OOh tell us all about your 80s and 90s ball dresses you liked SO much at the time

[KarlWrenbury]

ok me first me first
1984 I had a shot taffeta blue one, mum made it ( aaaaaaah) btu the top didnt fit really and had a frilled top, straps and a full skirt.

Treacle - you all look so classy . Is that Victoria Beckham at your table in the silver bustier number??

no Mrs Simms but interstingly.... the girl behind her was indeed a genuine footballers girlfriend and was going out with Gary Mabbutt who played for Spurs and England at the time..(honest!)

did you used to go to Rock City mrsjohnsimm?

I had a dress from Laura Ashley - tight black bodice, flarey blue skirt with black lace over it. I wore it with doc martens!

I am going to an 80s party and have bought a lovely rara skirt evening dress with tight black bodice from ebay. Wish I'd kept the blue dress.

Love the ball gowns in Pizza Hut!

Anyone else got any photos? I need to scan some of my old photos as they are hilarious.

I had some clasics from mu high school leavers dance:

Old M&S bag green, taffeta, calf length, boned, strapless with a large bow at the waist and, wait for it a matching bolero with short sleeves with buttons covered in matching fabric to create a cuff effect.

I look this dress with me to University and it was hot property and I was constantly lending it to other girls. Were we all mad? It was 1992.

I then traded up to a dress that I thought was very Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman (the black one she has on when he meets her in the bar to go to dinner), this dress was off the shoulder with a black velvet torso and satin frills round the off the shoulder bits and round the skirt - complete with a fake flower also made of satin and no not in a cool Carrie from SATC type way.

Then a Laura Ashley black velvet column dress with a sexy side split that I ripped every time I wore it.

My favourite dress which is probably the only one you could even contemplate wearing now was a lovely vintage 1940's dress - full length cream silk. Shame everything is a size 8. I hope to have a daugter one day to inherite them as I have kept all my evening dresses - I have about six or seven.

And this is not a middle class forum - oh dear me, no! Whatever gave you that idea????

LOL Treacle!

Pollyanna - Rock City was my favourite place to go to on a Thursday night Pints in plastic glasses and bopping around to Too Much Too Young! Twas always the Irish on a Friday and Pieces on a Saturday Are you from Nottingham too?

Seeker: just like to point out that I was (proudly) brought up on a rough -arse council estate by a single mum. I put myself through uni (after leaving school at 16 and working for 5 years) so no, actually, not absolutely middle class forum at all.

And for what its worth, I have laughed like a drain at the Tatler girls stories - they make me howl because even though I've never had the pleasure of being a Tatler girl, we have all got hammered and fallen over whilst thinking we are very sophisticated.

Ahem......rant over

yes, but left to go to university.

I went to the Irish until my mother banned me because she said it raised money for the IRA.

I loved Rock City.

oh seeker don't be so bloody chippy

People DO come from backgrounds other than yours you know. Sneering won't help

Lots of velvet bodices, puffed sleeves and shiny taffeta skirts...
More interestingly, was the hairstyle of choice for posh do's in your neck of the woods a weird, backcombed french plait as it was in N.E. Scotland?

I still have mine - a few velvet bodice with silk skirt bleurgh jobbies but when I gained more confidence I got a lovely tight fitting slimline red crushed velvet dress with a slit up to my thigh that looked stunning with jet beads. As it's a size 10, I will never wear it again!

I'd forgotten about those lovely hair bows - we called them "Fergie Bows" as clearly Fergie (as in Duchess of York NOT her off the blackeyed peas lest there be any confusion) Wonder if they will come back as most 80's trends seem to have?

It was a JOKE countess dracula - a JOKE!

I'm too embarrassed at the thought of my many Laura Ashley ball gowns to describe them!

I think that's what nice about it, what MrsJohnSimm said, we all wore vile gear and behaved idiotically.

I always wore cocktail type dresses (usually from Principles or Wallis) for Uni balls.
Took all afternoon to get ready with my mates, hair done, make up perfect, we'd planned our outfits for weeks...
Used to look fab going out, not so great later on in the night with smudged black mascara down my face, ladders all over my 10 deniers, mud all over my court shoes (lost a shoe once), occasionally mud on my back
Aaaah, those were the days!

Even worse if you had to do the "walk of shame" the next morning, all dressed up.

In 1988 I had a boned strapless black dress with a 'tulip' shaped skirt. It was worn with incredibly high heels - nowadays I couldn't walk in them.
I thought I was the mutts' nuts! Looking at phtos now I can see I looked ridiculous.

Mine was a 2 layered affair -the underneath bit was a skin-tight clingy black dress with a fuller lace dress over the top. Bit Gothy on reflection.

On one memorable occasion I remember doing the "walk of shame" home one morning wearing ill-fitting jeans and a t-shirt (belonging to the guys sister), bare feet and with that dress tucked under my arm.

(in fact I ended up going out with "the guy" for a few years after that night so I guess the dress wasn't too horrendous )

LOL Norbert, you could tell it was going to last if he found you "proper" clothes to walk home in

Yeah but he still made me walk home! Maybe it would have lasted even longer if he'd given me a lift/got a taxi for me.