27 Prom Dresses: the Search to find ‘The One’

by Dalton Sanchez ‘15

Just the anticipation for prom is simply exhilarating: the dance, the pictures, the shoes, the limo.

And, for girls, the dress. Prom dresses have a sort of sentimental value for girls which may increase the pressure to find the perfect one. For some the search for the ideal prom dress starts very early. “Someone created a Facebook group where everyone puts their dresses that they’re deciding to get. It really made it speed up the process because you need to get a dress before all the good ones are gone,” explained senior Nicole Tarloff.

The ‘2014 Prom Dresses’ group on Facebook mostly has been successful in ensuring that no one at Sherwood purchases the same dress. There are hundreds of pictures of dresses posted by all the girls attending prom this year. Last year’s graduated senior girls are also in the Facebook group, not because they’re attending prom again but to get rid of their old prom dresses. The graduated senior post pictures of their old dresses and sell them for reasonable prices, which is convenient for girls who do not want to spend a fortune.

While searching for the perfect dress, girls stumble upon price tags. New dresses usually range anywhere from around $200 to $700. It seems logical that the best dresses would be expensive, but girls have found inexpensive ways to find quality prom dresses. In addition to buying used dresses from graduated seniors, online shopping offers an alternative and cheaper route for prom-dress shopping. “I ordered a dress online and it wasn’t too expensive but I love it so much,” said senior Erin Bailey.

Some girls come across scam websites such as dreamprom.com, 21shoppers.com and cheapgowns.com along their journey to the perfect prom dress. “Girls should really buy dresses in a real store because you can see how the dress looks in person and scam websites rip people off big-time,” said senior Elaine Peters.

Ordering a dress a few months before prom and having it arrive as if it was made in two minutes is very stressful for senior girls. “I ordered a dress off a scam website, not knowing it was one, and it came in looking like a four-year old made it,” said senior Makayla Roy. After receiving a horrendous scam dress, scrambling to find a new one that no one else has is difficult as prom gets closer and closer.

As prom is the last big event for seniors before graduation, finding a dress should not be an anxious and hectic experience. The ‘2014 Prom Dresses’ Facebook group has decreased the stress levels and helped the girls to informally work together to create a prom night to remember.