On Trying To Find A Prom Dress

As a (vaguely snobby) fashion conscious teenager in a town that could hardly be described as a shopping mecca, finding a prom dress is always a bit of an upward battle. For me, at least, with my overly high expectations of the specific reaction my ever-elusive dream dress should evoke, attempting to find a dress in my own town is next to impossible. The department stores are overrun with sparkly gowns festooned with sequins and then bedazzled, of which one can choose from two styles: short or shorter. Although I would never be one to put down my town, which does have some very cool stores, including a boutique that is not a far cry from being "hipster", it's just not the place to find a prom dress, especially if you share my fashion sensibilities and (adorably?) high-strung attitude. Braving the interwebs, however, is equally treacherous.

Besides the obvious pitfalls of internet shopping (sketchy sizing, misleading photography, un-refundable merchandise), there is the simple fact that one may not be seeing anything different from what is in the stores. Shopping for dresses tagged "prom" will only pull up thousands more images of the aforementioned glitter factory explosions in pastel, while other gowns of equal formality and attractiveness are not exactly cheap. I often find myself stuck between a million forgettable dresses that I actually CAN afford, and some creation from Paris that I can barely afford to look at. The internet, in short, is a mixed bag that must be raided through with care and caution.

Occasionally, however, one finds a dress worth stopping to stare at. A dress worth gaping at and drooling over and crying about. That is the dress that I will continue to seek out. I vow to ignore every spray of sequins and jewel encrusted bodice in my way. I will find my dream dress or die trying (okay, not really, but you get the picture). In the end, finding a good prom dress is an intensely personal journey. It is not so much about finding a dress that everyone else will find commercially pleasing, but instead about finding something that works for your budget, your body (by which I mean that you feel comfortable in it - screw what other people say), and your life. Prom is a shared night, but the piece you come away with is intrinsically yours. Take ownership of that piece.