How much did your 16yo spend on their prom dress?

[SpongebobNoPants]

I have no idea how much these dresses cost but we’ve been asked to pay £500 towards SD’s prom outfit which seems really excessive?
Her dress alone is £500

When DP expressed some surprise (and announce to be honest) at the cost he was told everyone spends that much?
Are we just old and out of the loop or is this excessive?

That's more than my wedding dress cost

Very excessive.

My DD spent £60 I think.

£160 - from Monsoon
Hair - £30 (she got staff discount as a ‘backwash girl’)
Shoes -£20 from PLT
Nails - £20

£65 three years ago

@tiredanddangerous

That's more than my wedding dress cost
We’re getting married in March and my wedding dress was £449 😂😂😂

Dress £80 (Debenhams 9 years ago)
Hair Updo £25
Nails £10
Shoes £25

DD1 £10 , Charity Shop find.

We spent £65 on our daughter's prom dress, some 10 years ago. I can't remember where it was from now... New Look or H & M, (one of them mainstream high street stores anyway!) Probably £85-90 in today's money.

@SpongebobNoPants £500? Fuck that for a game of soldiers!

This is typical of her mum... she doesn’t work but agrees to things with SD then expects us to pick up the tab.

She’s taken her today to buy her dress but didn’t tell us prior that’s what she’s doing or even that her prom was actually going ahead!

It feels like she’s setting us up to be the bad guys all the time.

“Yes darling, you can have whatever you want” but then has no means to pay for it!

I spent £500 just before lockdown on my DD’s prom dress and it’s hanging behind a door taunting me having never been worn.

No idea what possessed me to spend that much and yes it was more than my wedding dress!

Will the prom definitely go ahead?

Dear god no! Just been shopping for son's girlfriend's dress. She spent £135 and the most expensive dress in the shop was £300.

Has SD been shopping in Chanel?

@Gwraigynpoeni no idea!

We found a Prom shop selling last years stock half price so £250 plus £50 for alterations.
Hair £30, make up £35, nails £40.
Going shoe shopping tomorrow so probably around £50 minimum.
Her Grandma has given her £100 towards it all and to be honest I really don’t mind the cost, we can afford it and she’s had a crappy year with her MH and wasn’t sure she even wanted to go.

My mum bought mine for about £150 but that was 15 years ago, I suppose it one of those things where you can spend very little or a lot

@Mankini a boutique in Liverpool... I have no idea what it’s called

Dds dress was £545, paid for by Grandparents as she had had a terrible few years which included a brief spell of home education due to health problems.
Then covid struck and the prom was cancelled.
I dread to think how much it would have cost in total had it gone ahead. I wish they would replace these proms with something else. We just had a leavers disco back in the 90s.

Maybe £160. Probably £300 with shoes and hair. Stupid amount of money. £500 is ludicrous.

I really don’t mind the cost, we can afford it and she’s had a crappy year with her MH and wasn’t sure she even wanted to go
That’s lovely but you can afford it and were happy to, we weren’t consulted at all and really don’t have £500 spare!

We’ve agreed £200 towards it

2004, £45!

£500 is just the dress... she wants make up, shoes, hair, nails, accessories (bag, jewellery etc)
So it’ll be closer to £700

DD1: £90 for the dress (a seriously off the wall Steampunk item!), £25 for hair and makeup, £20 for floral pattern fishnet tights and a spare pair. She already had suitable shoes and I made her accessories myself.

DD2: £35 for the dress (in a sale in a local shop, shorter cocktail length rather than full length ballgown), £10 for makeup (hair not necessary, it was short). Shoes already in place as bought for a family wedding earlier that year.

DD1's 6th form prom dress was even better: £17.50 from a charity shop in a student town. Designer item, full length ball gown. She still has it and hopes to use it for a student formal in her final year.

You don't have to spend £500, it can be done well for much, much less.

Our school isn't having a prom this year but dd wouldn't have gone anyway

We spent £300

Yep that's extortionate!

I'm in my 20s so my prom wasnt THAT long ago and I think mine was £120 inc the alterations needed to take it in and I think that was expensive at the time