Spending hundreds on homecoming dresses? Am I out of touch with reality?

[Anonymous]

Give her a budget. Tell her if she wants to spend more, she can earn/use her own money.

I'm not buying a new dress for DD, because she bought two dresses last year for something, and didn't return the one she ended up not wearing. So, she's borrowing a friend's dress (different school).

To me, it is unreasonable to buy a $140 dress for one time use. Buy whatever cheap crap you can get for $50-$60; it's literally for wearing for 4 or 5 hours. Pass it along to someone else, so it doesn't sit in the closet collecting dust.

[Anonymous]

Consignment shop. Go to Current boutique and Redz.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is DD 9th grade year. I was under the impression dresses for homecoming cost around the $60 range. She seems to have a list of options under consideration in the $139+ ranges.

What do you usually spend on a homecoming dress? Am I unreasonable?

We are by no means wealthy or rich, it seems expensive for one evening that is not Prom.

If she is going to land a BigLaw partner she's going to need to spend a lot more on looking pretty over the years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is DD 9th grade year. I was under the impression dresses for homecoming cost around the $60 range. She seems to have a list of options under consideration in the $139+ ranges.

What do you usually spend on a homecoming dress? Am I unreasonable?

We are by no means wealthy or rich, it seems expensive for one evening that is not Prom.

If she is going to land a BigLaw partner she's going to need to spend a lot more on looking pretty over the years.

Yes, I'm sure that's exactly what OP's 14 year old is thinking. FFS!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Try a vintage or thrift store. We found great options that were absolutely gorgeous and unique for under $60.

Do you have recommendations?

I have yet to see a thrift store with HoCo dresses, and have wondered what happens to them, because there must be hundreds of these out there in really good shape, as they have only been used once. Or maybe it is seasonal and I haven't gone at the right time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is DD 9th grade year. I was under the impression dresses for homecoming cost around the $60 range. She seems to have a list of options under consideration in the $139+ ranges.

What do you usually spend on a homecoming dress? Am I unreasonable?

We are by no means wealthy or rich, it seems expensive for one evening that is not Prom.

If she is going to land a BigLaw partner she's going to need to spend a lot more on looking pretty over the years.

Yes, I'm sure that's exactly what OP's 14 year old is thinking. FFS!!!

These are the same people deciding what hobbies their tweens can have based on how much it will help them get into college. Unreal.

[Anonymous]

Go to Macy's. I'd put the emphasis on actually trying on dresses, not looking endlessly online for inspiration

[Anonymous]

Regardless of what other families spend, which might not fit your financial situation, I would simply tell your DD the total budget you are willing to contribute for the event (in addition to the dress, she may need to consider shoes, accessories, cost of ticket if applicable, and cost of any pre- or post- dance activities she intends to do). Once she knows what she can expect as a parental contribution, if she wants more she will know she needs to earn it before the dance.

We gave our freshman DD a $200 budget for homecoming (not in the DC area - southern Virginia) but that included her ticket, both dress & shoes, and dinner out with her friends before the dance. She supplemented that with her own $.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You are totally unreasonable. I went to prom in 1993 and my dress was $180 and we were middle class. $60!8: absurdly cheap.

Op's budget is not unreasonable. Clothing has gotten cheaper as it has gotten more offshored.

A lot of the cost of fancy dresses is in the detailing. That is exactly where low cost of labor drives retail cost decreases.

To the OP, look at the recent thread in the Beauty and Fashion forum about "HoCo" dresses. There were some pretty dresses on ThredUp for as little as $10. You could get 3-6 dresses for the price of 1 in your budget.

I usually buy $100-$200 winter coats for my kids. Last year my kid found one at Forever 21 for $25. It worked great. Time not to be a snob.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You can definitely get a cheap slutty looking dress at Windsor for under $100.

I was going to recommend this and soon the line is going to be out the door to get in on the weekend. My daughter bought a few online last year for much less than $100. They had free shipping and free returns last fall. Most of her friends bought them there. They are tiny inexpensive dresses and what they all wore.

[Anonymous]

At our school its all the $70 Lulus dresses. Which even that seems like a lot to me because she'll never wear it again, but I roll my eyes and pay.

[Anonymous]

Look online at lulus — that’s where a lot of girls buy their dresses even in the wealthy suburbs. And they are cute and surprisingly well made. They usually range from 60-130 but we have sometimes found that our favorite was on sale for something like $20. Thrift stores are probably also a good option because every year the girls buy thousands of these and wear them only once.

[Anonymous]

My daughter bought her hoco dress in January at Francesca's. It was $80 and marked down to $10.

[Anonymous]

wait til you get to prom! if you expect a homecoming dress to be 60 you are really not going to like the price of prom dresses!

[Anonymous]

A HoCo dress does not need to be over $100. Our school only lets Seniors go to prom. There is a separate spring dance, so it's two dresses a year (minimum). I just looked at Lulus and plenty are in the 40-70 range. Windsor would be even less.