Belly Showing in Prom Dress

[The Mystery Machine]

But who's to say what looks good on them? If they like it and feel comfortable in it then that should be enough.

That maybe true for you, but in this house if you are spending a fortune on a dress, you want it to LOOK good on you.

 

[Aliceacc]

^^ And if they buy it, it's because they DO think it looks good on them. Why is their opinion of less importance than the opinion of others?

 

[Skywalker]

Wear what makes you feel beautiful, comfortable, and confident.

Is that going to be the standard now though? Wear what makes you feel beautiful, comfortable and confident? So a boy could go to prom in a wife-beater t shirt and pants around his knees? That would be classy just because he feels good in it? There is nothing wrong with dressing for the occasion...dress codes help those who have a little problem figuring out what's appropriate. If anything, there is too much "I'll wear what makes me comfortable" (e..g.wearing pajamas to Walmart) and not too little.

Having self respect means loving yourself and making your own decisions without worrying about what other people think and how they think you should live.

And when people are desperately following trends for the approval of their peers, they are NOT making their own decisions and not worrying about what people think. Just the opposite.

 

[Allons-y!]

What is it with the middle age folks thinking the belly is provocative? It has nothing to do with Miley Cyrus or Taylor Swift. It is a throwback to the 70's popular midriff style. In the 70's, we had way more skin showing with our midriff peasant blouses tied right under our boobs and way, way low jordache hip hugger bell bottoms, preferably with a belt made of the same material as the top.

MTE. When did the midriff become as sexually explicit as breasts and rear ends? Oh, and let's add shoulders to that, too, as many schools require girls to have shirt straps at least two fingers wide? And don't tell me it's to prevent bra straps from showing. Two words...strapless bra.

I'm trying to pinpoint when and why this country veered back toward prudish.

 

[DisneyFan32WI]

I don't think there is anything wrong with being a prude. We are talking about high school kids here. The dresses are so revealing nowadays. I especially hate the low cut, strapless, cleavage-showing dresses the most.

 

[Chocolate Cake]

You can have self respect and still dress in revealing clothing. Having self respect means loving yourself and making your own decisions without worrying about what other people think and how they think you should live.

So, if I am confident and have self respect, I can wear that tube top to my next job interview?

I love myself and I also love my new bathing suit. I look very good in it. I am going to go to the grocery store and shop in it.

I get what you are saying about loving yourself and making your own decisions. But societal norms still dictate many situations, as it should be.

 

[indimom]

The only two-piece dresses I saw covered much more skin than some of the strapless/backless/thigh-high slit dresses out there. I had no problem with them. DD tried on a couple, but they just don't work on her body type as well as other styles. One of her friends wore a two piece and it looked nice on her.
In all my daughter's high school years, I saw very few "trashy" dresses. Most were tasteful and beautiful. Often it isn't the style, it's the fit that can be questionable. If they buy the right size, or have the dress fitted, nearly any style is fine with me.

 

[jrmasm]

Not a fan. Just not cute IMO.

 

[Hikergirl]

These are what some of you are all up in arms about? It must be hard walking around with the weight of all those pearls you have to clutch when you see one. I've seen more skin at the local park in the summer.

https://www.google.com/search?site=...0...1ac.1.64.img..0.5.536.y_fa-2V0FLc#imgrc=_

 

[indimom]

Strange double post...

 

[mamamary]

These are what some of you are all up in arms about? It must be hard walking around with the weight of all those pearls you have to clutch when you see one. I've seen more skin at the local park in the summer.

https://www.google.com/search?site=...0...1ac.1.64.img..0.5.536.y_fa-2V0FLc#imgrc=_

I like a lot of these dresses. I'm out of the loop this year as my daughter is a junior but not doing prom until next year. The prom here is another week away so I will be anxious to see some pictures.

 

[Christine]

What is it with the middle age folks thinking the belly is provocative? It has nothing to do with Miley Cyrus or Taylor Swift. It is a throwback to the 70's popular midriff style. In the 70's, we had way more skin showing with our midriff peasant blouses tied right under our boobs and way, way low jordache hip hugger bell bottoms, preferably with a belt made of the same material as the top.

I middle-aged and I don't think the belly button or midriff is provocative.

What I grapple with is what looks "classy" as a formal occasion. I have seen two piece dresses that look formal and I've seen some that look downright tacky. The same could be said for many of the one-piece prom dresses that are out there. Some off them look ridiculous.

Everyone has an idea in their mind, based on how they were raise, as what constitutes appropriate dress for various occasions. Proms historically have been long, flowing gowns. Over time, society's perception and rules about what's appropriate definitely change and the "old" folks have a little trouble there adjusting their ideals on that.

I think it really all comes down to good taste. There are some people that can pick the *right* two-piece dress and pull it off beautifully. And there are some, as evidenced by my Facebook feed, that have no idea that they look horrible in something and it's not right for them (this goes for "normal" prom dresses also).

To me, the prom will always be the ONE formal occasion in high school where you display elegance, formality, "pomp and circumstance," at the end of your high school tenure. No matter what the styles are, I think everyone should strive to look formal and elegant. Unfortunately, many girls in the age range (DD included back in her day) want to look like something off a reality TV show. There's a happy medium.

Again, no problems here with a two-piece prom gown, but keep it classy!

 

[jrmasm]

These are what some of you are all up in arms about? It must be hard walking around with the weight of all those pearls you have to clutch when you see one. I've seen more skin at the local park in the summer.

https://www.google.com/search?site=...0...1ac.1.64.img..0.5.536.y_fa-2V0FLc#imgrc=_

No pearl clutching, those are just not cute IMO.

 

[luvsJack]

So, if I am confident and have self respect, I can wear that tube top to my next job interview?

I love myself and I also love my new bathing suit. I look very good in it. I am going to go to the grocery store and shop in it.

I get what you are saying about loving yourself and making your own decisions. But societal norms still dictate many situations, as it should be.

But the vast majority of these dresses ARE appropriate for a prom. They ARE formal dresses. Totally a different thing than a swimsuit at the mall, a tube top at a job interview or a guy wearing a wife beater. Just because you personally don't like them doesn't make them inappropriate for prom.

Most proms around here do have a dress code. Must be formal. Our's doesn't allow short dresses or hi/low dresses. Guys must wear a suit or tux.

If everyone is so concerned with the style not looking as good on some girls, that can be said of any style. The mermaid dreses for instance. Dd tried one on. Gorgeous on her but she could barely move. She wanted something she could actually dance in. What she chose was comfortable and still formal and still beautiful. Comfortable doesn't equal less formal.

 

[NHdisneylover]

Is that going to be the standard now though? Wear what makes you feel beautiful, comfortable and confident? So a boy could go to prom in a wife-beater t shirt and pants around his knees? That would be classy just because he feels good in it? There is nothing wrong with dressing for the occasion...dress codes help those who have a little problem figuring out what's appropriate. If anything, there is too much "I'll wear what makes me comfortable" (e..g.wearing pajamas to Walmart) and not too little.
.

I totally support dressing for the ocassion and have tried hard to teach my kids how to gauge that and do so (and that going a step up is generally OK, but not a step down, and that MANY steps up is generally also in poor taste and/or attention grabbing).

I just do not see that how much or how little skin a prom outfit shows really has anything to do with dressing for the occasion of a formal dance among peers. Certain fabrics and styles are "dressy" and a formal outfit can be cut in a myriad of ways and some shiny fabric, lace or sparkles still makes it formal. In your example, a wife beater t-shirt would not fit due to being a run of the mill fabric and cut that is not attempting to be dressy or formal at all---not beucase of the arms of the boy being seen. . .

Similarly, a swimsuit is appropriate at a beach or pool or an area for sunbathing--no matter if it is a one piece with low hips and a high back or a string bikini or board shorts with a swim tee or long board shorts or a speedo (unless there is a reason the activity is not suitable to suits which might not stay in place easily and then some bikinis will stay in place better than some one pieces, etc).

Or, to use your example, in my opnion pajamas are appropriate for at home, in a hotel, etc in the evenings/early mornings without guests dropping by (unless close family friends). They are not meant to be worn out of the house (unless to a theme party, etc) for shopping, etc--again regardless of if they have pants and a full, long sleeve shirt or are shorty PJs with a lot of exposed skin.

There are few "conservative" enviornments in which not showing too much or certain parts of flesh is part of dressing for the event (genrally work, or church) but for a dance put on for older teenagers? Nope--I am not seeing that as one of those places.

 

[Poohforyou]

These are what some of you are all up in arms about? It must be hard walking around with the weight of all those pearls you have to clutch when you see one. I've seen more skin at the local park in the summer.

https://www.google.com/search?site=...0...1ac.1.64.img..0.5.536.y_fa-2V0FLc#imgrc=_

I think it's only the op that may be clutching pearls. I think many of the dresses in your link are cute. My issue is when you have short(i.e. crotch length), tight and strapless/backless all in one dress.

There were 2 or 3 girls in dresses like that at my dd's prom on friday. I know one of the girls. She has an identical twin who was in a very cute dress. This girl seems to always push the envelope.

 

[okeydokey]

So, if I am confident and have self respect, I can wear that tube top to my next job interview?

I love myself and I also love my new bathing suit. I look very good in it. I am going to go to the grocery store and shop in it.

I get what you are saying about loving yourself and making your own decisions. But societal norms still dictate many situations, as it should be.

Societal norms say two piece dresses for prom are fine this year.

 

[Liberty Belle]

The only ones I saw with exposed belly were very modest. Only showed an inch or so of midriff. I think it's cute and age appropriate, but I've not seen any that looked like a bikini top.

 

[rajak73]

 

[jen0610]

My issue is that a girl will go with "what's in" and not what looks great on them.

Some people can pull off that style and others cannot.

Ex. when my dd was in HS, she could not wear the strapless dress. It was very hard to find a decent one.

DD18 tried on two different styles of the 2 piece dress. Neither one worked for her. Both were stunning in the color and bead work, just didn't work on her body. One had a huge ballgown bottom and the other was very slimming.

I think the trend looks like Indian style. We have a large Indian population and some of the dresses and fabrics are gorgeous. You will see old ladies in them showing a bit of their bellies. No big deal.

https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=traditional+indian+dresses&view=detailv2&&id=93514443FD09A931AFAECA641B461E75E7CE2288&selectedIndex=106&ccid=lfO/CyPb&simid=608009169276634162&thid=OIP.M95f3bf0b23dbc665e20b9398f522bafdH0&ajaxhist=0

One of the dresses DD tried on very much had this type of feel to it. The gap between the top and bottom was much narrower on DD, then what was pictured. The amount of bead work on both the top and bottom was outta this world. However, that was part of the problem with the dress. There was so much beading that the pieces seemed to be weighing down on her frame. I am sure with a great deal of fitting work, they could have looked good, we just didn't want that added expense on top of an already very pricy dress.

This was the ballgown skirted one that she tried on. The gap between the top and bottom was almost nil on DD. The top was past the top of the skirt, some what like where the top of a tankini would lie. The beading on the top just seemed to weigh down the top on DD and that was a major reason why, other than it was red, that she didn't go with it. She loved the skirt and lost her mind when one of the sales girls showed her that the skirt had POCKETS!! But the top didn't fit her.

http://viennaprom.com/Products/Product_Detail.asp?type=35&id=548