How to Pick a Prom Dress
Behind every fabulous date with destiny...is a completely empty closet. Or so it seems when you've just been asked by a hottie boy to go to the high school prom. No matter how many dress-up gowns you already have, they've suddenly all become pale in comparison to the most perfect dress in the entire universe that you haven't even found yet. The clock's tickin', girlfriend! If you don't have a relative or family friend who can work some Cinderella magic with a needle and thread, it's time to get yourself to the mall before those fab frocks are all grabbed up by your fashionista peers. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Start your planning and your budgeting early. Hopefully your beau will have given you at least six weeks' notice. If you wait until the very last minute, you're going to be frantic, desperate, and probably end up buying something you're really not that keen on or that costs you more than you felt comfortable spending.
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Stand in front of the mirror and assess your body shape. Are you tall and willowy? Are you short and curvy? Are you athletic? Are you fragile and Victorian looking? Ask a trusted relative or friend to give you constructive feedback on your best "look," including what kinds of colors, fabrics, sleeves, necklines, and hem lengths are the most flattering for your height, weight, hair color, and skin tone.
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Study fashion magazines and catalogues to get preliminary ideas. In particular, look for models that are close to your own build and coloring. Take notes on the kinds of dresses you think you'd look good in. Better yet, tear out the pictures so that you'll have something to take with you on your shopping trip.
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Invite a trusted relative or friend to go shopping with you, especially if it is someone whose fashion sense you admire. Don't just solicit the advice of floor personnel who - in chain stores - are probably more interested in making a big sale than in making you look stunning.
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Wear your hair similar to the way you plan to wear it for the prom. There are some styles, for instance, that look especially chic with an upswept hairdo or a chignon and might otherwise be dismissed if you're wearing your hair in pigtails the day you go shopping.
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Practice sitting down in your dress selections in the dressing room. You will, after all, be getting and and out of a car as well as sitting out a few dances or having refreshments and need to ensure your gown isn't too tight. Check for "lap wrinkles" - those pesky creases that appear in certain fabrics and will give you a messy, rumpled look.
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Practice a few dance steps. Yes, this is tricky in the confines of a store dressing room but it all depends on what kind of dancing you plan to do. If you're strictly a slow dancer, there's probably no problem. But if you flail your arms around a lot, do you want to keep adjusting your spaghetti straps all evening?
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Query whether the store has a layaway plan. The wisdom of this is twofold. It allows you to keep saving your money. It also gives you time to go shopping for just the right shoes so that you can come back and try them on with the dress that's being held for you.
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Allow enough time for alterations if the dress needs to be taken in or the hem adjusted.
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Accessorize! Even if - heaven forbid - you and another girl show up in the same dress, you're not likely to also be wearing the same jewelry or hair combs. Choose something that's unique and that reflects the uniqueness of your own personality.
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Tips & Warnings
Boutiques are more likely to yield one-of-a-kind dresses than department stores that carry multiple sizes of exactly the same thing.
Any chance of taking an out of town trip with your parents prior to the prom? If all of your girlfriends are shopping at the local mall, you might be able to score on originality by simply shopping at a different venue.
Always try out your shoes with the dress prior to the prom, especially if the dress is floor-length. You don't really want to be remembered as the girl who tripped during the first dance number or who snagged the hem with her heel on the stairs.
Never let a prom dress come between you and your best friend. If you both fall in love with the same perfect outfit, you have only three choices: (1) both of you wear the same thing, (2) one of you graciously gives it up, or (3) both of you pick something else.
Don't put on your prom makeup, spritz your hair or drink grape juice after you've already gotten dressed. If you absolutely have to do these things after you've gotten dressed, put on one of your dad's button-front long-sleeved shirts over the prom gown just in case you have any accidents.
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- Photo Credit Photo by Christina Hamlett
