Would you/have you spent hundreds on a prom dress?

i hired a full kilt outfit for my son (am in Scotland) for £110ish, my daughter is in her last year of secondary school an was diagnosed autistic when she was almost 13 and had a really tough time going into the school building, she transitioned during covid and I couldn’t walk into the building with her so anyway she has missed at least 50% of secondary so if she wanted an expensive outfit I would absolutely let her buy her it, but I suspect the prom will prove too much for her 🥲

No! Dd one chose a £30 dress from a gothy type shop (10 years ago) dd2 had a dress from chichi London which was £60 (6 years ago)

No. I bought both DDs a prom dress for about £50 or so in TKMaxx. I have neither the budget nor the inclination to spend hundreds of pounds on a teenage prom. We drove them their in our car - no hired limousine or any other nonsense.

It's crazy vinted is full of them, or you can rent them.

No no...the dinner dance at 16 in the school hall was a ONCE IN A LIFETIME thing. Never again will she be at a school and leave it and have a party...

Given the personalised champagne glasses, dress hangers, and "silk" polyester pyjamas, I'm going to guess elegance and grace don't feature largely.

Aren't you a charmer. Let's hope your dd carries your elegance and grace to all the balls she'll attend at uni.

😬😂

No my dc had a bridesmaid dress that was cheaper than one marketed as a prom dress. My niece had a stunning dress an older friend was selling. One of DD’s friends had beautiful a 50s style dress from John Lewis. Another sewed her own. A big hospice charity shop does a special prom shop, worth seeing if anything similar.

The username really does check out...

Dress was £45 in sale section of prom shop. She'll wear it again for playing in concerts. Bought silver shoes which will go with any future dresses. She curled her hair. I adjusted her dress myself. It's not an ' event of a lifetime ' it's just a party at a hotel with over priced food, for many a farewell to school friends. They'll go to much better evenings out. All the personalised stuff for one night only is just wasteful but there's lots of things I don't agree with that bring people joy so just do it your own way and don't be pressured. All the girls looked amazing, you couldn't tell who had a charity shop dress or an £800 one ( which sort of defeats the purpose in spending £800 I think!!)

Yep.

A £450 Vs £45 dress is definitely what makes the difference between having fun with your friends at a party and... "Having a shit night and being fucking miserable.... "

... fucking scrubber cunt....😂😂😂😂😂

It is a little bit sad that the enjoyment of a party can be so reduced for some people if they don't have a limo or acrylic nails on.

I go to a party for the company and the food and the dancing myself.

Blimey, no need to be quite so triggered. People can have different opinions.

... Wow, that escalated quickly...

Daughter's dress was £400 by the time I'd paid to have it altered. But she did her own hair, makeup, nails, used cheap sandals and handbag she already owned and was driven for free in a friends car, so I didn't really mind. Obviously I could afford the £400 or I wouldn't have spent it. When she went to her 6th form dinner, dress was £18 off vinted. I did prefer that!

If they can afford it, then fine. But I wouldn’t.
Didn’t spend on my wedding dress either…

We went to a very well known prom dress place. It’s very local to us, but people come from all over the country for it, you need an appt. The prices were horrendous, I steered Dd to one in the sale, was still £170 I think. I’d misread the handwritten label and thought it was £120,

Most of them were around £500 and this was 8 years ago.

i do still think even at £170 it was a waste of money. A dress from Quiz or ASOS would have been as nice.

Still no reason for anyone to push a narrative that spending that much money is the norm.

They can have special night without spending £500+++

Honestly, your daughter was there presumably to have fun with her friends first?

Whats so sad about it though? Its much more than a school dance. For a lot of those kids it may be the last time they will see each other as they move onto dofferent colleges etc. Its a formal sit down dinner though, not a just a school disco.

My DD doesn't want to go to prom but when I was thinking about it in the past I always assumed we would get something online or from the High Street. Then I was talking to my hairdresser and she told me that it's the done thing to go to these specialised shops and they will take your DC's school name and the dress they've picked and make sure nobody else from the same school picks the same dress. Apparently all the prom shops in the area will liaise so no two girls go in the same dress. I didn't even know these places existed let alone that it was such a big deal.

because your initial post implied that "this is just the way it is" expect to spend near £1000 on one party when that's just not true.

You're the one saying it's " a once in a lifetime" event, pampering is part of it etc

You're making it out to be bigger and more important than it actually is. You're the one falling for the hype and are now trying to justify your OTTness.
When yes, it's perfectly reasonable and good fun for the girls to get ready together and do each others hair and make up, it's all part of the shared experience that many many girls and young women experience each week going out with their friends and getting ready together.

No child needs a £450+ dress to celebrate the end of one part of their education. You've made that up yourself...