To not have already got a prom dress appointment?!

[Wombatbum]

My daughter said loads of people at school already have dress shop appointments! And one of her friends already has her dress! I’m panicking as I was really hoping I’d be able to get her a dress from a high street shop, am I being naive?! If anyone has some money saving prom tips I’m all ears as I’ve got another leaving school next year too!!! 😩 thanks

I have boys but there was a complete mix of different outfits at my son's prom (comp in deprived area). A few in football kits, girls in fancy and non fancy dresses. Lots of 2nd hand outfits. Ds wore a suit of dh's with matching waistcoat and tie.

We had a delivery today from the Quiz sale. One absolutely bombed, one is a massive success. They also have jumpsuits.

Dd and I have just bought this dress, BNWT, from a charity shop today! She's keeping it as a reserve as she'd prefer something in a different colour, but at least she knows she has something to wear. Cost was £15 👍🏼.

My daughter got me to buy her one from some website that her friends had used / it was shit when it arrived and was from some Chinese sweatshop so of course zero chance of a refund. Ended up getting her a beautiful dress for £96 in house of Fraser. I’m now trying to sell it on Vinted given it’s been worn once. If your DD is not too fussed about brand new/the whole prom drama, I’d go second hand.

ds(18) had his prom last year. His gf isn't into dressing up/makeup etc, she is very athletic and lives in sports wear.

She bought her dress 2 weeks before the prom, plain black, spaghetti strap dress with a high straight neckline and slightly fitted from the high street. It didn't fit perfectly when it arrived so she just used safety pins to pull it in where needed. She did her own low key makeup/nails, no jewellery, wore flat black pumps/trainers and she looked simply stunning.

Finding an affordable suit that roughly fitted ds's odd shape and getting it fitted so he didn't look like a crumpled middle aged man after a hard day at the office was much harder!

We dropped them at school where they were all to be bused to the venue and there was not a single limo there or at the venue. The boys were all suited up, the girls dresses ranged from very casual to full blown OTT. I never noticed any in trousers, but they really wouldn't have looked out of place in the wide range of outfits.

Let her wear what she feels confident in. The biggest problem you will have is if she succumbs to peer pressure and has a wobble last minute.

I would be over the moon if DD wanted this 🤣 She wants a long prom dress and we have booked an appointment for helpful term - have only just done this though, hearing her tall all her friends have dresses already.

I got my DD dress last year from next. Cost £65 and it was lovely. No way was I going to pay hundreds of £s for a dress to be worn once. She worn converse shoes, I paid for her hair at the hairdressers, I did her make up and nails and paid her share of the limo with 8 of her friends. I can’t believe the money some people spend on school proms.

This was my DS’s friend in her £5 charity shop dress. I think she rocked it, DMs and all.

Ebay is your friend - loads of dresses, palazzo pants and corset tops. Advantage of a corset is that if it is in the right ballpark sizewise it should be easy to pull the strings/ loosen the strings to get it to fit. Bought DD1's prom dress on ebay - a monsoon number for £15 and paid about the same again to have the hem taken up. DD2 wanted to do the prom dress trip to Fonthill London (actually quite a fun day as there are lots of shops and the dresses aren't all extortionate). The pla was to try on and see what suited and then buy from ebay but she found a really lovely dress which was only £115 (huge dark green ballgown number) and which she was then able to use for a concert dress as well - musician.

I expect DD1 (17) will get herself something online. Have already said to her, when I got a letter about the prom/ball, that if she sees something nice I'll get it for her.

Surely being that age, most of them would look amazing in something online/off the peg and not need a dress altered and fitted like a more mature woman getting married?

I had more of a bust and more weight on me than DD1 at that age but just got something off the peg from a department store, it wasn't hard.

She looks lovely in it.

I paid £525 for my daughter's prom dress from Red Carpet Ready last year. Her prom was June 2022 and we had her dress appointment in October 2021!

If she is wanting a prom dress like the red carpet ready ones, eBay and Facebook marketplace are full of them for between £150-£200 still with tags on from girls who didn't get a prom due to covid.

There were some lovely dresses at my daughter's prom and such a variety that none looked out of place. Some of the girls had on really lovely dresses and they were from Shein. I've since looked on Shien for dresses for her to wear for a ball and we've got some lovely satin ones for about £20!!!!

We are going shopping next, TK maxx etc at Easter

Dd1 in her £17 bargain dress from charity shop.

Dd bought herself about 6 dresses on ASOS. They arrived the day before her Prom. She chose the best to wear and sent the rest back. The dress cost about £25 and looked fantastic. No need to panic at this point.

We've been to a prom dress shop today and DD was trying dresses on around the £550 mark. She won't be having a dress that costs that much so she's going to have to shop around .

An appointment? Heard it all now.

I have honestly never heard of an appointment at a dress shop. That is just crazy. I think DD spent £20 on something from a charity shop. She looked lovely.

We got dd’s from TK Maxx reduced to about 30 quid. Slinky and form fitting rather than a big bridal monstrosity. There’s really no need to buy into the nonsense, have a fun day at a proper dress shop if you want to see what suits her but then I suppose you risk her setting her heart on a very expensive dress.

There are those who spend a fortune on dresses and fittings. Seems so stupid. Dd's was in a bog standard hotel.she got no food as those at the front of the buffet queue scoffed the lot. It definitely wasn't the best night of her life. A high street of charity shop dress is fine.