Choosing Prom Dress–Listen to the Experts

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Choosing a Prom Dress – Listen to the Experts

 Many girls dream about prom night from the time they are in junior high, or even earlier.  Many teen movies include a prom setting, and this leads to expectations by a lot of girls that their prom will be just as fabulous.  The prom dress is an important part of the success of the evening for many girls and will be remembered for years to come.

So, how do you choose the perfect dress?  Sometimes the “perfect dress” is seen as maybe something you saw a celebrity wear, or something that you just love because of the color or the styling of the dress.  Maybe you like a Cinderella ball gown like in the movie with Hillary Duff “A Cinderella Story”.   Or maybe you have a more funky and unique personality and want a unique prom dress to reflect this.  Perhaps you are wanting a sexy prom dress (but only for the Seniors, please) to show up that other girl when you are in competition for your absolutely fantastic crush!

 One thing to deal with is what your friends and other prom-goers think.  You say you want to be unique so you want a unique prom gown.   But are you really ready to dare to be different?   Everyone says they want a different prom dress, but usually they also want to be the same because that is what is expected—and safe.  So what is a girl to do? Do you bring your friends to approve of your prom dress?  Do you ask your boyfriend’s opinion of your gown?

 It can be helpful to ask for different opinions of your prom dress.  But be careful about whose opinion you listen to.  As bad as it may seem, sometimes friends will base their opinion, whether deliberately or subconsciously, on whether or not you will outshine them.  Your boyfriend, or prom date, may like that sexy prom dress but does it look fantastic on you?

Should you listen to your parents?  Maybe, but your dad’s idea of what is in style might date back to the 1970’s.  If you want to make him feel good, go for it—nothing wrong with that.  You could go for vintage prom dresses! 

 The sales person in the prom dress store has opinions as well.  Should you listen to them?  Usually it is very useful to listen to them because they have probably seen a lot of prom dress customers and know all of the popular dress styles and how they look on the various body types.  They usually do not know you personally, so they don’t have any bias about your personality and style.  They can look at you and be able to give an honest opinion of how the prom dress looks on you.  Just be careful if the sales person tells you it’s a fantastic dress on you for every style you try, especially if the ones they really like are the most expensive.  .  They could be thinking more about sales then getting you the perfect prom dress for your body type and coloring.  Try to work with a prom dress sales person who is honest.  You can tell if they are honest if they tell you that a dress you try on that is cheap looks great.     You want both experience and honesty.  If you find this, listen to them.  Even if there is a prom dress you really like, it’s sometimes hard to really tell what you look like when you are used to looking in the mirror at yourself and you have a certain personality in mind.  If you are open to trying on styles that the experts suggest, you could find the perfect prom dress that you love.

 Go ahead and bring friends along to shop but listen to others’ opinions, especially the experts, and then look in the mirror.  You are the one who will be wearing your dress.  You have to be happy with your prom dress decision so you can be the true “belle” of your ball.    And don't be afraid to be unique.  It give you character and it’s less likely you will see someone else wearing YOUR dress.