The Prom dress. It’s probably the most important part of Prom. Well, aside from your date. And your dance moves. And the corsage. And the limo. And the . . . well, you know what? EVERYTHING about Prom is important. But, you can’t deny that the dress is up there when it comes to the Prom perfection ranks. And it’s not just important on that night. It’s something you think about for years to come. All of us here at Gurl are still thinking about ours! So, join the Gurl editors as we take a stroll down memory lane and relive the glory that was our Prom dresses.
 

Jessica: I went shopping for a prom dress with my mom, which turned out to be a huge mistake. One of the first ones I tried on was a super poofy, sparkly light purple gown. I had mixed feelings about it until my mom declared that she hated it – at which point I immediately had to have it, obviously. So after a huge fight in the store, I ended up going home with the dress, which was so princessy it belonged in Disney World. Ugh. I look back on my prom pictures now and WISH I had listened to my mom’s advice to get something a little more flattering (although I’ll never let her say ‘I told you so’). Let’s just say we don’t go dress shopping together anymore.
 

Julie: My Prom dress was a two piece white number with beading on the top and a huge a-line skirt. I couldn’t have felt more like a princess…or looked more like a teen bride. Still, I loved it. And the best part was that I got the dress for free! The dress I wore to Homecoming that year split down the side in the middle of the dance. It was pretty humiliating, but I took those lemons and made lemonade. I marched back to the store where I’d bought the dress and returned it for store credit. The credit was enough to cover my Prom dress that spring plus a sassy pair of white strappy shoes. I loved my look even more knowing that I’d gotten a deal. . .and it didn’t rip during the dance. Double win!

 

Emerald: A simple black, strapless cocktail dress, made out of the cheapest fabric money can buy – honestly it was so thin you could poke a hole through it. It was fifteen bucks. I went to a small school; my graduating class was forty-seven kids, so I knew prom would be kind of lame. Do the math: Not everyone goes to prom. About thirty-five kids showed up. Only ten percent of the people at any dance actually dance. Ten percent of thirty-five is almost four kids. Womp womp. I knew the payoff would be kind of a bust, so I didn’t put much effort into it. However, my dad was willing to drop three hundred bucks on the dress (he is a firm believer in any and all milestones), he gave me the money and sent me off. Being my sneaky seventeen-year-old self I bought the cheapest dress I could find and kept the rest of the cash to have a super fun start of the summer with my friends. Prioritize, ladies.

 

Melanie: I was really obsessed with Audrey Hepburn’s wedding dress in Funny Face (yes, a wedding dress), and was determined to have it for prom . . . except in emerald green. Of course nobody sold a dress like that the year Space Jam was in theaters, so I found a dress maker who’d whip one up for me—for about $400, not including the dyed-to-match shoes and handbag that I HAD to have! I spent every penny I’d saved from birthdays and Christmas on that thing, but felt absolutely amazing in it. If I had to do it all over again, I’d probably go with something a little more subtle, but hey, I felt fabulous—and isn’t that what prom is all about?

 

 

 

Put together your perfect prom look at Macy’s ultimate shopping party! Plus check out Facebook.com\MStyleLab or Macys.com\events

Do you have your dress picked out? Or know what your dream dress is? Tell us in the comments.

Next check out Personal Style: The Shoes We Heart!

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