Prom Dress Shopping

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I thought the wise women of mumsnet would be the place to ask this. My daughter's prom is in early July (she will be 16) and she has no idea what she wants so I am looking for recommendations on where to shop. There are lots of places on line that seem to be based in Hong Kong etc - does anyone have any experience of using these? If not where would you recommend in South East/London/East Midlands area? I don't want to spend a fortune (and she has agreed to go halves if it is more than I want to spend!) She is 5 foot 6, size 8 brunette with very pale skin. She has suffered with acne in the past so is wary of exposing too much chest or back (and I'm not keen either - and have said no thigh high splits). Any advice much appreciated as we are generally both jeans and converse girls!

Honestly, I would just stick "prom dress" into ASOS - they've got hundreds. If nothing else it's great for ideas.

www.asos.com/asos/asos-lace-crop-top-midi-prom-dress/prd/5269815?iid=5269815&clr=Navy&SearchQuery=asos%20prom%20dress&pgesize=36&pge=1&totalstyles=624&gridsize=3&gridrow=7&gridcolumn=3

Just a random pick - if she doesn't want to show too much, lace/proper sleeves is very popular at the moment.

Coast, Quiz in Debenhams. Are a couple of places dd2s friends got theirs

I sat down with my iPad and ordered every single dress that I thought she might even possibly like (as long as the site had free returns).

I ordered from Debenhams, BHS, Asos, Dorothy Perkins, BHS and some others I've forgotten. I think in all I ordered about 50 (long and short as she hadn't decided).

I then got her to reject any she didn't like and try the rest on. She narrowed it down to three in the end, and I then nagged her endlessly to choose one.

There was no way I was dragging her round the shops with her hating everything, so this method worked really well. It also meant she could take a picture of the ones she liked and post to their prom Facebook group 🙄 for approval. The one she liked was less than £30 in Debenhams sale too, which was a bonus.

We did order one from Sammy Dress (Hong Kong? site) for I think £8, and when it came it was worth every penny for the hysterical laughter it provided. It was nice in the picture, and horrendous in reality. First picture is what it was supposed to look like, second two are what it actually looked like. The bodice had been sewn on inside out.

Charity shop for bridesmaid dresses?

There is a shop near me in West Sussex which has loads of prom dresses you can try on . Or go to a wedding dress shop and look at them . Most prom dresses are essentially bridesmaid dresses .

DD bought hers from ASOS and it was £40, down from £80. It's lovely and timeless - long, straight and black - and I have worn it since. I think she's taken it to university. It stood out among the frothy pastel dresses.

Kitkats - that sounds like a great idea - she is currently stressed out over GCSE's so feels she doesn't have time to sort any thing out. Thanks to everyone for your suggestions - looks like I need to do some shopping on her behalf xx

My DDs always go to ASOS. I don't think you need to go round the shops. Or hire one. Phone and ask the hire shops what they have. Then go to the one with the best selection. A Saturday morning would do it. My younger DD is a size 6 and that is a bigger problem for the Hire shops. She has bought great dresses from ASOS. Avoid clubbing ones and revealing ones. Have fun looking.

Consider Little Mistress and Chi Chi from ASOS.

I got mine from a wedding dress shop for my prom in 2012. It's an American one (most of the dresses were) lets not think about how much it cost but it was most definitely not a bridesmaids dress.
I do really like the chi chi London dresses though. Sooo pretty and they can be pretty covering.