Prom dress on a budget, can you do it?

[wdwmom0f3]

My DD is going to prom this year and we are now on a hunt for a prom dress, but I want to keep it as cheap as I can. Are there any websites with good prices for prom dresses? I am about an hour from B'ham, Alabama if anyone knows of a place there. I can also head to Atlanta, GA if there is a good place there. I just don't know where to start so I thought I would ask the pro's.

 

[HunnyPots]

Right now is a great time to start shopping! Many store will be trying to get rid of any of last year's dresses still in stock and you can get some amazing deals. My daughter's junior year, we got a $350 dress for less than $50! We found hers at Cache but saw great deals at lots of other stores too. Just hit all your local malls and search the clearance racks. David's Bridal also has good deals from time to time on prom gowns.

 

[jlima]

My DD is going to prom this year and we are now on a hunt for a prom dress, but I want to keep it as cheap as I can. Are there any websites with good prices for prom dresses? I am about an hour from B'ham, Alabama if anyone knows of a place there. I can also head to Atlanta, GA if there is a good place there. I just don't know where to start so I thought I would ask the pro's.

Check your local thrift stores! They should have tons of donations RIGHT NOW because so many people donate at the end of the year to get the donation receipts for their taxes. I see dresses all the time that are new with tags in the stores at my work (I work for Goodwill). Or check Craigslist for people selling new dresses that were never worn.

 

[shortbun]

Try vintage stores and thrift stores. You can buy a couple dresses for a tenth of what a new one would cost and have a choice. The best vintage stores around here are near campus. Go early and often to get a look at several good dresses.

 

[KTSMOM]

I second Macy's. I had to buy a dress for an event and went to Macy's to look for a dress. I got a $150 dollar dress for $15. The event was in May and I bought the dress in April, so I'm not sure when they put their formal wear on sale, but if that time frame works for your daughter's prom check Macy's out. Don't forget the coupon!

 

[MichelleinMaine]

I'll second Goodwill- ours has beautiful, new with tags dresses for $20 or less. I saw one very similar to what my cousin got last year, for ALOT less!

 

[englishteacha]

JC Penney often has dresses on sale for under $50. I bought one for $10 for a formal function, and bought both of my bridesmaid dresses there for $39 each.

Chadwicks.com often has formal wear reasonably priced as well.

 

[ferrytale]

Also check around your community or with her school to see if there are any "Cinderella Projects". It's a program where people donate prom dresses and they sell them to girls who need prom dresses but don't have a lot of money. My sister got 3 dresses last year for $20-$25 each, plus they happened to have shoes and accessories too - not all of them do. It's a nice program, and a lot of girls take advantage of it.

 

[Stitch76]

I also say check your local thrift stores, I have seen some BEAUTIFUL gowns hanging in the window of my local Goodwill for less than $20, many still with the tags.
Also E-bay is a good place. When my DBIL and DSIL were getting married, I helped her find her bridesmaids dresses on there for less than $20 each, NWT.
Good Luck in your Hunt.

 

[neatokimmo]

What size does she need?

 

[Cindy B]

This is the semi formal year for my daughter. She had gone to four functions and is going to another very soon. We have had fabulous luck at some local department store called Boscov's. She found one dress for $9.97 and we just purchased one over the weeked for $19.97.

I would say start now. You may find something easily.

 

[kymmyk13]

try Belk, I went to the Jasper, Al store last week and got my daughter a short dress for prom, it is purple and she loves it, it was on the clearance rack and all their clearance was an additional 50% off so the dress was $17.00.

 

[scootch]

Many of the bridal shops rent them. I think my neice paid about $79 and some will say she didn't end up with a dress in the end, they never wear them again anyhow.

 

[extremesoccermom]

We found a beautiful prom dress for DD15 at Goodwill. I have also found some nice ones at JCPenney in the outlet section. But I finally decided to make one for myself (Disney Cruise). I got the material to make 2 dresses for $26.00

 

[Inigo]

Atlanta has Filene's Basement. I haven't looked at prom dresses at Filene's, but I have gotten great deals there on clothes, including work clothes and dressy clothes for formal occasions for me.

If there's a JCPenney outlet store nearby, check out dresses there. I've seen some beautiful dressy dresses for great prices. Penny's outlets near you are in Forest Park, GA, and Decatur, AL.

Don't just write off a store because it's an expensive store. I bought a dress on sale at one of the more expensive stores on sale for less than the sale prices at other stores.

And ask around to other people. This coming April, one of my clients will be wearing my DD's prom dress from last year to the 2010 prom. I really doubt anyone will recognize that the dress has been worn there before, as there were over 500 dresses at last year's prom. I know DD is not going to ever wear the dress again, and it kills me to spend that much on a one-time-only outfit even though I found it on sale. If your DD is really worried about someone realizing it's a borrowed/passed over to her dress, maybe the dress could be borrowed from someone who went to a different school's prom.

 

[Swmr359]

Try for sales at the major department stores. They may be getting rid of Christmas and New Years dresses. Also if she finds a dress that is too large, you may be able to alter it; and if the dress is marked down enough it could cost less than the orginal price.
If she wants to go agian next year you should be looking during the summer and fall. Years ago when I went to prom I got a dress for $20 around holloween, it was 4 sizes too big and had to be altered, but even with that cost it was still less than the orginal price.

 

[Purseval]

My mother bought a prom dress for my neice at Macy's for less than $10

 

[Poohbear5]

My daughter got her around this time of year when she was a high school senior. We happened upon last year's clearance dresses at Penny's for $25!
She got cute shoes for $15.

She recently graduated high school and got married. She bought two wedding dresses, one formal for church off the sale rack at Modern Bride for $97 (orig. list price $1400!!) and a ballroom dance dress at David's Bridal for $99.
Definitely more work to find the bargain but well worth it.

You don't need to spend a ton to be a princess for the day!

 

[Inigo]

(cause I'm bored and stuck in the house due to snow...)

Here are the prom dresses available on-line at JCPenney's:

http://www2.jcpenney.com/jcp/x5.asp...85&cmAMS_T=X3&cmAMS_C=C12&CmCatId=62371|62909

 

[Tinkerbelle9980]

Also, at this time of year it's not a bad idea to check the local dress shops. I found a $300 dress for $50 one year. They don't have as much room and have to move them before the new stuff comes in. Also don't be afraid to check the bridesmaid dresses out they are generally cheaper and look like prom dresses. The dress that my maid of honor wore she loaned to her niece to wear to a formal. The funny thing was, someone else had the same dress in a different color. Good luck!