gym class to prom and wore an electric blue strapless dress. In retrospect its not my color at all but I loved it.
Elizabeth’s outfit is GORGEOUS. And NINE DOLLARS OMG.
And I didn’t go to prom, but I did go to my mom’s wedding around the time I should have been going to prom. I wore a Betsy Johnson ballerina dress in black with BIG BRIGHT PINK ROSES on it. I mean BIG. That was 1985.
I went to my sister’s wedding in 1989 and was allowed to pick my own maid of honor dress. I wore a lavender satin brocade dress with a lacy button-down front and a peplum. It was originally $400, but they were having a store-wide half-off sale, and it was in the half-off clearance room on a half-off clearance rack, and its tag said 50% off, so I got it for $25. I have been gloating about that for decades. (I had to get appropriate foundations for underneath because of the lacy front, so the whole outfit was quite a bit more. But still.)
Oh, good job you! What a steal.
I’m glad I was in HS in the early 2000’s because that’s when the big puffy princess dresses were in style and that was so fun! Mine was hot pink, floor length poofy tulle monster, with spaghetti straps that went down to lace up the back. The cool shoes were these awful clear plastic heels that made my feet sweat and hurt really bad. (they were “cinderella” style or something so they were supposed to look kinda invisible?)
Also, after reading this post yesterday I had a dream about prom dress shopping last night LOL.
I didn’t go to my prom/grad. I was supposed to go to an after-party one year but my friend who was giving me a ride fell asleep and didn’t pick me up from the non-grad-related party I was at, and I thought he wasn’t coming at all so proceeded to get wildly drunk on tequila and then when he did finally show up, apologizing profusely I wasn’t in any shape to go anywhere. The next year I made it to an after-party but most of my friends had graduated the year before so I didn’t stay long – just chatted with a few people then left.
I did go to the prom/grad of a Technical High School with a guy (step-brother of a friend who probably didn’t know any other girls) who looked a bit like a monkey. He drank too much and got a bit obnoxious and we were voted “cutest couple” not because we were so good looking but more in the sense of “Oh look! Monkey Boy got a date! How CUTE!” I wore green shiny asymmetrical dress with only one-shoulder strap that I’d happened to have already. I don’t remember what I did for shoes/hair/etc. and most of the night was very forgettable. This would have been in the late 80s I think as I believe I was maybe in grade 11? Otherwise it would have been in 1990 if I was in grade 12.
I love her prom outfit-it looks amazing.
I went to my boyfriend’s prom, not mine-in 1977. I LOVED my dress. I found it at a local mall, and put it on layaway, and worked really hard to pay it off. It cost almost $100! Anyway, it was white with a floral print-not quite spaghetti straps, but a really nice square bodice. Best of all-total flowy skirt…I felt amazing in that dress. Back then for formals we all wore maxi dresses, at least in my Midwestern town. It was the best of both worlds, it was both comfortable and very pretty. I wore low heeled platform sandals, since I have never been a high heel person. Not sure if students still do this, but after prom we did a sail on Lake Michigan. Best part was the next day, where instead of going to the beach like everyone else, we went to Brookfield Zoo, just the 2 of us. Young love!!
I love how well everyone remembers their dress. I completely don’t but I know I had baby’s breath flowers in my hair. And speaking of remembering, Swistle, does your dad remember buying you those matching shoes?
I hear you on the remarks from the salesladies and how, maybe, they pulled it off? That said, I still think it was a bad idea from them to risk commenting like that because they really don’t know (1) how Elizabeth feels about her body (anyone could be dysmorphic/recovering from an ED/among other things) (2) how those who overhear the comments might feel about them for the same reason.
In March our local Goodwill has a Wedding Extravaganza. It is huge, with all kinds of wedding dresses, bridemaids dresses, mother of the bride/groom dresses, you get the idea. When they open it is a madhouse, people lined up for hours kind of thing, but by mid afternoon it’s very calm and that is when my daughter and I shopped for her prom dresses. Junior year is was full length, black with black beading across the top and was $30. Senior year it was black and white – you know those tops you can get that are a patterned floral shirt with a solid color sweater, so it looks like a two piece but is really a one piece? That was her dress, only all satin type material. It looked like a white dress of horizontal matte and satin stripes, with a black jacket. Hard to describe, but gorgeous. $9.00.
My Junior year was a baby blue taffeta with gauze overlay, and white eyelet lace across the bodice, spaghetti straps. Senior was white eyelet with mint green ruffles at the base and shoulder straps, that I wore at the points of my shoulders – the straps were poofy and I can’t stand looking over and seeing poofy sticking up. Can’t remember jewelry, but shoes were basic low heels in white. Blue dress was $100 in 1981, green was $300 in 1982.
Think about all the cliche things on a late 80s/early 90s prom dress and my junior prom, 11th grade had ’em.
Dropped waist? Puffed sleeves? Sweetheart neckline and weird pointy waistline? Offset bow AND beaded flower doohickey at the waist? Tea-lenth hem? POLKA-DOT SKIRT? I was a vision. It had a black bodice and a black and white polka-dot skirt. I wore sheer pantyhose (PANTYHOSE) and kitten-heel shoes with a matching beaded thing on the toe. I also wore frosty pink lip gloss and one of those pulled-back on one side and teased to hell on the other hairdos.