DD bought her homecoming dress already.

[golfgal]

Even if my kids didn't have a "date" date, they always had lots of friends of the opposite sex who would go with them as their "date." As others have said, it's a social event - what's wrong with just going with a group of friends?

I'm glad most areas have gotten past the Noah's Ark mentality of my teen years - you know, everyone had to be paired up with someone of the opposite sex to be allowed on the boat.

How about prom, do they just go as a group of friends? Around here the more formal dances are more of a date deal, the dances that aren't formal are just a go however deal.

In our old town no one dressed up for the homecoming dance at all. Every place is different.

 

[Cindy B]

LOL.. My daughter just finished a year of social functions (bar/bat mitzvahs) and she was more than happy to wear dresses more than once to certain parties.

I would ask her if she wanted something new (of course bought on clearance/sale) and she would say, "Nope, I'm good!"

 

[minkydog]

And she spent 50% more than last years dress.

(Of course - last year's dress was only $20 - so no complaints here.)

I love coming across a good clearance sale!

I still don't "get" why they can't wear a dress to more than one school function, but since the total of dresses for 2 homecomings is only $55 - I can't complain too loudly!

Yeah, I'd say you're getting off easy.

DD17 is already looking for her prom dress. Why so early, you ask?She has a plan. DD actually doesn't mind re-wearing her dresses, but she has already worn her two nice party dresses twice. I told her that I would buy her a nice floor-length dress for her senior year so that she would have a formal and the 2 cocktail dresses to take to college. Ordinarily, she would wait until February to look for a prom dress, but her plan is to use the prom dress in the school beauty pageant in November. So, I guess she needs it sooner.

Truthfully, I don't mind. My DD is like yours, very frugal. She chooses wisely and keeps her costs low. Her most expensive party dress is a burnt orange with gold beading short dress. So far she has used it for my Brother's wedding, last year's boyfriend's homecoming, and her own 2010 prom. SHe loves that dress and I imagine she'll keep wearing it until it falls apart. We paid $59 for it, btw.

 

[fiveforall]

Good for your daughter! My DD just bought her homecoming dress yesterday. She got it for $30 at Ross. She has so many dances, so we are always looking for a good deal. I wish she had some friends she could swap with, but she's so tiny!

 

[MichelleVW]

How about prom, do they just go as a group of friends? Around here the more formal dances are more of a date deal, the dances that aren't formal are just a go however deal.

In our old town no one dressed up for the homecoming dance at all. Every place is different.

Yep, they go with a group of friends. Formal or non formal, they all just want to go. No need to stress over a date.

 

[redlight]

55 dollars for one dress is a bargain. 55 for two dresses is a steal.

 

[NHdisneylover]

How about prom, do they just go as a group of friends? Around here the more formal dances are more of a date deal, the dances that aren't formal are just a go however deal.

In our old town no one dressed up for the homecoming dance at all. Every place is different.

I went to prom with a date as a junior and with a group of freinds as a senior (we did pair up as friends for ticket purposes as couples tickets were less expensive than two singles--lots of people did it this way. DH happened to be one of those friends--he was NOT the guy I paired with so we say he was kinda sorta almost my prom date). Anyway my prom was in Colorado in teh early 90s. We had babysitters in both Michigan and New Hampshire who went with groups of friends as well. I keep going back to why oh why would a school push teen dating and relationships so hard that a kid feels they have to miss a big event if they do not have a date? I guess things are just different where you are.

LOL.. My daughter just finished a year of social functions (bar/bat mitzvahs) and she was more than happy to wear dresses more than once to certain parties.

I would ask her if she wanted something new (of course bought on clearance/sale) and she would say, "Nope, I'm good!"

So far I am lucky too. DD13 has a floor length silk gown that we got at a sample sale for $16 that she adores. She has worn it about a dozen times. I was talking about shopping for something new the other day and she looked at me like I had two heads and asked WHY when she loves the dress she has so much?! There are no school dances here in Germany so she will not have a homecomming this fall, etc (my goodness she is a 9th grader now--that's highschool I hadn't really thought of it!).

Yeah, I'd say you're getting off easy.

DD17 is already looking for her prom dress. Why so early, you ask?She has a plan. DD actually doesn't mind re-wearing her dresses, but she has already worn her two nice party dresses twice. I told her that I would buy her a nice floor-length dress for her senior year so that she would have a formal and the 2 cocktail dresses to take to college. Ordinarily, she would wait until February to look for a prom dress, but her plan is to use the prom dress in the school beauty pageant in November. So, I guess she needs it sooner.

Truthfully, I don't mind. My DD is like yours, very frugal. She chooses wisely and keeps her costs low. Her most expensive party dress is a burnt orange with gold beading short dress. So far she has used it for my Brother's wedding, last year's boyfriend's homecoming, and her own 2010 prom. SHe loves that dress and I imagine she'll keep wearing it until it falls apart. We paid $59 for it, btw.

Wow, I have never heard of a school beauty pageant. Kind of like the dates required thing I find that a very odd thing for a SCHOOL to promote.

NOTE: I do not think it is wrong for golfgals daughter to date or minky's to be in a beauty pageant. I just think it is unusual and not to my taste that the schools are promoting "must have a date" and beauty contests.

 

[EMom]

Even if my kids didn't have a "date" date, they always had lots of friends of the opposite sex who would go with them as their "date." As others have said, it's a social event - what's wrong with just going with a group of friends?

I'm glad most areas have gotten past the Noah's Ark mentality of my teen years - you know, everyone had to be paired up with someone of the opposite sex to be allowed on the boat.

A bit off topic, but that reminded me of a stunt I pulled as a senior. I dated a lot. Loved to date. However, I lived in a small town and rarely dated the guys in my high school since they seemed more like brothers to me. I spent more time with them than my actual brothers, ya know?

So when the athletic banquet rolled around, I was SOL as far as attending. I dated jocks alright, but from OTHER schools. I wanted to go to that banquet in the worst way because it was a big deal. Yes, we were a small school, but we got pro football players as speakers, etc. Dallas Cowboys were favorites. I did not want to miss that.

So I dressed up that night, put on a wrist corsage and waltzed into the banquet. I seated myself between two handsome classmates who did not have dates......(No, I couldn't date them....They were truly like brothers to me.) They asked, "Who are you here with?" I said, "I'm with both of you!" They just grinned and went with it. Later a coach asked which was my date and they both said they were. I'm glad I crashed that banquet. The three of us had a pretty nice time.

 

[disneyofcourse]

If it was an inexpensive dress under about $100 I'd only wear it once, now my prom dress was mucho $$$ so I wore it to two proms. Now 7-8 years later I have at least 15 dresses in my closet from just the last two years of high school! (All of which I bought with my own money coaching kids track and not by parents if that makes a difference)Unfortunately my sister who I was going to give them too is about a foot and a half shorter and about four sizes bigger so no luck unloading them with her when she starts going to these things.

I think you guys got off easy with two dresses for $50 something That's a steal!

 

[MichelleVW]

If it was an inexpensive dress under about $100 I'd only wear it once, now my prom dress was mucho $$$ so I wore it to two proms. Now 7-8 years later I have at least 15 dresses in my closet from just the last two years of high school! (All of which I bought with my own money coaching kids track and not by parents if that makes a difference)Unfortunately my sister who I was going to give them too is about a foot and a half shorter and about four sizes bigger so no luck unloading them with her when she starts going to these things.

I think you guys got off easy with two dresses for $50 something That's a steal!

Both my DD's had prom dresses that cost over $500 and no way would I ask them to wear them again. They were beautiful and they loved their dresses, but to go to wear them back to back years at the same school would be a little embarrassing to me. DD19 did get a prom dress for her senior year for really cheap (about $50 or so) and wore it to her prom in Texas and also to her friend's prom in North Dakota the same year, but it's not like the same kids were at both.