How much would you or have you spent on a prom dress?

[HunnyPots]

My dd is a senior this year and getting ready for her last winter formal, which is a much bigger deal around here than the prom. We are starting our dress shopping tomorrow but I've been doing a little checking around in advance and I'm STUNNED by the prices I've seen! Last year we got really lucky and found a beautiful $300 ball gown from the previous year marked down to $50 and we were thrilled, but if our luck runs out this year I've got to decide how much I can justify spending. My daughter is NOT very materialistic and not a "label wearer" by any means but I know she wants a beautiful gown for her last high school formal. She's a jeans and T-shirt girl on the outside but a "pink princess" at heart!

Anybody else out there with experience in this area? Did you blow the bank on the dress or did you maybe discover some fantastic dress-shopping secrets you could pass on to me? I'm hesitant to buy on ebay or through mail order since you can't try it on, but I'll consider anything.

For those of you that chose the "blew the bank" option, what do you do with those $300-$400 dresses after they are worn and you have no one to pass it on to? Did you ever wear them again, as the salesgirls always say you will? Just wondering...

Thanks!

 

[ADisneygirl]

I'm afraid my strategy is not going to sound very helpful because basically I just caved in and bought them. My daughter had to have a new dress for these dances each time, both Homecoming in the fall and Prom in the spring. She would never consider re-wearing one, except for the times when she went to a dance at a different school than her own! I'd say at first, in 9th and 10th grade she wasn't as particular and would first shop the sales rack at Dillard's and see what she found. You could get a beautiful dress there for a fraction of the original price. I have a couple of dresses in the $50-$60 dollar range from this method.

But in 11th grade she began to go shopping with a pre-conceived idea of what her dress would look like and what color it "had" to be. This made for l-o-n-g shopping trips because when you go into the stores already looking for "a melon colored strapless with beading...." you are asking for trouble. We would go from place to place, unable to find the dress of her dreams. These last two years of HS she ended up getting the $200+ dresses of her dreams because we could never find anything on the sale racks.

You could try to look in a bridal shop - often they have a discount area for their formal dresses. I wouldn't suggest buying online ~ my daughter tried on a million before the fit/color/style was just right.

My daughter is now in her third year of college. As for the question of what I have done with those dresses? They are hanging in her closet, perfectly preserved memories. Would I do it all over again the same way now? Yes, most definitely, because of the happiness I was able to provide for her. I wouldn't break the bank to do it, but to stretch the budget a little to buy her the dress of her dreams was worth it to us. Certainly if you can not afford it I would not consider spending big $$$$ on a dress to be worn once. And you must go into it with your eyes open, knowing it will probably be worn only once.

Kids grow up so very fast and are gone in the blink of an eye. I am very grateful for all the happy times I have had with her. My son won't be wearing any of these dresses, but the memories of my beautiful daughter getting ready for these "oh so important" dances will be with me forever and are priceless.

Marie

 

[Feralpeg]

I think the most expensive I've bought was $240.

There are stores in most areas that take gowns on consignment and sell them for you. We've not done this. Fortunately for us, we moved and now DD can wear her gowns again because no one here has seen them.

 

[Mady/Sophiemom]

I personally spent 75-80 on my prom dresses, but that was a long-long time ago.

My niece spent $400.00 on her Jr. prom dress. But, she also had a job, and paid at least half herself. She did get some senior pictures made in it too. I've never asked her if she regretted it or not, but it stinks, that after 5/6 years of dating, and a very very bad break-up, with the guy she went with, we can't have the prom pictures out anymore. It was a wonderful dress. She looked magical.

 

[LindaR]

I am one who will "spoil" my daughter. I did this for homecoming. In my mind, I had hoped to spend a total of $300. We looked everywhere. OMG, we found a dress at Dillards marked down to $70. I was sooooo happy! Then we went downstairs to get a little bag and matching shoes. Bag was about $40. She was gathering up shoes for the salesman to get when we came upon the most beautiful shoes.........and we both knew that unless there was something terribly wrong with them........well, the salesman was very discreet and asked me if I had looked at the price and did I want him to go get these? The shoes were Beverly Feldman.......and they cost $275. Crap.

I looked at my daughter (who didn't know this was going on) and thought about how every girl wants to be a princess............YES, go get the shoes.

Of course, they were perfect. At the end, when my daughter saw how much they were, she wanted to put them back (to save me money) but I saw how much she was trying to hide her real feelings..............WE GOT THE SHOES!

I will never regret doing that. Sometimes........you just have to do things that may not be practical, or affordable, or whatever! Go with your heart.

 

[daughter_of_amid_chaos]

the most I have paid for a dress is 300 dollars.

 

[chimera]

My mom spent about $80 on my junior prom dress. I was working part-time when my senior prom came around (1986) and I paid for the dress. I spent $250, put it on layaway about 6 months early and made payments until it was mine! Still have it...DD12 used to play dress-up with all my old dresses. The disturbing thing is that it's a size 5 I don't remember ever being that thin!

 

[CarolynFH]

My DD is a sophmore in HS and just got her winter formal dress (even thoough the junior-senior prom is much bigger here) for $56 or so at Dillards. She has been able to find all of her dresses up to this point at the discount racks there. If I were you, I might consider the ones in the $200 price range, since this is her last dance. As for after the big event, my DD is planning on selling them to younger kids (she's had several friends that did that).

 

[Pam]

My daughter went to 4 proms and 4 homecomings, as well as a couple of Valentine's and Snow Balls at HS.
(Her BF is a couple of years older than her.)

In 9th and 10th grades we got lucky and got her prom dresses on sale for less than $100.00. The other dances, we never paid over $30.00 because we would do the after-prom clearance sales and stock up on gowns!!

For her 11th grade Prom, we did the eBay route and lucked out because she found a size 2 brand-new with tags for $200.00 beaded gown - we won the bidding at $43.75 - with shipping the cost was $50.00. The dress fit her like a glove and you can't believe the compliments she got and everyone guessing how many hundreds of dollars she spent on the dress.

Oh - and she usually got $50.00 shoes and wore them for 2 years at a time, same thing with a purse - but it was always less than $20.00.

So - last year is her Senior Year. She tells me, "I've been thrifty all these years - I want to go there and knock them all dead." I told her that I wasn't paying more than $150.00 - she said that was fine, she would pay anything over that (she works part-time and bought her own car and pays her insurance).

At Christmastime she finds these amazing beaded gown in a prom magazine. The day after New Year's we go shopping and no one has that dress - she tries on several other gowns - but nothing appeals to her. We stop at a bridal shop and they can order the gown - but we have to pay 1/2 up front and it's nonreturnable. Yep - she did it.

Her prom dress last year was a hot pink stapless beaded gown with a mini-train that dipped in the back. It cost $300.00 and we split the cost. She wore her shoes from the prior year, same thing with the purse.

Her last 2 prom gowns she has kept, although she hasn't worn them since. The other gowns she has lent to friends and girls who couldn't afford to get a dress.

 

[rcyannacci]

I was buying prom dresses too many years ago to talk about price, but as to wearing them again...

One of the best things I did for my senior prom was to buy a dress that didn't look like a "prom" dress. It was a retro, 1920's white flapper dress with fringe (I think I paid about $70 in 1989). I had so much fun wearing it, and I took it to college with me and wore it a number of times at rush dances, sorority formals, end of the year parties, etc. Looked great every time.

So if you want to get more wear out of the dresses, I'd think about steering her toward something "classic" or "sophistocated," something that she'd want to wear again in college.

 

[minnie56]

My DD had a 'semi-formal' back in November and her dress, though not long, was more than $500 but that's Canadian dollars...It was very pretty....her grad formal is in June...I guess that can only cost more??!!

 

[thelittlemermaid]

For Jr prom my mom spent around $300 since it was my first prom. It was the second dress that I picked out, the first one was $500. For senior year, I didn't want anything fancy. I wanted a all black dress and short. Found it in a store in the mall for $70. After everything was bought, shoes, earrings, etc, it all came to under $120. She sure was happy, so was my dad. He flipped when he found out how much my mom spent on my Jr prom dress.

 

[battricia]

you could try looking in bridal shops for left over brides maid dresses, they usually run cheaper, or if you have a chain bridal store like davids bridal they usually have a big sale you might be able to find something there.

tricia.

 

[Megster]

My mom never spent much on dresses for me. Our school is so big that the prom is for seniors only. As a junior I got asked by a senior boy who I had known since I was 3. I ended up finding my dress at Macys and it was around a 100 dollars. My senior year I didn't want to wear the same dress again, but my mom told me up front that she didn't want to spend a lot of money on a dress. Prom is a really big deal at my school so I was worried that I wouldn't end up finding "the" dress for a small amount of money.
However... I ended up spending 22 dollars on my senior prom dress. I was a beautiful satin strapless A-Line dress. It was a peachy/pink color. We bought it a store called Ross Dress for Less while vacationing in FL. The dress was originally like 200 dollars marked down. The dress deffinitely didn't look like it had cost that much, and no one knew.
I was glad though that I had found "the" dress for that much though, because it allowed my mom to help me out with other expenses like the limo and the condo that we rented for afterwards.

 

[Philadisney]

i had three dresses when i was in high school, one for junior prom & one for my friend's junior prom & one for my senior prom. they all cost between $99 - $200 at the department stores in the mall (JC Penny, Lord & Taylor and whatnot). Of course the straps on the $99 dress broke while I was dancing which was very, very embarrassing....I don't think you really have to even spend that much if you do enough looking, my friend found her prom dress at a thrift store for $20 and looked absolutely beautiful

 

[ericamanda01]

When I was in the 10 grade my dad bought me a really nice prom dress but told me that I would have to buy my own for the 11th grade. I ended up having the dress altered and it worked fine. But my senior year he made me a deal to match me dollor for dollar. Big mistake! I saved over $300, and true to his word he matched me. I was able to get a dress like no one else there. Now I didn't spend $600 but I was able to use the extra money on hair, make-up, and an after prom outfit. Maybe you could make a similar deal with your daughter.

 

[Pam]

I was glad though that I had found "the" dress for that much though, because it allowed my mom to help me out with other expenses like the limo and the condo that we rented for afterwards.

Megster -
Our school has their proms at a different location each time and the students have to ride buses to get there. There has NEVER been anyone to arrive at the school in a limo. The school has a Grand March before leaving in the auditorium. Parents, relatives and friends each pay $1.00 to watch all of the couples be announced and come out on stage. The money goes to the upcoming Junior class to help fund next year's prom.

To my knowledge, no one rents condos or hotel rooms, either. Usually the school has an after-prom somewhere. Some kids do take large groups back to their homes for chaperoned events as well.

 

[EsmeraldaX]

Well, my prom was 11 years ago, but I think my dress was about $17.

I bought it off season from a moderately priced shop at a mall. It was a full blown evening gown, not a semi formal.

Look around, I've had to buy formal dresses for things since then that would easily pass as prom dresses and there are still a lot of dresses to be found for very, very low prices (that the other girls will think she spent a small fortune on --- people at my prom kept asking me if I'd rented mine.). I'd never spent more than $60 on a dress.

Check places like Macy's, Filene's, and all the shops in the mall that target teen girls.

When done with them and never having to wear them again, I usually donate them to womens shelters, so women who might need something formal for a work party or anything else but could never pay for it, can have them. I do the same thing with old business clothes. A lot of times, the women use the old business clothes to go on job interviews.

 

[TandJ61574]

My daughter's prom was almost 3 years ago and her dress was over $500.00

She fell in love with it and I explained to her that some wedding dresses don't even cost that much but she just had to have this dress.

So we agreed to pay 100.00 towards the dress and she had to pay the rest.

It's sits in her closet and just seems to have been a waste of money but she insists she would have done it again, so if it made her happy and we weren't out the extra money then I guess I am happy.

 

[katerkat]

I don't think we spent more than $150 on any of my dresses. (Thanking God that BR is a boy...)

As for re-wearing them, I have, lots of times. But then, I was in a sorority in college, so I needed at least two semi-formals and a formal every year. So thank goodness my two sisters and I were the same size - all the prom dresses got re-worn as we rotated them around! I still have them in my closet for any formal occasions the military likes to come up with. Since we move every few years, no one knows I'm wearing old dresses. (Almost all of them are very classic styles.)