Prom dress budget

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We just spent a bit over $500 for the dress. Shoes were cheap at only $30!

We went to a popular boutique and I don't think there was anything for less than $200.

What was the boutique? Would love to go dress shopping with mine! We’ve never done that. She buys all her clothes at target so I feel like I have a big excess in my clothing budget for her. 4 years of HS and she’s never had a dress that cost more than $60 so if she wants to splash out on this, I’m okay with it. She’s so frugal she’ll probably just pick the cheapest.

I highly recommend Signature in Georgetown. My daughter wore a school uniform from K through 12 and we went all out for her Prom dress. They are extremely knowledgeable at Signature and shopping with my daughter there for her dress is a memory I will always cherish.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We just spent a bit over $500 for the dress. Shoes were cheap at only $30!

We went to a popular boutique and I don't think there was anything for less than $200.

What was the boutique? Would love to go dress shopping with mine! We’ve never done that. She buys all her clothes at target so I feel like I have a big excess in my clothing budget for her. 4 years of HS and she’s never had a dress that cost more than $60 so if she wants to splash out on this, I’m okay with it. She’s so frugal she’ll probably just pick the cheapest.

I highly recommend Signature in Georgetown. My daughter wore a school uniform from K through 12 and we went all out for her Prom dress. They are extremely knowledgeable at Signature and shopping with my daughter there for her dress is a memory I will always cherish.

Can you find dresses for $350 and under there?

[Anonymous]

$200 is very reasonable.

OP, we did the boutique thing for my daughter's junior prom. It was really fun. The shop workers make a big fuss over the girls. Sometimes you have to make an appointment, so start looking at websites or calling around now.

We overspent on that dress -- it was about $400. But she's pretty low-key and doesn't ask for a lot of trendy things. It was worth it to find something that she really loved. Shoes + jewelry were very inexpensive.

Funny thing is, for this year, she's leaning toward something much simpler that she can PROBABLY find at Macy's or Windsor.

I've encouraged her to share/trade dresses with her friends. I did with mine back in the day. It was fun!

[Anonymous]

I have never been inside, but there is a store at Potomac Mills called Camille La Vie, that looks massive, and has all sorts of fancy clothes. I don't know how pricey they are, but you will likely find a good selection of clothes there.

[Anonymous]

My daughter has already identified a vintage shops where she wants to go for a prom dress, so hoping it’ll be less than $200. Luckily I’m pretty good at sewing so can do any alterations myself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some of these amounts are insane. My wedding dress was a little under $500. My wedding shoes were about $15.

For a prom dress these days, I’d give my kid a budget of around $100, maybe slightly more.

You are depressing

[Anonymous]

Windsor has dresses for between $100 and $250. There is a Windsor at Tysons, Springfield, Fair Oaks, Pentagon, and Westfield Montgomery and Wheaton malls.

At the high end of prices, as already mentioned there is Dejavu in Mt Airy MD. In VA there is also That's My Dress! Prom & Pageant in Fredericksburg VA. It's best to make an appointment at these shops.

There are a couple of online retailers with huge inventory: New York Dress and Couture Candy. If you find a gown, like PP did, in an upscale dept store, but they don't have your DD's size, there is a good chance one of these sites will have the dress.

[Anonymous]

I really wish there was a way to convince DD to wear a lehenga to prom. For these kinds of prices (or less), she can get something absolutely fabulous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Windsor has dresses for between $100 and $250. There is a Windsor at Tysons, Springfield, Fair Oaks, Pentagon, and Westfield Montgomery and Wheaton malls.

At the high end of prices, as already mentioned there is Dejavu in Mt Airy MD. In VA there is also That's My Dress! Prom & Pageant in Fredericksburg VA. It's best to make an appointment at these shops.

There are a couple of online retailers with huge inventory: New York Dress and Couture Candy. If you find a gown, like PP did, in an upscale dept store, but they don't have your DD's size, there is a good chance one of these sites will have the dress.

The problem with Windsor is it's teen suicide to show up in the same dress as someone else in your school

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I really wish there was a way to convince DD to wear a lehenga to prom. For these kinds of prices (or less), she can get something absolutely fabulous.

I've seen this happen. Those clothes are fabulous, but not quite right for prom.
2nd gen

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My dress was $375 in 1992. I think it really depends. I am not looking at name brands for show but if it’s the perfect dress and it’s her only dance, I would pay close to $1000.

Are you insane?

i

WOW. That is a rude comment. If a person makes $100 a day/hour and wants to spend that on their child, fine. if someone else want to spend their $1000 daily/hourly wage on their kid that is fine too. we all have different budgets, priorities, values, expenses, salaries, etc. it’s all relative.

No it’s not all relative. It’s gluttonous. A normal family doesn’t spend $1,000 on a prom dress for a high school kid. Ridiculous.

I taught at a private school in the early 2000's, and we had middle schoolers whose daily outfits cost more than that (one of our substitute teachers was a part-time buyer for Saks, and add up the value of the outfit was an entertaining game on days she worked). And yes, we thought it was crazy, but people's definition of normal varies widely.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My dress was $375 in 1992. I think it really depends. I am not looking at name brands for show but if it’s the perfect dress and it’s her only dance, I would pay close to $1000.

Are you insane?

i

WOW. That is a rude comment. If a person makes $100 a day/hour and wants to spend that on their child, fine. if someone else want to spend their $1000 daily/hourly wage on their kid that is fine too. we all have different budgets, priorities, values, expenses, salaries, etc. it’s all relative.

No it’s not all relative. It’s gluttonous. A normal family doesn’t spend $1,000 on a prom dress for a high school kid. Ridiculous.

I taught at a private school in the early 2000's, and we had middle schoolers whose daily outfits cost more than that (one of our substitute teachers was a part-time buyer for Saks, and add up the value of the outfit was an entertaining game on days she worked). And yes, we thought it was crazy, but people's definition of normal varies widely.

To me a normal family isn’t a private school family. A normal family also thinks it’s insane to spend $1,000 on a one time dress. It’s about values, too, not just about whether you can financially afford it.

[Anonymous]

Last year, we spent about $450 for two dresses (split about $300/150). My daughter has two pairs of shoes she has worn for every dance all through high school, probably less than $50 each, and always does her own hair and makeup, no new jewelry.

This year, she still expects to go to two proms, but will rewear one of last year's dresses and spent about $200 on one new dress.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Last year, we spent about $450 for two dresses (split about $300/150). My daughter has two pairs of shoes she has worn for every dance all through high school, probably less than $50 each, and always does her own hair and makeup, no new jewelry.

This year, she still expects to go to two proms, but will rewear one of last year's dresses and spent about $200 on one new dress.

Now that’s what I call normal! I’d even spring for hair being done.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wow!! What to do with this expensive dress after prom?!

I think expensive is relative.

Also, some people donate prom dresses so others can have dresses.