How to Buy a Dress for the Spring Formal

You stride onto the dance floor, confident, with date in hand. Your friends turn to greet you and they are awed by your spring formal dress. Not only do you feel good in what you're wearing, but you get compliments all night. Taking your time to select your dress was really worth it.

Instructions

1. Close your eyes and picture yourself at the dance. What are you wearing? Use this visualization method to decide what kind of dress you should buy for the formal.

2. Consult the experts. See what the latest spring formal fashions are by picking up a teen magazine or watching a fashion television channel. You will get a good idea of what's popular and what will therefore be sold in stores that carry spring formal dresses.

3. Set a budget before you go shopping. Spring formal dresses can be expensive, so if you only focus on the ones you can afford, you won't spend so much time pining over dresses you know you can't purchase.

4. Try a lot of dresses on, even dresses you don't think would look good on you. Sometimes styles you like will look awful on your body, while styles you don't like will flatter your shape. Take lots of time and go to plenty of stores until you find the perfect dress.

5. Get your parent's approval before purchasing the dress. Many spring formal dresses are more risqué than a parent would like, and there's nothing worse than being told you can't leave the house to go to the formal because your dress is too revealing. If you can, compromise over a strapless dress by getting a sparkly shawl to go over it.

Tips & Warnings

• Bring a friend or parent with you when shopping for your dress. They'll be able to give you a second opinion on dresses you think are candidates for the spring formal.

• Buy shoes at the end of your shopping trip. By then your feet will be a little swollen from mall-hopping, simulating what your feet will feel like after a lot of dancing.

• When accessorizing your dress, don't overdo it. Choose a necklace and stud earrings or dangly earrings and sparkly bracelets. Too many accessories will make you look like a disco ball.

• Don't buy a dress you can't move in no matter how pretty it is. If one false move is going to expose your breast or make you constantly adjust your dress, don't buy it or else the only dance you'll be doing at the formal is the robot.