<p>Where do you all find dresses under $200 that look nice???</p>
<p>Dress: $400 (I paid for half) – a knee-length Betsey Johnson dress in floral silk that I also wore to graduation, a college formal, my 18th birthday dinner, and various other occasions that I’m forgetting; it’s more of an all-purpose formal dress</p>
<p>Shoes: $0 – nondescript strappy black heels I’d had since freshman year</p>
<p>Tickets: $0 – but my prom was at my high school, a former ambassador’s mansion (and thus had few expenses beyond flowers and hors d’oeuvres)</p>
<p>Transportation: $50? – we didn’t get a limo, but a white, unmarked “sniper/child molester” van (we thought it was hilarious :rolleyes:) with the cost split among about ten friends</p>
<p>Dinner: $30 – out of my own allowance</p>
<p>Total: Around $480, but over four-fifths of it consisted of a dress that wasn’t a Prom Dress as such, so I don’t consider it all that outrageous. The cost to my parents was about $250.</p>
<p>Edited to add that I guess I forgot the hair, which was another $60… so make that $540 total, of which my parents paid $310.</p>
<p>““sniper/child molester” van” LOL! My D dislikes them and calls them “rapist vans” (too much CSI watching?).</p>
<p>NM, my Ds had success with finding very nice clearance-priced formal dresses at Cache and a BCBG outlet.</p>
<p>D’s dress was $190, that’s the most we have ever spent, but she will wear it to cousin’s wedding in June (it’s a short dress). Last year we found a great dress at Macy’s half price and I had a coupon, so it was only $60. That was rare luck.</p>
<p>Shoes will be inexpensive, she won’t spend more than $50. BF graduated last year, so she pays for the ticket this time. Boutoniere (can’t spell it) is $8. Dinner is going to be a picnic (!),hair will be done by a friend for $50 (less than the local salons, and she does a better job). Nails will be another $40. That Party Bus is the big unknown cost here. So altogether were looking at maybe $400-$500. No wonder I didn’t want to add that up.</p>
<p>NM- try Macys or Jessica McLintock. Good Luck.</p>
<p>We found D2’s dress at Macy’s also, after hitting all the more typical “formals and prom dresses” places. Should have just started there, but all her friends were talking about the specialty stores…</p>
<p>D attends a Very large HS. If you get a dress at Macy’s, Bloomie’s, Nordstrom’s you will see multiple dresses of the same style. Not what she wants for senior prom. Cache hasn’t been able to fit her the last few times we looked. She had BCBG for Homecoming and loved it but the outlet is not in town so we paid full price then. 
She went to four bridal shops last weekend but didn’t find anything. She does not like dresses covered with lots of bling/sequins. It is so hard to find things that fit her!!!</p>
<p>We did consider the problem of multiple dresses when buying at Macy’s. Fortunately that didn’t happen with this dress (though it would probably with the others she tried on there) This one wasn’t very “prom-y”. Had a kind of Art Deco look, long and bias-cut. When she picked it up I thought “that’s aimed at someone older”… despite the fact that she looks young for her age it was beautiful.<br>
Back in the Stone Age when I was in high school, I got a dress in a designer outlet “sample shop” and took it to the then-boyfriend’s prom in a much much smaller town. You got it, 2 girls in the same dress.</p>
<p>D found the exact dress (long, royal blue strapless, with rhinestones at waistline) she wanted for $30, (amazingly on sale) tailored for another 20. gorgeous rhinestoney sandals and matching silver purse $35. Hair $50, another $25 for assorted hair pieces, couldn’t choose) manicure/pedicure $40 Prom ticket $120, bf is paying for his ticket. no limo.=$260. she’s so happy and excited and looks beautiful=priceless</p>
<p>Zero. S is not going to prom at this time (could change mind) but if he does, it still won’t cost me anything. Prom is on him, same as last year. He has tux from music, so if he goes, it will not be expensive.</p>
<p>We paid for tux rental - $150. He and GF are each paying for their ticket and dinner ($65 for ticket, probably $30 each for dinner). He will buy her a corsage. He also got some accessories for his tux ($40). Winds up being about a 50/50 split. </p>
<p>The group they are going with are not inclined to rent a limo. They are thinking aobut taking the subway! I have offered to do their group pics – it would be hysterical, and they’d definitely win the prize for “biggest ride.”</p>
<p>It cost my parents about $200 and they were paying for me and my date. </p>
<p>Tickets-$100 total.
Dress-$25.
Tux-$65. </p>
<p>My hair and make up are free because I recruited enough people to a local salon that they are giving me free prom stuff. </p>
<p>Not paying for limo, nor food. We’re having a BBQ with friends before hand and then just driving ourselves. None of us drink so it’s not a big deal.</p>
<p>“He has tux from music, so if he goes, it will not be expensive.”
If your senior D is looking for a date, have her check with friends who are music majors at nearby colleges. I’d have never thought of this, but those boys can arrive ready to go in under an hour - they own the tux already!</p>
<p>FallGirl, Party busses come in different sizes. My D and her BF are in one that holds 42 people. I’ve seen the photos - it’s a Greyhound bus, but tricked out (pimped out would be a more accurate term) with curvy couches, “stars” in the ceiling, a sound system and a big screen TV. </p>
<p>Our school only has ONE prom, junior year. I have spent way too much on it, but I made it clear that this is the only one I am paying for. If D goes to another prom (her BF’s high school has a big-time Senior prom) she can re-wear the same dress or borrow one.</p>
<p>My kid blew off the prom. College parties are better. And cheaper.</p>
<p>I’d have never thought of this, but those boys can arrive ready to go in under an hour - they own the tux already!</p>
<p>This is true- I never had thought about it- but a friend of D’s already owned a tux, cause in high school he belonged to an a cappela group</p>
<p>College parties are better. And cheaper.
If only it was an either/or proposition ;)</p>
<p>D is a homeschooler who attends public school part-time. She really wanted to go to senior prom. (We wouldn’t let her go soph year when she had several invites). At this school it seems that most of the juniors and seniors go, and many (most?) go without dates.
She paid for it: $160 dress, $25 shoes, $40 hair, $25 nails, $12 necklace/earrings, $20 ticket $20 dinner (a baseball player from our local team was at the restaurant with his young daughter–they were going to a father-daughter dance. He bought dessert for D’s group of 30 prom goers!) Prom was downtown and D drove herself. When they were leaving, they couldn’t find their cars in the parking garage–they’d been directed to the wrong garage! The school sponsored a free after-prom party with lots of food, fun games, prizes. It was all very well-done, well-chaperoned, and safe. D had a great time, and I must say, she looked absolutely stunning in her emerald green dress!</p>
<p>I paid for my own prom. I don’t really remember how much it cost… tickets were maybe 50 a piece and my dress was probably about 100…</p>
<p>Dress: free, used once by cousin, needed $30 alteration. strapless black tadashi, with shutter pleats that go to a “V” in the bodice, from the waist down, it’s sort of ruffled chiffon
Shoes: had them already
Hair: $70
Nails, brows, etc: she needed nail tips, $75
Limo: shared, $60
Tickets: were $95 total, but she sold enough pizza to get it down to zero. this covers prom for 2 and a great post prom party that goes until 3am
Dinner: I am springing for the group at our house…two trays from macaroni grill, plus stuff brought by other parents $120
pictures: $25</p>
<p>Not too bad.</p>
<p>Wow some proms are expensive! Last year it cost me $60-my date paid for my ticket, his mom did my hair and make up, I borrowed shoes, dinner served there, no limo, so that was just for my dress. This year will be a little more I think. Probably about $100-$150, because I wouldn’t let him buy my ticket again.</p>
<p>Daughter paid $170 for dress from her clothing budget (this was way more than 1 month’s clothing budget), borrowed shoes and purse and jewelry, did her own nails for $5 and bought a hair accessoryfor $8.
Her date paid $60 for tickets and around $35 for flowers, which included a boutennierre (sp) that fell apart when it caught in the shoulder strap of his car. He paid for dinner- not sure how much but it was at Outback and D had a kid’s meal !?! His tux was free because he wore one to school on 2 Fridays to advertise for the tux shop.
I did the dress alterations, paid $40 for D to get her hair done and $25 for pictures.
The group of seniors all nixed the limo idea when they found out the cost.
I think I lucked out in this deal.</p>