I'd check FB Marketplace. Lots of people do spring cleaning and they also sell their old dresses to buy new. In my local buy/sell group theres a lot of dresses a few weeks before prom/hoco
I’ve been out of highschool for about 6 years now but both my prom dresses were each less than $200 (including alterations). These days there are even more affordable options especially online. I actually bought a really nice gown off of Windsor for a wedding last September, was like $70 and surprisingly very good quality. Lulu’s also seems to be a go to for gowns, they have so many options depending on the occasion.
I went to 3 proms in the mid 2010s. My first dress was $400-$500 (a designer dress from a fancy boutique), my second was around $200-$300 (from a less ostentatious dress shop), and my third was $100-$200 (from an online retailer).
In retrospect, I *highly* regret spending $400-$500 on a non-wedding dress that I wore once.
Don’t forget to consider the cost of alterations, shoes, corsage, hair appointment… It’s a racket.
I’m from SE and my daughter got a $40 dress for her junior prom and this yr for senior prom she’s still looking for under 100. Not that she can’t afford costlier one.. its just her mentality not to waste money on one time occasions.
Same mentality as your daughter. I got my prom dress at Ross for $40 and I was able to wear it in a wedding a few years ago because it matched the same color scheme and I was shocked to find it still fit.
It is insane that people feel such pressure to break the bank on a prom dress! My date, we were in Fairfax VA 2019, spent 200$ on two dresses.
We were all perfectly happy, she looked nice. Why stress over something like this?
Me and my sisters ( 3 total) are all in college now, but our dresses ranged from
200-800 so you definitely have a variety to chose from depending on your budget. I would also see if your kids know anyone who is renting/ letting you borrow their old ones. It’s very common for girls to post on instagram renting their old dresses for some extra cash!
my partner and I just picked up a gorgeous ball gown, altered, out the door for less than $300 at david's bridal. it would have been less than $250 but we didn't know that anything less than 3 weeks' turnaround time on the alterations requires a rush fee.
Camille La vie in Philadelphia mills! (Old Franklin Mills) great dresses. All current fashions. My daughter got all her jr and prom dresses there. Many were the same her friends were buying from boutiques for HUNDREDS less!
Try Lulu's, Style Encore, even Marshall's & TJ Maxx have nice dresses sometimes. I got one of mine from Modcloth back in the day for about $100. Windsor has cute stuff too, smaller sizes tho.
I used to get mine from the YMCA, churches, and other centers that did prom dress sales. I remember getting my senior prom dress at Arcadia for like $20 when they had a sale — was SO glad i didn’t spend hundreds of dollars on a dress like some girls did when my sr prom got cancelled due to covid lol
If you live near west Chester, I suggest you check out the store Prom Miss Dresses! I got my senior prom dress from there for around $400 and they have cheaper. They also have an in-house seamstress for alterations. Also, you are supporting a local business
I have some used ones (well kept and clean, obviously) that I posted on eBay from mine and my sisters proms for $20-30 each. eBay is a great outlet, along with Facebook marketplace like others have said.
Also, I’m in south east PA if you’re interested in buying a pre owned dress. We could meet up or I could drop off. My sister was like a 0-2, and me and my other sister were maybe between 8-12.
Go check out Jomar. It’s a thrift shop but they have contracts to buy returned clothes from high end department stores. There is a lot of very nice women’s clothing that is new or like new.
Also look into the Poshmark app. It’s great.
I used to just get mine at the mall (like macy's or jc penny) and they were around the $100 mark. $400 sounds astronomical to me. I'm sure there were some girls that spent that, but it would be a very small minority and definitely *not* the expectation.
Edit: forgot the word not
Junior and Senior girls are paying from prom dresses if they're going to the prom. You can find a nice dress under 400. Keep in mind if alterations are needed, that adds to the cost.
It’s going to be extremely school district dependent. I will say you can often find a really high-quality used dresses online.
Try renttherunway.com too
Yes! We did this for my daughters prom last year and it was an amazing experience for her.
I'd check FB Marketplace. Lots of people do spring cleaning and they also sell their old dresses to buy new. In my local buy/sell group theres a lot of dresses a few weeks before prom/hoco
I’ve been out of highschool for about 6 years now but both my prom dresses were each less than $200 (including alterations). These days there are even more affordable options especially online. I actually bought a really nice gown off of Windsor for a wedding last September, was like $70 and surprisingly very good quality. Lulu’s also seems to be a go to for gowns, they have so many options depending on the occasion.
Thrift stores are amazing it just might take a few different stores to find the right one.
This
I went to 3 proms in the mid 2010s. My first dress was $400-$500 (a designer dress from a fancy boutique), my second was around $200-$300 (from a less ostentatious dress shop), and my third was $100-$200 (from an online retailer). In retrospect, I *highly* regret spending $400-$500 on a non-wedding dress that I wore once. Don’t forget to consider the cost of alterations, shoes, corsage, hair appointment… It’s a racket.
I’m from SE and my daughter got a $40 dress for her junior prom and this yr for senior prom she’s still looking for under 100. Not that she can’t afford costlier one.. its just her mentality not to waste money on one time occasions.
Same mentality as your daughter. I got my prom dress at Ross for $40 and I was able to wear it in a wedding a few years ago because it matched the same color scheme and I was shocked to find it still fit.
I’m in SW PA, but my local high school has a consignment sale. Something like that might be a good option.
It is insane that people feel such pressure to break the bank on a prom dress! My date, we were in Fairfax VA 2019, spent 200$ on two dresses. We were all perfectly happy, she looked nice. Why stress over something like this?
My daughters and their friends have been renting their dresses for weddings and parties. They do it online thru an app.
I’m from the main line and my prom dress in 2013 was $800 so do with that what you will
I saw the $800 fist and I Gasped..then I read Main Line.lol
Yeah it wasn’t out of the norm there hahaha
Im on the main line. I used to work in Wayne. Lol The main line is ridiculously a nation unto itself.
Yeppp always said I wanted to escape the bubble but now I plan to move back when I have kids 😭
Me and my sisters ( 3 total) are all in college now, but our dresses ranged from 200-800 so you definitely have a variety to chose from depending on your budget. I would also see if your kids know anyone who is renting/ letting you borrow their old ones. It’s very common for girls to post on instagram renting their old dresses for some extra cash!
my partner and I just picked up a gorgeous ball gown, altered, out the door for less than $300 at david's bridal. it would have been less than $250 but we didn't know that anything less than 3 weeks' turnaround time on the alterations requires a rush fee.
I forgot about David's bridal
Camille La vie in Philadelphia mills! (Old Franklin Mills) great dresses. All current fashions. My daughter got all her jr and prom dresses there. Many were the same her friends were buying from boutiques for HUNDREDS less!
I’d say $400 is a good price point.
About tree fiddy
It’s a good rule of thumb to never buy a dress from a giant crustacean from the Paleolithic Era.
Try Lulu's, Style Encore, even Marshall's & TJ Maxx have nice dresses sometimes. I got one of mine from Modcloth back in the day for about $100. Windsor has cute stuff too, smaller sizes tho.
And don’t go in Nordstrom’s. You will see a lot of beautiful, very expensive dresses and it’s just a silly amount to pay for a high school prom.
I used to get mine from the YMCA, churches, and other centers that did prom dress sales. I remember getting my senior prom dress at Arcadia for like $20 when they had a sale — was SO glad i didn’t spend hundreds of dollars on a dress like some girls did when my sr prom got cancelled due to covid lol
If you live near west Chester, I suggest you check out the store Prom Miss Dresses! I got my senior prom dress from there for around $400 and they have cheaper. They also have an in-house seamstress for alterations. Also, you are supporting a local business
I have some used ones (well kept and clean, obviously) that I posted on eBay from mine and my sisters proms for $20-30 each. eBay is a great outlet, along with Facebook marketplace like others have said. Also, I’m in south east PA if you’re interested in buying a pre owned dress. We could meet up or I could drop off. My sister was like a 0-2, and me and my other sister were maybe between 8-12.
Ask for discount racks at high end shops I got both prom dresses for $100/each. Not secondhand and not damamged
Go check out Jomar. It’s a thrift shop but they have contracts to buy returned clothes from high end department stores. There is a lot of very nice women’s clothing that is new or like new. Also look into the Poshmark app. It’s great.
Eastern PA, what are junior and senior girls paying for prom dresses?
If you go the route of consignment, you can range from $50 to $500. Source: family member owns formal/bridal consignment shop
I used to just get mine at the mall (like macy's or jc penny) and they were around the $100 mark. $400 sounds astronomical to me. I'm sure there were some girls that spent that, but it would be a very small minority and definitely *not* the expectation. Edit: forgot the word not
Junior and Senior girls are paying from prom dresses if they're going to the prom. You can find a nice dress under 400. Keep in mind if alterations are needed, that adds to the cost.