Prom 'boutiques' - what am I looking at, price-wise?

[Hixxy1]

DD has seen a couple of these specialist boutiques advertised, all of which look gorgeous, but im highly aware that the experience will be woven into the dress prices!

If you've used one of these places, can you give me an idea of what I should be prepared to spend please? (For a bloody dress that gets worn for only a few hours!)

Mine got theirs from Next. They were nice and not that expensive. About £40-50 I think

Seriously, I would try VINTED unless you have money to burn. Do you mean the ones where they have fake champagne, hair makeup nails etc whilst they choose the dress?

If you go to one of these boutiques then the average dress price will be £400+. I highly recommend you shop online.

Yeah, that sort of place, although not necessarily hair & makeup etc.

I'm thinking more about the cost of the dress - am imagining they're almost bridal (or bridesmaid) prices?

Oof

Good for you but not relevant to OPs question is it, I’m sure she’s aware Next exists 🙄

@Hixxy1 based on what my cousin paid, about £300 plus at least

There’s a well known prom boutique round here and the average price is £500 but I know there are some cheaper for £300 ish and more expensive towards £1000!

There is no need to spend £300+ if you don't want to. Ebay can be a good source of worn once prom dresses.

DD1s dress last year was £400. And I've got another one to buy this year 😱. Both girls, despite being complete Vinted addicts normally, insisted on having the 'experience'. DD1's was relatively plain so I've told her it'll have to be used for all Balls at University as well.

See if there's a bridal/prom outlet near you, the prices are much reduced. Or, as everyone has said, Vinted has a massive selection.

I assume you missed where the OP wrote "(For a bloody dress that gets worn for only a few hours!)" which suggests that OP doesn't want to spend too much.
Also she replied "Oof!" when someone told her how much these places cost.
So I'm not sure why you don't think it would be helpful to suggest alternatives. If the OP doesn't want to hear about other options on her thread that is for her to say, not for you to write bitchy comments with pathetic "dirty look" emojis.

If you’re in London then you could do what most of my DD’s group did which is a trip to the dress outlet shops around Finsbury Park.
They can still try on and they have all the bags and shoes and stuff. Just a quarter of the prom dress shop prices.
I paid around 80 for one and 140 for the other. The retail place in Kingston was more like 400 for same type of dresses.

Someone I know who had worked in fashion buying and selling at a manufacturing level told me that lots of stuff is the same, with one or two details , eg seam finishing, slightly different according to price. That would be lost on teens anyway.

We used JJs House. Yes, it comes from China so obviously a no if that's something you are against. You do the measurements and it comes "custom made". Then we took it to a tailor to get it actually custom fit. DD looked amazing and the whole outfit was less than $150 including tailoring compared to $500 for pretty much the exact same thing from a dress shop.

Luckily I have a son so didn't need to deal with this but my friends spent anywhere between £350 - £800 😱 absolute madness to me, I would honestly try to avoid those places

Definitely Vinted or Next as by the time they do sixth form prom the vibe will be totally different. Also, it's January so they might even change their style before a summer prom

Second vote for Finsbury Park in London, loads of shops with reasonably priced dresses. The one my daughter fell in love with was out of stock in her size, and they shipped it to our house via courier for about a tenner!

My DD got hers from the Stacees website. It was around £170 and was a perfect fit. I then sold it on Vinted for around £100.

Two years ago, they were £400-£600. DD fell in love with one for £520! I spent weeks scouring vinted and got the exact one she tried on for £120.

Thanks peeps. Will be marching her off to Next, quicksmart! 🤣

Have looked at Stacee's. Am I right in thinking you have to take measurements and therefore it's custom- made? So no option to return if it's not right?

DD and her friends spent between £20-£50 on ASOS, charity shops, ebay, etc. They all looked wonderful. There was very little nonsense and no limos. Parents had a champagne reception with them at the start, then they partied.

I’m a stylist and both my daughters hired their prom dresses. You can recreate a experience at home with a few of their friends and basically played yes to the dress