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?

Posted earlier about my daughter’s prom…I made her the dress she wanted for about £15.
Just remembering when we left school, we had a Barn Dance (we didn’t think it would be cool…it was the early 80’s) and it turned out to be such fun! We all dressed up in appropriate barn dance style clothes and it was the perfect way to get the boys to join in with the dancing for once.
When you’re 16, having a laugh with your mates is the most important thing ever!

My 6th form Ball dress (mid 1990s) was a dress my Mum's seamstress friend has made for her in the 1960s when they lived in a student flat in Kensington - I love that my dress was unique and had an interesting history. Cost £0. My wedding dress was £750. No way I'd pay £500 for a teenager's Prom dress!

And to possibly end the thread..... all proms will now be likely cancelled if relaxation of restrictions are postponed. So sad for our teens. What a shit couple of years to be in 6th form.

DD1 is 6'1. She ended up ordering a dress online for about $100? Luckily it fit which is amazing as she has a short body and endless legs. It was from somewhere that specialises in clothes for tall skinny girls.

DD2 spent $30 ish on a dress from JCPenney. She went shopping with two friends and they all spent about the same amount. Turned out there was no prom but she's worn the dress to events where she needed to look a bit dressed up.

I've never really understood how UK proms ended up being so OTT as they aren't here, but maybe it's different in other bits of the US too.

I made DDs as she wanted an unusual colour for that year & couldn't find a style she liked either. That cost me about £35 & my sanity

Her friends were spending from £40 up to £150 & nothing like £500

@BigWoollyJumpers

And to possibly end the thread..... all proms will now be likely cancelled if relaxation of restrictions are postponed. So sad for our teens. What a shit couple of years to be in 6th form.

It looks like they will need to be postponed by 4 weeks (according to Daily Mail). I hope they're not cancelled.

That cost me about £35 & my sanity

It looks like they will need to be postponed by 4 weeks (according to Daily Mail). I hope they're not cancelled

4 week delay means after schools close, for independents they close in early July, so school based events won't happen. For those events at venues, by that time everyone will be well and truly done with school, they all finished at Half Term and are now working and doing other things, they won't be up for a "leavers" do, when they left two months ago!

@BigWoollyJumpers

It looks like they will need to be postponed by 4 weeks (according to Daily Mail). I hope they're not cancelled

4 week delay means after schools close, for independents they close in early July, so school based events won't happen. For those events at venues, by that time everyone will be well and truly done with school, they all finished at Half Term and are now working and doing other things, they won't be up for a "leavers" do, when they left two months ago!

I think they will. Our yr 13 prom coincides with a level results and they’re all really up for it!

I'm organising my school's prom, we will be delaying if restrictions aren't eased by the 21st. Inevitably some people will be unable to attend but it's better than cancelling

I spent £80 on her dress, some friends have ranged from £450 to £895! Now it’s cancelled 😞

Well yes... it’s now cancelled
All that money wasted!

In 2007 it cost me about £400 for DS prom - hair, tux hire, opera cape silver topped swagger cane, shoes.
In 2018 it cost me £25 for DD. £3 for boots in Primark sale, £12.37 for a dress from one of the Chinese clothes web sites, and a tenner for hair dye.

@PomBearWithoutHerOFRS Opera cape? 😂
Love that

@SpongebobNoPants Your SD, and her mother, have a long history of pre-spending money they think you should be giving them. I hope SD gets a job soon.

Your DH needs to get a handle on it; it’ll be his younger DD needing a prom dress before you know it.

This thread has been an eye opener. What stunning amounts people spend on what is essentially a party dress for a teenager. We spent about £70 -£90 and I thought that was a lot, and that was for everything!

I know! It was actually gorgeous, made to measure black velvet with a purple silk lining, made by a friend of mine who made cosplay and renfair stuff for a living.
He looked amazing, and was voted Prom King and referred to as The Count - he and his date were the "only Goths in the village" so to speak and they went for it Big Time for Prom I still have nightmares about the cot though.
That was no1 son, no2 son was home schooled so never went, then DD was so much less thankfully.
No3 son's is cancelled, they're leaving on Friday and not doing anything in particular, and no 4 son's will be a couple of years yet.

Dds prom has been cancelled. Yes we spent the money but: we had fun choosing the dress, we put some money into the local economy helping businesses stay afloat. Bonus, I am now getting a haircut instead of dd having hair done for prom.
I struggle to see it as a total waste.