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

we got our daghter's dress from little mistress about 50 pounds

Thank you Arya. They haven't worn a skirt since year 3, so a dress was never going to be an option.

I have a younger sister who will have her prom this year! she is getting her dress from Next, and will be doing her own makeup and her friends! as if my mum would buy her a £300 dress (she certainly didn't for me years ago!) guess it is just how they think prom needs to be ay

Dd1 chose not to go to hers
Dd2, we paid £8. The local hospice have a 'boutique' charity shop where you can go for wedding wear / prom wear etc. 2 of her friends got dresses there too. Her cosuin did he hzir for her - no cost, she borrowed a pair of my shoes, and she did her own make up.
Similar for all her friends.
Some people go OTT but it isn't compulsory.

You certainly don't need to spend that amount but I must admit that my parents bought me a dress for £250 (back in 2007) but then insisted I bought my own shoes, accessories etc. myself with the money from my part time job, which I was MORE than happy with!

Now there is a lot more choice on the high street and online for some stunning dresses!

It's one evening and if your DD is like most teenagers they will never want to wear the same dress again anyway my daughter got hers last year from Monsoon £149. Shoes £20 from New Look. She had girls in school who went all out shoes hair fake tan make up and nails done professionally spent hundreds on dress alone....... Some have tried to sell dresses on social media for hundreds but who wants a second hand prom dress . My other daughter is going prom shopping next week max we are spending is £150.

DD1 - Year 11 prom; dress - £70 (Monsoon), shoes £12 (New Look), clutch £15 (Peacocks), ticket £15 (including food and photo other going in)

Year 13 prom; dress £8 (TK Maxx), rejected in favour of jump suit £20 (Topshop), clutch £12 (Monsoon). Shoes are yet to be bought as the ones she wants are an apparently exorbitant £25 in New Look, and she says she’ll just make do with her first prom shoes if they don’t come down in price. Ticket is something like £40, though.

She hasn’t spent an enormous amount either time. Some of her friends spent more. Most didn’t spend less, but several spent a similar amount.

People of my age might mutter darkly about American imports, but actually, I think it’s very sweet seeing the kids all dressed up. I like it.

I’m getting DDs dress taken up so she can wear it again

We’ll have this issue in a couple of years. The fake tan, big hair and dress ones look like Big Fat Gypsy Weddings. I don’t think we even had an end of school disco, just wrote on each other’s shirts!

we paid £350 for my dress, and then paid for my hair to be professionally done (£30 a time) I also had a spray tan for my leavers day (which i majorly regret, i looked like i had been f*ed by a packet of wotsits and we paid £37 for my share of transport to leavers... but my dress did last leavers and prom night (our school did it seperate nights at the time, now its all the same day...) but i left school in 2014. I regret spending so much because I probably would have had a better day in a dress that wasnt choking me all day and also wasnt used as a landmark by others (look for the bright pink gypsy dress!) I have so many regrets from my leavers! But my leavers night party was one of the best nights of my life soo.... even if the party did completely suck, we spent 2 hours walking home from the party...

My DD's entire prom outfit, including shoes, make up, accessories and dress cost less than £25.
All from various online shops, and her shoes were from Primark sale

Just picked up DD16s dress last weekend. It was £180 from a local prom dress boutique .

Nothing.

My daughter has saved up from her part time job and bought herself a dress for about £70 from asos. She’s doing her own hair and make up..

Nothing - she was a bridesmaid the autumn before in a beautiful dress that really suited her, and she was happy to wear it again. She borrowed a part of my shoes - she had been eyeing them up for approx 10 years (stupidly high sparkly sequinned numbers, they now fit her and she can dance in them better than I can, I wear them once a year tops) and I was more than happy for her to wear them. She had a haircut the day of the prom, and a blow dry as part of the cut, so approx £30. Did her own makeup and nails, she does mine before a night out!
Friends' dresses were between £30 and £120 I think, most girls took pride in a second hand bargain or a fashion dress rather than spending a fortune.

OP YANBU to be concerned about this expense for a night out. I think that this is an event that is a tacky US import largely and anyone who declines to take part should never be criticised.

My neighbours older dd is petite so got a dress quite cheaply from a bridal shop. The younger one ordered one online and it was around £100 and was stunning.

Part of the fun was the mums doing hair make-up and nails with the girls.

DD1's dress was £90 - she went Goth, wore a lovely Victorian style burlesque corset dress in black and gold. Hair was £50 which included a separate appointment to test the style and check timings. Paid about £25 for makeup, which she did herself and she already had the shoes.

DD2 (this year) has her dress - £25 from a local posh shop in the sales, she already has suitable shoes and makeup and she has her hair short - is going for the slicked back look. So ultra cheap.

DD1 has her 6th form ball this year - we picked up her dress for £17 in a charity shop. It's designer and would have cost north of £200 new. You just have to shop around.

My DDs's cost just over £200, its more than I thought we would spend but she looked absolutely stunning in it. She really didn't expect me to spend that much, but I was happy too.
We booked an appointment at a bridal shop in another city. We had great fun whilst she tried on all the prom dresses. It was a really special mum & daughter time.
Her shoes were less than £20 from Boohoo and the only other thing she wants is a little bag. She doesn't want hair, nails, fake tan or make-up done and doesn't want a limo, so overall I don't think its too bad

£90 in bridal type shop. Year 11 prom.Still needs alterations, as she's petite, also have to get shoes and bag. Doing her own make-up and hair. She has worked bloody hard for GCSE so don't mind the relative expense.

450 worth every penny she looked fab and realised it.
My daughter is stunning and never realised it frankly it was a turning point for her.

iwillkeepthehouseclean - you do realise that everyone's dd "looks stunning" on Prom night ?

There is no need to pay out hundreds of ££ for a dress though - which is what the OP is worrying about. Fine if you have that much spare money lying about, but try not to imply to other parents that they have to spend that for their dd to look stunning.

I'm very relieved to read that there are plenty of teens happy with 2nd hand eBay dresses or something bought from ASOS or a high street store. The world hasn't quite gone as mad as I feared!

3 years ago I paid a total of £60.

Dress £30, from Amazon. Petticoat £10, to go under dress. It was one of those rockabilly halterneck 1950s styles, she didn't want a long dress. £20 for some accessories, including strapless bra.

DD did own hair and makeup, had some shoes she loved but had hardly worn. And she looked lovely.

One girl had an expensive dress on, but it looked awful, had not been properly sized, and was certainly too long for the girl to walk properly. If the poor girl had had some alterations done, the dress would have bee great.

£50 for A 50s style bardot dress online. £20 for shoes. No makeup, will do hair herself. Absolutely no need to spend £££

I work in an all girls secondary school and it varies massively.

My own daughter is going into Yr 10 this year so I've got 2 years and over that time I'm planning to save about £300 for end of school costs, but that will be for the lot - dress, accessories, tickets etc.

DD has older friends who have spent ridiculous money on dresses and regretted it almost the day after the event. She's not into anything lacy or blingy and is hoping to get something quite simple off the peg for about £60.

Of course that could changed but unless I win the lottery, my budget certainly won't!