<p>one D, 3 proms, first year (Freshman) found dress ($450), beautiful strapless purple number. It was perfect and D said "I can wear it again SR year, no one will remember " I knew at the time this was just a ploy, the dress was so memorable that everyone would remember it, simply elegant and beautiful. JR year comes around and dress#2 a pale rose strapless number ON SALE. ($250) SR year comes around and a beautiful blue number, also strapless ($350). Cost of 1 D to attend 3 proms $1050, stunningly beautiful D not in jeans and A&F, priceless!</p>
<p>I was always wanted on these shopping trips, eventhough D always had a very distinct vision in mind of what she wanted. It’s nice to be appreciated, and not just for the check book. </p>
<p>Hope all the kids have a safe and happy prom!</p>
<p>My D was stunning in her prom gowns as well. She had great taste and it was nice to see how elegant she looked in gowns so unlike her normal attire. She did value my insights and taste. She chose gowns she really loves and has already worn one to a wedding (where she looked so elegant and mature folks had trouble recognizing her). I haven’t seen her wear the other yet, but expect she will to the right occasion. It is a backless number but really isn’t as revealing as it sounds. She really looks athletic in it, honestly! Even her dad approved.</p>
<p>Since she’s petite, we’ll never be similar sizes and she can wear styles I never could carry off but envied. :)</p>
<p>Our little one chose a black dress with a “mermaid” skirt. It was expensive, $200 (yikes!), but she was able to save a few bucks by doing here hair and makeup at the local Gene Juarez training academy (they looove prom season!). With her long gloves on, she looked very elegant, sort of Audrey Hepburn-ish She did end up getting a few more miles out of the dress by wearing it to her college formals.</p>
<p>Soph. year 3 guys asked D to prom. She told them, “No, my mom won’t let me go. . .” without even asking me. She told me about this months later, and said, “Mom, they were all dorks!” Senior year–different school-- she really wanted to go to prom. No one asked her–at this school most people go with gangs of friends instead of dates. I wasn’t disappointed when she wanted to go dress shopping with her friends (I was always a tomboy, never went to dances. . .not known for my fashion sense!)
She found some dresses, but didn’t buy one. She wanted ME to go with her on the buying trip. Well, this was 4 hours at the mall with me and her three little sisters (then 10, 6 and 4) cheering or giving thumbs down to all the dresses she tried. The first dress was gorgeous, emerald green, and the sales lady was really “encouraging.” We went on to a half-dozen more stores and by then the two little girls were acting up, hiding in racks of clothes, embarrassing the heck out of D, etc. Finally we went back and she bought that first dress–I think it was about $160, which seemed like a lot, but she paid for it.
Prom weekend she was on a college visit. She was scheduled to fly back, and barely had time to get her hair done and throw on the dress. . .unfortunately we had a blizzard that day, airport was closed–she got stranded at the college with no flights in until Monday.
Luckily the prom was canceled and rescheduled a month later. When she came out from her room with her hair, makeup, nails done, in that dress–OMG. I was speechless. I couldn’t believe how good she looked! It was one of those “memorable mom moments.” (I didn’t even have hair, nails, makeup done for my wedding!) She was able to wear the same dress for a winter formal this year.</p>
<p>Since my D did such a wonderful job finding an expensive gown for a low price and she is going to wear shoes she already has, I told her she can go to our hairdresser and get the “updo” of her dreams!</p>
<p>momofswimmer - Thank you for your post. I’ve been feeling as if I’m the only mom out there spending a ridiculous amount on D’s prom dress. My D is a sophomore, tall and a size 2. She looks great in every dress she’s tried on. That’s the problem. Her prom is two weeks away so we’ve been bringing dresses home so that she can decide later with the plan that we will return the ones she doesn’t wear. Somehow I fear this won’t happen.</p>
<p>Dress #1 - $418, floaty, youthful, makes me think of the word “dewey”</p>
<p>Dress #2 - $300 short, poof skirt that is flattering if you have no hips, flirty, and best of all it has pockets!</p>
<p>Ha! So much money! A tuxedo this year may run about $110. Good time to be renting a tuxedo. Dinner and everything included, depending, will not cost much more on that. Phew! She’s wearing a dress from somewhere, and you know, now that I think about it, I have no idea where it came from. She certainly didn’t buy it recently, but I’ve never seen it. So Prom this year has been very affordable for both of us considering the last three proms I’ve attended. </p>
<p>I’m in college, taking a senior in HS.</p>
<p>EDIT: Read some more posts up. Some of the stories of the D’s being seen in their dresses by their mom’s for the first time are really cute. I bet they looked beautiful! (:</p>
<p>I’m not sure yet what D will do about a date. Her prom here in CA is not until the first weekend in June so she has time. There are two guys she is really good friends with and neither one of them have girlfriends right now so I told her why don’t you ask one of them now. Her response was that it is too early yet to make those plans. One of my friends offered up her son who is a sophomore at USC (6’6", blonde and gorgeous!) who could come home for the weekend. D said it was too weird to have her Mom fix her up!</p>
<p>Reading all of these posts makes me so nostalgic for two or three years ago when our 2 were in high school. I was very lucky that my daughter wanted me to with her, though I quickly learned she wanted the salesperson at the gown shop to help her not me. We still have a Diane Von Furstenburg green print silk gown hanging in her closet unworn and not returned from an “internet shopping trip gone wrong-OOPS!” Nevertheless, it was so much fun to be with her and listen to the back and forth between DD and the salesperson. These days, many of my friends go with their daughters to a) ensure that girls buy an appropriate gown for event-e.g.-slit in front comes to knee-not above-dress is lined, supportive garments sewn in. I remember looking at prom pics. last year and trying to decide if one girl had ANY lingerie on under her gown. Consensus among viewers: NO. All of the back and forth plus girls in this part of the world making trips to NYC to purchase gowns at 800$+ makes last minute tux adjustments seem trivial!</p>
<p>I honestly don’t understand the whole spending $500-on-multiple-dresses thing. Prom’s going to happen once, and to be honest, it’s not the dress you remember. I suppose if you have that much money to just throw off, then it’s whatever, but I just don’t understand. </p>
<p>I would never give my daughter more than $100 for a dress. If she wants more than that, she can get a job and get it. <em>Shrugs</em></p>
<p>Though I don’t like to spend too much money on anything, especially not on something I’ll only wear a few times, I don’t mind that others do. I’ve seen girls who look beautiful in $500 dresses and girls who look beautiful in $20 dresses and everything inbetween. At an event like Prom, where the focus really is on you and your friends and the memories you make, the most important thing is that you feel comfortable and can enjoy yourself. Whatever path you take to get there is fine by me.</p>
<p>(p.s., though: one of my proudest shopping moments is a time I was 14, strolling through Macy’s and skimming the clearance rack. I found a knee-length pink halter dress with this cool weaved top, tried it on, and got it - for $35. I’ve worn it to two weddings, two proms, and my grandfather’s 70th birthday party.)</p>
<p>^ I envy you teenage. I can not even fit into my prom dress anymore. Bit of a growth in the chest region that is going to cost more to get fixed than the whole dress cost :(</p>
<p>I’m only going by my son’s prom experiences. He went twice and was a good sport about the whole thing, as were his male friends. They just went along so their dates could enjoy the dress aspect. </p>
<p>It is all about the dress. Sorry, but it is.</p>
<p>And on that front, sanity is slowly returning to us. Daughter found a fourth dress that she completely loves and returned the other three. I think we have closure.</p>
<p>I guess in retrospect, we’re grateful that D hates shopping even more than I do. We have only had luck at one store and they generally only have ONE dress that actually fits her without alterations and so far it’s always been a different dress and looked gorgeous on her. Really makes selection a lot simpler (tho she does try on a lot to find out if somehow there might be a second dress that might fit). She’s purchased two dresses there. I think one was about $120 and the other similarly priced (can’t remember any more). Buying a dress that almost fit & having to alter it & hope it still looks right afterwards never had much appeal to us (with the cost, bother and unpredictability of alterations, especially with shiny and/or slinky materials).</p>
<p>For short dresses, she’s had slightly more luck :)</p>
<p>Glad Sewhappy, that your D found a dress & can take back the others & help replentish your bank account. The store we’ve purchased dresses at do NOT take returns, so it’s very important to double-check on that issue so you’re not stuck with a dress that turns out not to be THE ONE. I guess they don’t want to get stuck with a lot of dresses & have their inventory depleted when folks are shopping and worse, have folks wear the gown to the event & then return it!</p>
<p>It was all about the dress until the prom night. Then it was all about having fun with her date and friends. The kids went bowling after the dance (in their tuxes and long gowns - :eek:)!</p>
<p>After prom, the kids all carpooled in rented limos to a house and had a nice party. The boys then left and the girls had a sleepover. This happened after all their junior & senior prom. For winter ball, they just got driven to the event as a group and then picked up by their families from the event.</p>
<p>Talk about a great way to wreck a dress or tux, bowling!?!?!? I get grease & grime just thinking of that past time!</p>
<p>Not having a daughter, I like splurging a bit on my nieces’ prom gowns. I did however have to take my sister quietly aside when she urged her daughter to try on a $725 dress and say no way! Not for one time! I set the limit at $400. My one niece wears the same shoe size I do, so she is borrowing shoes from me. She found her dress at Bloomingdales and I had a 20% friends and family coupon so I paid around $280. She will also be wearing some of my jewelry. The other niece hasn’t found her dress yet. Last year I paid $375 for hers. I also bought my son a tuxedo, at Jos. Banks. Very reasonable. He’s already worn it enough that it was less expensive then renting.</p>
<p>Each time she tries it on we like it more. And financially not too bad. Wearing shoes from a wedding we attended last summer. A friend’s uncle is providing the limo (he owns the company). And they are going to In and Out Burger for dinner. I am exhausted and satiated. Really wanted to shop with her and as it’s turning out she (and all her friends) have shopped exclusively with their moms.</p>
<p>Me too!!! It has almost become a tradition in my family. I remember we were at a family dinner and my nieces were sharing their prom shopping story and one of my nieces was talking about the one shoulder leopard print gown that her cousin wanted to wear to prom. “I thought aunt sybbie was going to faint in saks when she saw that dress.” I held my piece while praying that her mother would say something about the dress. </p>
<p>When Chicky’s turn came, she reminded me as how I was such a good trooper when I took her cousins shopping. Sometimes I do think that we get caught up in the emotion. Now I look at all of the prom and formal pictures and I get a little emotional and remember the good times. My dress shopping days are almost over (one neice left in high school) then I have to wait until someone decides to get married.</p>
She did end up getting a few more miles out of the dress by wearing it to her college formals.</p>
The store we’ve purchased dresses at do NOT take returns, so it’s very important to double-check on that issue so you’re not stuck with a dress that turns out not to be THE ONE. I guess they don’t want to get stuck with a lot of dresses & have their inventory depleted when folks are shopping and worse, have folks wear the gown to the event & then return it!</p>