Can you tell me what sort of dresses 16yo wear to school proms please.

[CroissantNeuf]

First of all, don't get me wrong, I'm not a supporter of school proms!

I'm trying to help out a friend on a tight budget by looking for a prom dress for her 16 yr old daughter and wondered, out of interest, what sort of dresses girls wear to these events.

Obviously we will get an idea of what she wants by asking her but TBH we have no idea what type of dress gets worn.

Googling shows all sorts of OTT, full/puffy, princessy monstrosities -surely they don't wear things like that!? At least not here in the UK.

no...here it is much more 'coast' style dresses. Some go knee length and a-line but most go slim fitting and floor length. I got my prom dress from tkmaxx (about 10 years ago) and wore a floor length slim fif version of Marilyn Monroes famous white dress. It was silk jersey, had a split up one leg to about 3 inches above the knee and looked stunning. It coust £25.

cost

Yep my dn is wearing a coast dress

Thank you. Just had a look at Coast and they do have some lovely elegant dresses on there although I'm not sure if their budget will stretch that far by the time you add on the inevitable extras.

Very princess-y at my little sisters, some more elegant (ie. Coast). Do you have an outlet place near you? The tail end of the Christmas sale stuff would be perfect. My sister really stood out in her dress (Karen Millen sale) simply because it was knee length. Very full skirted so still dress-y enough, House of Holland tights, she looked ace.

go into the coast stores...they ALWAYS have sale racks at the back with up to 70% off . TKMaxx is great for the dresses and the shoes too...

DD1 wore a short one to the prom they held in the school and a long one to the one in a hotel.

Top tip: go to bridal shops at the end of the spring, they get rid of all the display versions of the dresses for ridiculously cheap prices.

My dd and her friends went more for 'cocktail' style than bridesmaid. DD's was quite short - have put a pic on my profile for a little while only, if any use.

Coast have 20% off prom dresses until Sunday xx

Yes most of them do (or have done the last 3 years)

Another tip maybe if you know someone that whose DD left school (or 6th form) one or two years ago - would they be willing to sell the dress and then have it altered.

Another friend looked at having her wedding dress dyed and fiited for her DD (she only married a couple of years ago, dress still modern).

Also her mum needs to be prepared for the sunbed , fake tan sessions, nails , hands and feet, hair and makeup.

Thanks for all the tips -I'll pass them on to my friend.

We'd been warned about the fake tan, nails, hair etc by someone whose daughter had a prom last year. Oh, and the transport there and back (limos, Vintage cars, horse and carriages . Luckily her DD thinks limos are tacky).

Its my mission to help my friend make her daughters night special without breaking the bank (she and her husband have recently split up so money is very, very tight) so any more tips gladly received.

Remus -your daughter looks beautiful. So grown up too -is she really only 16 on that photo?

Lots of coast dresses and similar on Ebay. Hope she enjoys it.

Thanks Croissant - yes, she was 16 and 4 months I think.

Thank goodness neither she nore any of her friends were interested in all the fake tan/limo buisness - they are far too sensible! :)

nore? !!