<p>Riverrunner,
Your D sounds like a gem and probably made your friend soooo happy that her S has the good taste to have your D as a friend! Sounds like it worked out very well for everyone!</p>
<p>Calmom, sounds like your D is indeed resourceful. I know that my D has made her own Halloween costumes all her life and has been able to assemble amazing looks with hardly any cash. Back in the stone ages, I made all my prom dresses, but my D has never sewn more than a few straight seams (never really learned). Her dresses have been pretty versatile, so we’re satisfied (they were the ONLY ONES in the entire mall that fit her).</p>
<p>My daughters either shopped with a friend or by themselves. I’m allergic to shopping - I always drove them but stayed in the car with a book and a cup of coffee until I was texted to come in to look at the final candidate and, of course, present the credit card. We gave each of our girls a limit we’d spend, with the agreement that they’d cover anything over that amount. Smart girls, they always found something within my budget!</p>
<p>The big prom store around here has a huge selection and is jaw-droppingly overpriced. It’s so crowded during prom shopping season that I dreaded going in even for the 5 minutes it took to buy the dress. But they keep a registry so that everyone knows who’s wearing what to which prom, and duplications are avoided.</p>
<p>One of my friends has a daughter who has no patience for shopping. She ordered 4 gowns from Nordstrom’s online, tried them on at home, and sent 3 back. I have already decided to do this when it’s time to buy a mother-of-the-bride dress.</p>
<p>My D “shopped” with H for both proms. He’s a costumer. The second prom dress was a rental from a film studio. For $75 she got a hand made, kelly green silk dress worn by Deborah Kerr in '50s.</p>
<p>If this was a taste of shopping for a wedding dress some day then I’m going to be a mess. Kept tearing up when she’d walk out in those lovely dresses. I had such trouble not buying three or four of them! Good thing we were limited by the size of our suitcases.</p>
<p>The funny part was she declared at the beginning, “No long dress. No prints.”</p>
<p>Glad it worked out for your daughter, sewhappy and that you were able to be there to see it when she purchased the gown!</p>
<p>I have been with my daughter when she shopped for all of her other fancy dresses over the years. I, too, would be disappointed if I heard this news that she didn’t want me to shop with her!</p>
<p>Yet, I also know she might want time to spend with her friends comparing dresses and seeing what they liked. My D probably would go with her friends and window shop, and then ask me for my opinion and credit card! </p>
<p>Of course, most of these girls would look lovely with a burlap sack. Adolescence! (Count me as jealous of their youth!)</p>
<p>Third Year Prom - we took a garage sale old bridesmaid dress - and dressed it up - shortened it, cut open the back and laced it together and put some black lace over the decollete - we had it done at the local alterations shop - who though we were crazy.</p>
<p>For Prom we decided go all out and make it ourselves. We had never sewn before. We combined two patterns, got absolutely lost a couple times. Friendly friends and friends of friends came by and helped us on the way (but on the bias???) (zippers anyone?) - It was ready one hour before pick-up time (thanks to a lovely neighbor who could no longer bear our attempts at hemming)
It was gorgeous - in the end probably more expensive than the JC Penney’s party dresses - but oh - so worth it.
She wanted to wear her black converse with fishnet stockings under it - but the school had a policy against sneakers. no matter. she was a hit!</p>
<p>D has loaned her prom dress out to a friend who is wearing it 8 days BEFORE D needs to wear it.</p>
<p>D wore this dress last year for her own prom, this year we had it altered slightly (the skirt used to be slightly poofy, now it’s straight with a walking slit, it looks great). She is supposed to wear it to her BF’s prom this year (they go to different schools), but a friend has 2 proms to go to and asked D if she could borrow her dress for one of them. She came over and tried it on and it looked fabulous on her.</p>
<p>We have no backup plan if something happens to this dress. No other dress, no one to borrow one from. D’s hs tends to do big, poofy Cinderella dresses but the BF’s hs the girls all wear straight & sleek (hence the alterations). D’s friends that are her same size wore Disney Princess-type poofy dresses last year.</p>
<p>D assures me all will be “fine.” I keep telling myself, “It’s just a dress, it’s just a dress…”</p>
<p>Lafalum84: Not a mom, as you know, but if she trusts this friend I’d let her do it. Would she be okay with getting a new dress if necessary, though? Or is she totally in love with this particular gown? I think that’s really the issue.</p>
<p>Also, I got my dress today! It’s everything I really wanted - shorter (cocktail length, not to-the-floor), one-shoulder, can be worn to other events. I’m super happy with it.</p>
<p>tc, she loves this dress - but the bigger problem would be TIME. If something happens to this dress she’d have one week to get a new one (and have it altered/hemmed). Not to mention that I have no intention of paying for another one, because this one was expensive. She trusts this girl, but accidents do happen. </p>
<p>(TC - Feel free to post YOUR dress you-know-where so we can see it!)</p>
<p>My nieces have been great, I’ve bought the prom dresses so I got to go shopping. My younger niece is borrowing my Christian Laboutin satin peep toe pumps to wear with the dress I just bought her, she is also borrowing some jewelry. I only have a son so I don’t have to deal with “unauthorized” borrowing of my stuff, I am so excited to have someone to loan something to!</p>
<p>I was with D last month when she found her prom dress. She knew she wanted a long dress for prom and hated everything she saw in stores and online. </p>
<p>We decided to go to a bridal shop and she found a bridesmaid dress that was strapless in a stlye she loved and was going to order it in navy as this color is wonderful on her. Before we ordered it I suggested we go over to Off 5th as she has had success there before with formal dresses. She found a strapless long silk dress (very colorful) that is absolutely gorgeous on her. Only problem was her size had a broken zipper. We bought the dress anyway since it could be returned if the zipper could not be fixed. So the price was $630, marked down to $190, then half price for $95! She already has the perfect shoes for the dress so now is just looking for jewlery and a date.</p>
<p>I’m sure you can find a great dressmaker who will be able to fix the dress so it’s better than ever! I was able to find a local dressmaker who remade my suit, lowering the waistline and shortening it so it fits again (it’s the suit I bought deacdes ago, before I had kids). It’s still my favorite suit & no one can tell it’s ever been altered!</p>
<p>There is an outlet store Jessica McClintock near Los Angeles with extremely good deals on both bridesmaid and bridal gowns. I believe the store is in Montclair. </p>
<p>When several family members were in a wedding a few years back we scored bridesmaid gowns for around $20 each with a massive storewide sale they had - and they were exquisite.</p>
<p>^^That’s a Betsey Johnson dress. DD and her friends spent many hours at the downtown Betsey Johnson boutique trying on those dresses just for fun (no way anyone at her school would have bought a very expensive dress which looked like a lace and silk pinecone ). Judging by the photos DD took at the prom, they all ended up with something reasonably-looking from the local bridal shops, Nordstrom or Cache.</p>
<p>My D really wants a slender, strapless, silky dress, but all the ones she’s shown me online are polyester and look slightly cheap to me (despite the pricetag!) I am probably going to try to make one out of dupioni silk that’s just gorgeous, but I’m a little nervous about the construction of a strapless bodice. Has anyone tried this? Any advice?</p>
<p>My D (senior) actually got her prom dress last year LOL - before she even knew if she would be going or not. Our neighbor’s niece was selling her prom dress at their garage sale (!!), my D just happened to notice it as we were browsing and chit chatting…and just for fun, she tried it on (with some convincing from my neighbor)…well, it fit almost perfectly. The price was right - $12 - I think, and it was like new - of course, only worn for a few hours…Well, to her delight when she decided she is going with her now bf…she has this great dress…well, she did get some alterations, shoes and some matching accessories, but it turned out to be the perfect thing…and not too pricey…and since the dress is really about 4 years old, she knows no one will have the same dress LOL</p>
). Judging by the photos DD took at the prom, they all ended up with something reasonably-looking from the local bridal shops, Nordstrom or Cache.</p>