Prom dresses! So the stress begins.

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My daughter has her prom in summer and so the preparations are beginning! How much do people spend on prom dresses?? I am told "by my daughter" about £500, I nearly had a panic attack!!
Please tell me this is not true?

We just got our shirts signed and went down the pub 😂😊. How times have changed.

YY signed shirts and mucking about-way better and much cheaper. They don't know what they are missing really. The youth of today.

Sorry, but I think £500 for a dress is a shameful waste of money. It’s also clear from the replies on this thread that it’s completely unnecessary. Plenty of gorgeous dresses on the high street.

But I’m wondering if she’s afraid of someone wearing the same dress? Do you know someone handy with a sewing machine who could make one for her? My mum made my end-of-school formal dress. The trick was that it was a VERY simple pattern but we used really funky material I bought from a fabric shop. Absolutely guaranteed that it was unique. And I got loads of compliments because it was so unusual.

omg, ffs. DD & I have discussed this already & maybe looking at about £80. Possibly plus shoes, of course (yick). 6thFC is going to be very expensive for us, so DD knows she's on very weak grounds to ask for a lot of money on the dress.

DD's VBFF is making her own dress!

... how much does it cost to get a dress altered?

I paid just over £20 to have a gem taken up - 2 layers, sheer material and lining. Superb job done, really couldn't tell it had been altered. If it had been a thicker fabric I would have done it myself

"You can't just turn up in your Mum's hatchback oh no. "

Oh yes they can. DD hates making an entrance. Her boyfriend's dad took them to the year 11 prom in his Mercedes. It never occurred to me to go and watch all the arrivals. I will probably take her to the year 13 prom in whatever car is on the drive at the time. We just don't buy into "look at me" ostentation.

DD has problems with her skin so doesn't wear any make up at all, and would shudder at the idea of a fake tan. She can't walk in high heels either. She will still look lovely.

*hem!

I had no idea I was supposed to be watching the arrivals. There were crowd barriers and everything.

And the after prom party was in a field so everyone just changed into jeans.

My daughter has ordered two dresses online this evening - one for her upper 6th do and one for the one at her boyfriend's school. Just over £70 for the two (plus free delivery and returns).

I spent about £30 on her year 11 prom dress and got a bargain with shoes as she found some in the New Look sale for £8. She had her hair done (but was overdue a cut anyway) did her own make up and nails, and I drove her and a friend and their boyfriends in my very ordinary 10 year old Vauxhall. She looked fabulous and had a great time.

There is no need to spend a fortune and I don't understand why so many people do. I suppose it's harder if everyone else is going in a £500 dress and arriving in a limo/horse drawn carriage or whatever, but fortunately no one at our school goes in for that sort of thing.

DS didn't even bother with the after prom. Not all of them did IIRC.

For £500 DD got to help design her dress and have it made to measure.
Took about three months and was an experience in itself.
She has also had amazing dresses at bargain prices on eBay.

Mine was 250 in 2011, but most people spent £40-£200

No way in the world would I spend £500 on a person going to a party! Good grief. Some of you must be minted or bonkers.

Agree I regularly see beautiful dresses in the Charity shops around here, where someone has clearly worn it once then given it to charity shop.

Also agree to just look for evening wear, or even 'dresses' and not mention the word Prom. It's like saying the word 'wedding' and everything gets quadrupled in price.

Charity shops, car boot sales

Etsy

ASOS sale

www.everything5pounds.com/en/Womens/Dresses/Prom-Dresses/c/clothing-dresses-prom-dresses

Add your own accessories/customises yourself

DD's was I think £95 for a pre-owned evening dress from ebay PLUS getting a professional to 'bling it up'.

My top tip, get some fold up ballet flats to go in the bag so that half way through they can change out of their daft shoes into something comfortable.

You can spend as little or as much as you want.

lljkk It cost us ~£60 to have DD's dress shortened and blinged.

DD1 had no interest in going to prom. The vivo award system at school allowed them a free leaver's hoodie and a free ticket to their prom if they had enough points.

DD decided very early she had no interest in prom and told her headteacher that too! :)

She stuck to her guns and when her friends were all planning dresses/cars/makeup etc she wasn't interested.

DD2 is already saying she has no interest either, but I predict that if her friends want to go when she's in y11, it might be a different story.

Got daughters prom dress from gumtree only worn once cost £350 new for £80 😊

Refreshing to see parents take notice of how obscene some of the spending can be - I wrote a little blog on the issue, and how prom can leave many young girls stressed due to the financial aspect.

medium.com/@amyleefraioli/recently-i-came-across-an-article-where-a-mum-spoke-about-spending-1000-on-her-daughters-prom-43011045b3b0

DD2 just had her prom - her dress was £28 in the sale in a posh shop selling dresses for racegoers. Not a princess meringue, a sophisticated dress that she will absolutely wear again.

DD1's prom dress was £90 but she has worn it twice since. Her 6th form dress was £17 from a charity shop and will go for formals at university too. It doesn't have to cost the earth.