To ask how much you're paying for DD's prom dress

[concernedforthefuture]

I have a younger DD (8) so have this to come . Colleagues were discussing prom dresses for their 16yr olds. I was staggered to hear that they (and most of their classmates) have all bought their dresses from a wedding shop... at a cost of around £250-£350 .

It's not just the dress though.. they're getting new shoes, accessories, nails, hairdressers, make-up artists (with trials too!) etc. I'm only in my late 30s but this seems so different to when I left school and feels like an absurd amount of money to spend on a 16 year old's night out. We don't live in an affluent area and these aren't wealthy families (to the best of my knowledge).

Is this the norm nationally? Had I best get saving

DD’s dress was £60 from House of Fraser, shoes from Next and she had fake nails from Primark and eyelashes from Amazon. She did her own make up and make up for her friend too. She looked stunning.

The dress was about £50 and she borrowed my shoes and bag. I did her hair and make up. She looked wonderful. You really didn't notice any difference with those who had the full on proper expensive outfits, hair, nails and make up once they were all together having FUN and celebrating the end of school - which is what it's all about.

You have plenty of time to plan but I think the amount people spent on prom dresses is insane My daughter didn't want to even go to hers but went at the last minute and bought a beautiful dress which I think was from the bridal collection but just a standard, full length ivory coloured dress for £40

Prices get daft the more you go for "Prom" you can spend as little or as much as you like I guess but avoiding specialist shops is one way to be sure you knock a massive amount off straight away.

Friends seem to pay anything between £50 and £300. Some have bought classic dresses that can be used again so we're happy to spend a bit more. It's like everything, down to budget and personal spending limits.

I just bought my DDs for €250 (around £215)

So glad I have boys!! They cost me around £100 for suit of their choice and did their own hair 😁

eBay. £11.50 plus postage for a Monsoon silk dress.

There were dozens and dozens.

So glad I have boys!! They cost me around £100 for suit of their choice and did their own hair

I have one of each and generally speaking my sons clothes are more expensive because it's all sports branded stuff where as my DD likes to shop in Penneys (primark) etc

I work in a secondary school and have heard Year 11 girls talking about getting their dresses from ASOS, Topshop, Lipsy or similar so not likely to cost anywhere near that much. I think quite a few of them do go to the hairdresser to get their hair done but as for make up, they're all such experts now thanks to YouTube tutorials and look very polished and perfectly contoured on a normal day (nothing like the make up disasters I remember from my teens!) so I doubt they need their make up doing professionally. There will always be parents who go completely over the top though.

£300?? My wedding dress cost £125 lol

DD's dress was £50 from Asos (year 13 prom - her year 11 prom was £20 in the sales from Lindy Bop). We're lucky in that DD has quite a quirky style (loves vintage stuff) and absolutely refused to let us spend big amounts on "just a dress". But yes, add in shoes, bag, hair, nails and it all soon mounts up. She also wasn't interested in a limo/vintage car/helicopter to get there The majority of girls at her last prom were wearing expensive dresses, there's a big prom dress shop in the closest city to us, appointment only and they keep a list so they don't sell the same dress to another girl attending the same event. It is a pretty affluent demographic at her school though (apart from us!).

It's worth keeping an eye out on facebook selling sites just after prom season, also dress agencies/charity shops as these things just get worn once and then sold on really cheaply.

@AryaStarkWolf Was specifically referring to prom re costs although mine are happy to shop at primark for jeans etc which helps make the clothing budget go further..

To be fair, my dress was £100 rented from a dress shop and I had my hair professionally done (and a trial) and that was over 20 years ago! It was fairly normal and I don't live in an affluent area either.

The Ball (as it was called then) was a really big deal and a right of passage, so not just a night out. So I guess that is the reason why.

My dd is only 1 so hard to say what i would spend! Probably would buy her a dress rather than rent one up to perhaps £150 or so and I would pay for her to have her nails, hair and make up done if she wanted to. The salon I go to does prom packages which are really popular.

£560
I only have one dd, she loved the dress. Her dad is paying for hair, nails etc

I wish I'd read this thread BEFORE I'd bought my daughter's prom dress. She booked an appointment for us at a prom dress shop after naming several friends who had done the same (and reminding me of another friend who had gone to London for her dress).

The first one she liked was £500! The woman in the shop saw my shocked face and moved over to a different rail. We ended up buying a lovely dress for £250. Way more than I've ever paid for anything for myself. But we got off lightly. Some of the dresses in there were £800!!!!

There are loads of secondhand dresses on FB pages, most are either stretch material or corset back - so look fabulous! Paid £1000 - looking for £300 - seriously!!

DDs dress was cheap compared to her friends - I’m paying for hair, she’s paying for nails and her dads buying the shoes, lift is from her prom date although I doubt he’s brought her a corsage!! So I’ll get one Incase.

Yes it’s one night out, but it’s a once in a lifetime chance to dress up and have fun with friends

As little as possible

Dd's is £60 from ASOS. We could've spent much more, but after trying it on, she knew it was The One. Her shoes are £70 from Office.

US$150. She's doing her own hair and makeup.

Very few girls at her school spend much more than that. It's just not that big a thing.

£170. We went to one of the leading prom dress places in the UK. Just up the road from us but people there had travelled 6 hours! You need an appt.

Dd's dress was a left over, end of line thing. Should have been £600. Still bloody expensive.

One girl there when we were there her parents spent over 1k. I think that inc shoes.

I have spent quite a bit on the dress, £150, but then only £25 on shoes from Next, basic black so useful in the future, and we will have no other expenses. No hair, or nails, or make-up, or the dreaded fake tan, or special transport.

The thing that really gets me these days, is then they go off to the "after prom", and need another dress. Also, this cuts down on the actual prom, so the prom itself is only about 3 or 4 hours, and then the after prom is another 3 or 4 hours . With the changing clothes and transport horror in-between .

TKMaxx will have beautiful prom dresses from as little as £30. In some areas I know renting is the norm.

My DDs dresses came from a bridal shop sale and TKMaxx. I can't remember exactly what they cost but definitely less than £100. My DS's kilt cost substantially more! However, he has had lots of opportunities to wear the kilt again and the dresses have languished in my wardrobe. We could also have hired the kilt if we hadn't known it would be worn frequently.

I would put the brakes on, of course you don't need to spend that amount.

Oh, I did forget about alterations though.... not sure how much that is going to cost me. It needs about 5 inches off the bottom (short DD) and the straps need adjusting and the waist needs to come in, she is very curvy for a teen.

My dd's dress was £290. I did not go in there with the intention to spend that much but it just looked perfect on her.

They did have a bargain section upstairs with some fantastic dresses in but none suited my dd.