My dd asked me a year ago to go shopping with her for a prom dress and wanted the whole experience to be a fab mother/dd bonding experience but because I baulked at the cost of a one off dress potentially costing £100s and suggesting we try charity shops first she hit the roof, 'sacked' me and said she'd rather go with her aunt instead.
Fast forward to today, she wrote me a 'text' apologising for 'sacking' me and now wishes to go with me and I mentioned a budget, she said no other of her friends' mums were like that! She said it should cost £200 including shoes, bag, dress and I said she'd need to go halves. She was outraged!
Please help, what is the etiquette about these things? We don't have a lot of cash, I have only just started work and we are going skiing at half term which is expensive. I am the sort of person who wears charity shop stuff anyway and have never had my hair cut at a hairdressers in my life, nor had my nails done etc etc.
She is very different, likes all the feminine stuff but it cost so much. She is helpful around the house for which she gets an allowance, she is popular, hardworking, a lovely person, does voluntary work too.
Am I being overly miserly just because I don't agree with this sort of imported materialistic thing and because I never asked my own mother for demands such as this? She says she lives in a different time and would re use the dress etc. I have 3 dds so whatever I start will be a precedent.
What are other mumsnetters doing? and what is reasonable?!