Prom dress pls help!

[Amber245]

My 16yo has no clue about fashion and I need to try and help her to get a prom dress (and shoes!). I keep asking her to ask people where they are getting theirs and what they are getting but she hasn’t (she has autism and struggles a bit with comms to her peers).

Any ideas where I should look? And what is on trend currently? And what kind of shoes are fashionable? (she has very wide feet!).

Thank you for any help!

DD prom 2 years ago, she has wide feet, we found some nice shoes for wide feet on next online. We also found a decent selection of dresses online, Coast do a nice selection but pricey, Next, luckily DD chose one from Dorothy Perkins.

She will also kill me if she knows I’ve posted 😂

Ask on a Facebook group for recommendations for boutiques. The ones I go to (we go to a ball every year, but they also are busy on prom dresses) are appointment only and usually only have two buying customers in the shop so that everyone has their own changing room and they have an hour to try on as many as they want. The staff really help and make suggestions, and are honest with what looks best in you.

Have you asked your daughter what she would like to wear (never mind everyone else) - are there any materials she definitely won't wear? What colours does she like? Does she want heels or flats?

Some places to start
Monsoon

John Lewis

Pretty little Thing

Debenhams

Next

Mine is wearing an ankle length midnight blue satiny gown with draped from and back and a pair of patent dr martens.

She is usually a jeans and docs / converse girl. Dress is very simple so she's happy with it.

We got it from bentalls.

At my DD’s school they are less traditional prom dress nowadays. My DD is wearing a second hand dress she bought herself (I wouldn’t even describe it as an evening dress) with low heal mule type sandals. No glitz at all. Doing her own hair and makeup.

DD is wearing a Victorian lace nightie she has customised herself, DMs, hair in a multicolour mohawk.

Your DD should dress in a way that makes her happy. The students I teach have shopped in all manner of places.

She should wear what she feels comfortable wearing, and not what others say is trendy.

My dd wore suit and tie to prom, with colourful DMs. Her friend did her make up with a light and elegant touch. Dd was the only girl in a suit, though I believe there were a couple in swishy evening trousers.

Dd looked good and felt good. I think that the sensory feedback from the suit was reassuring.

All of DDS friends seem to be going with satin this year. Low cut v at the front and a corset back. They all look like they’ve got the same dress - just different colours!
Most are wearing vans or converse on their feet in a coordinating colour,

What’s normally worn as it varies loads geographically we’re in the north and it’s 80% £500 gaudy glitzy tight fishtail numbers

Thank you all!

To respond to a couple of questions:

-We’re in the South East
-She wants me to help her to choose as she doesn’t want anyone laughing at her etc, she wants to look nice to blend in
-Think she’s fine with all materials. Satin/corset back and long/ankle length sounds good—I think?!

Quiz, Monsoon, Next, Little Mistress

Are there pictures on the school website/ fb page from last year? When is the prom? I think you’re probably too late to use any of the specialist boutiques and will need something off the peg. Check out local selling site, there’s likely to be some being sold second hand. Even if you don’t want second hand it will give you an idea of styles.

Agree with looking at the social media for her school's last year's prom if she wants to blend in. DD's (last year, SE England) everyone was in calf to full length, brightly coloured fairly conventional prom, mostly satin dresses, some with trainers but absolutely no one with anything "out there" like DMs or multi-colours. Hair mostly long and down, make-up fairly natural.

Go to a place that sells prom dresses and see what suits? Though could be more expensive than a regular chain store. My younger dd did this and they altered the dress to fit her properly (she's a style queen though so knew what she wanted!)

Eldest a bit on the autistic side and ADHD diagnosis. Never bothered what others think but knows what she likes when she sees it. She had a black playsuit for hers which looked great. We saw what everyone else wore as parents went to an assembly first, and it varied hugely- short dresses, traditional long dresses, trousers etc. This was quite a few years back, mind.

We got one in Oasis online.
There are some nice non glitzy things available. I think the most popular style is the satin drapy slip dress. But pretty much anything goes.

I think DD will wear converse or DMs