Prom Dresses--what did YOU wear?

[Carol in Cal.]

My grandmother had been my size and coloring back in the late 1920's.  She had a few formal dresses from that era that she had saved.

 

When my parents said that they would either buy me a dress or shoes, I picked new shoes because my one pair of nice heels had a bent shank, and I didn't know whether it would stand up to a night of dancing.  And I borrowed one of my grandmother's old formals and wore it.

 

In those days (1975), everyone wore long dresses to proms, no exceptions; and the two possible styles were either tight, shiny material from shoulder to floor, or floaty Gunny Sax dresses with lots of cotton and lace.  Both were hard to dance in.  You couldn't take a very big step in the shiny ones, and no one could see you move in the GSs (they were pretty wide and sack like, in a charming prairie girl kind of way).  So I felt really fortunate that my grandmother's dress was bias cut, and looked nicely formfitting down to the hip area, but then flared down the legs.  

 

I am sure that I looked really weird to most people, but I felt as grown up looking as I had ever been, and had a great time.

Edited April 26, 2016 by Carol in Cal.

[The Girls' Mom]

I was married, and didn't go to prom!   :lol:  :lol:  :lol:

[bettyandbob]

I didn't go to prom.

 

My sister wore a gunny sax dress. The bodice was a lace up corset sort of thing. 

[freesia]

My junior year I was asked at the last minute and wore a pretty fuscia spaghetti strap chiffon dress which I borrowed from a friend. In retrospect it was much much nicer than the dress I' my dreams which I wore the next year. That one was ice green princessy and poofey ( crinolines). The pix make me laugh. I went in 1984 & 1985.

[Guest]

I loved those Gunny Sax dresses, but I was still pre-teen when those were popular. My mother made some Gunny Sax-like dresses for my older sister's dances. When I got to high school, she made a couple like this for me, too. They were on their way out of style then, but I didn't really catch on to this fact for a while. My Junior Prom dress was ghastly. It was gigantic, with an overlay of lace in tiers at the bottom. It was a behemoth of blue satin and white lace and tulle! Gotta give credit to my mom for making it, though, because she did not have one pattern but figured it out from a couple patterns and some of her own made-up patterns.

 

Most of the minor dances, I wore used dresses that I did not pick out. They were okay, but in my memory, I was sad about them because I did not pick them out.

 

My senior prom dress was the only one that was amazing. My mother made that one, too, but it was a current pattern. The dress was a strapless sheath, very form-fitting, but with a ruffled tier that was at the knee in front and trailed to the ground in the back. The whole thing was magenta satin, and the ruffle was black satin. It was stunning.

 

ETA: grammar.

Edited April 26, 2016 by Quill

[clementine]

My junior prom dress (in the mid 80's) was a Jessica McClintock. mint lace, princess style, long dress.  I got shoes dyed to match.  I think it was $80 at JCP or someplace like that.  I loved it at the time.  :)

[AnnE-girl]

It was 1999. My dress was floor-length lavender taffeta with narrow straps and kind of a-line. It was prettier than I'm describing it. I would say that it was more elegant than my sister's short white dress with layers of lace from 1992. I could dance in it fairly comfortably. I wore it for a sorority formal in college too.

[musicianmom]

 Early 90s, rented sequined pageant-style dresses with dyed-to-match shoes were the thing. 

Edited May 21, 2022 by musicianmom

[freesia]

My junior prom dress (in the mid 80's) was a Jessica McClintock. mint lace, princess style, long dress. I got shoes dyed to match. I think it was $80 at JCP or someplace like that. I loved it at the time. :)

We probably matched. Lol

[ErinE]

I only went to two proms. 

 

My first dress was a red beaded spaghetti strap for similar to this (vintage!) one:

http://prom.unique-vintage.com/retro-style-red-sequin-beaded-fitted-mini-dress.html?gclid=CjwKEAjwgPe4BRCB66GG8PO69QkSJAC4EhHh9HLHrIGB7X_fDCLR1MzeoB3oJus-pHoPFB0HZYYzvxoCTiLw_wcB#

 

My other dress was a black halter cocktail dress very similar to the Marilyn Monroe white dress in Seven Year Itch.

[Carol in Cal.]

My junior prom dress (in the mid 80's) was a Jessica McClintock. mint lace, princess style, long dress.  

Jessica McClintock was the Gunny Sax designer, and the rest is history!

[JFSinIL]

didn't go.  But both my dds went The youngest special ordered a lovely royal blue gown with the top covered in crystals = if I had a clue how to post an image I would.

[PeachyDoodle]

My grandmother wanted to do something nice and surprised me with a dress. It was horrible but I couldn't make myself hurt her feelings. So I went to my junior prom in a hunter-green monstrosity with a full skirt, short sleeves, and a sash. It was 1996. I couldn't have looked more out of place.

 

Senior year I had a floor-length, glittery, navy blue gown that was so in style the first girl I saw when I walked in was wearing it.

 

Prom: 2, Peachy: 0

[Garga]

In 1989, when I went to an older boyfriend's sr prom, I wore a dress my mom bought me from JCPenney. The only reason we picked that dress was because it was the cheapest. It was ugly. In 1989, lots of girls still wore Scarlett O'Hara style dresses. Mine wasn't that puffy. It was a bit puffy, but not too puffy and the material was really stiff. So stiff that when i turned in my dress to get out of my date's truck, I moved but the dress didn't and I flashed him my books. He was a gentleman and quickly turned away.

 

In 1990, when I went to my own sr prom, I borrowed a short black fringed flapper-style dress. It was awesome. I loved it. I looked awesome in it.

 

In 1991, when I went to a younger boyfriend's prom, I wanted to look like the woman in White Christmas when she dances with Danny Kay after singing "Sisters." My mom had a friend who sewed and she worked really hard to make me a dress that was supposed to look like the dress in the movie. But it didn't. It was kind of ugly and cheap looking. It wasn't soft and fluffy like in the movie. But she worked soooo hard! So, I got out my best acting chops and pretended to be delighted with the dress. I must have done a good job because the lady called my mom and said, "It was SO MUCH WORK making that dress, but when I saw the way Garga's face lit up when she saw it, it was all worth it."

 

ETA: I hated proms. Hated the entire idea of them. I have no idea how I ended up at three of them. I was pretty flabbergasted at the time, when I found myself attending three different proms. :)

 

ETA: I have no idea where they ended up. The black one was given back. The two pink ugly ones probably sat in my closet for a couple of years then got donated to Goodwill.

Edited April 26, 2016 by Garga

[Dmmetler]

We probably matched. Lol

Mine was similar, but in pale blue. I have senior photos of me in that dress, with a lace parasol :)

[Guest]

I was invited at 2pm and ready to go by 5 pm. :0)

A simple white a-line dress of eyelet cotton. Puffy sleeves. A very innocent-looking dress which was pretty much spot on. I wore it to graduation and to my sister's graduation

 

The funny story for me was the dress I wore in my sister's wedding--deep royal blue parachute cloth. I loved that dress. And I wore it to FIVE proms--as a chaperone. :0)

[Pink and Green Mom]

One year I had this pink and white striped Gunne Sax https://www.pinterest.com/pin/412642384581558689/

 

This one another year https://img0.etsystatic.com/024/1/6858326/il_570xN.526183126_62ov.jpg

 

And I had a custom made dress for senior prom in 1988.  I'm sure it was as lovely (heavy sarcasm) as these others, LOL. 

 

Oh and at least one year I had big NJ mall hair.

[Kathryn]

I have a picture!

 

1997

 

[SKL]

I had a dread of dances, so I skipped the prom.  I went to the "after-prom" in jeans.

[KarenNC]

One year I had this pink and white striped Gunne Sax https://www.pinterest.com/pin/412642384581558689/

 

 

 

OK, take this photo, but with the underdress in medium pink overlaid entirely in white eyelet caught up at the bottom to show the underskirt (over hoops), with the off the shoulder bertha collar also white eyelet. Very Southern belle.

[FaithManor]

I didn't go to the prom because I was at a music audition. There was a reception after the audition and I wore a black evening dress, low heels, updo. It was the 80's so unfortunately, while the dress without sleeves would be fairly classic, it had the buffont short sleeves. Sigh....the puffs...not attractive.

[shawthorne44]

I graduated in 1988, but my first prom was also my first date in 1986.   I wore a white organza gown with a giant skirt that could have also served as a debutante dress, or a Queen's coronation of a small country.  It was an amazing dress.   I also had some of the pastel and lace things as prom dresses.  But it is that white one I still love.  We went shopping late because I met the guy late.  I think the only reason it was still available was because it was on a mannequin and no one else asked for it to be removed. 

[Tap]

I only went to one in the late 80s.  I was a party girl, so formal dances were not my thing. I was going with a guy friend who wanted to go, so I didn't want to spend a lot.

 

The one I did go to, I wore a short black and silver party dress. It wasn't the poofy 80s style prom dress.  The top was strapless and was black with silver brush-strokes over it.  The bottom was a a couple layers of satin ruffles. It was much more rocker style, than prom style. LOL. I found a matching bolero jacket that made it look a little more sophisticated, so I could get in the door to the prom. We went to the prom for an hour or less, and then moved on to an all night party.  So the dress, and I definitely had a fun night.  :001_cool:

 

  My adult cousin borrowed it from me several times to wear out to nightclub/New Years Eve parties. I think I finally just gave it to her, she loved that dress!

[katilac]

In 1989, when I went to an older boyfriend's sr prom, I wore a dress my mom bought me from JCPenney. The only reason we picked that dress was because it was the cheapest. It was ugly. In 1989, lots of girls still wore Scarlett O'Hara style dresses. Mine wasn't that puffy. It was a bit puffy, but not too puffy and the material was really stiff. So stiff that when i turned in my dress to get out of my date's truck, I moved but the dress didn't and I flashed him my books. He was a gentleman and quickly turned away.

 

In 1990, when I went to my own sr prom, I borrowed a short black fringed flapper-style dress. It was awesome. I loved it. I looked awesome in it.

 

 

 

 

I went full-on Scarlett O'Hara. On purpose. I picked out the pattern and material and my mom made the dress, I have no valid excuse. It was definitely only worn the once, because not many events are conducive to the Gone with the Wind look.  

 

Funnily enough, my dd just went to her senior prom in a short red fringed flapper-style dress! The fringes had real beads and it weighed a ton. It was awesome. She loved it. She looked awesome in it  :coolgleamA:

[jewellsmommy]

1997.  Dark green, velvet top & the rest taffeta, off the shoulder, sweetheart neckline, kind of A-line/empire waist.

 

Dh was my date. We were engaged at the time.

[Kathryn]

1997. Dark green, velvet top & the rest taffeta, off the shoulder, sweetheart neckline, kind of A-line/empire waist.

 

Dh was my date. We were engaged at the time.

Us too, same year.

[gardenmom5]

I didn't go.

2dd wore beaded short sleeve tunic top style dress with a chiffon skirt.  I don't remember  1dd's - but it was similar.  and yeah - something water would have ruined.

[heartlikealion]

I still have it. It wasn't a real "prom" dress, but it's what I wore. I wore it again to other nights out when I dressed gothic more often. I wore it with black heels that had some sort of raised design on the back of the heel that looked gothy to me. Yeah, I know, I'm weird.

[Bluegoat]

I wore a dress that had belonged to my mother.

 

It was black and off the shoulder, very Spanish looking with a full skirt.  It had large flowers which were actually painted on the dress in red and white with yellow and green details.

 

I think it was really beautiful and unusual, and also extremely comfortable.

 

ETA - this must have been 1996 I guess.

Edited April 26, 2016 by Bluegoat

[EMS83]

Gosh, I haven't thought about prom in years and years.  Ummm in 2000 and 2001, I wore strapless ballgown style dresses.  I haven no idea how "in" that was.  I was not ever "in."  I wore crushed velvet goth-style dresses to the 1998 and 1999 fall Homecoming dances.  See, I was eclectic even then!   :lol:

[OhanaBee]

The year was 1987.  Oh how I loved my prom dress!  It was a Gunne Sax, found at an outlet store [back when they really were a bargain] for $25.  Totally Scarlett O'Hara, right down to the exact print of her first dress in the movie [though the skirt wasn't quite so poofy].  I also went full-on Princess with the lace gloves [thank you, Madonna for bringing those back!].  My mom loved the dress, too, since her tomboy daughter actually wanted to look like a girl [even wore makeup - Mom's greatest triumph!]  I wore that dress 4 times in 6 months.  Two dances [different schools], and two events with my Dad [film industry]. 

 

The dress is still with me - in the old dress-up box.  ;)  It's seen a lot of use over the years.

[kewb]

I didn't go to my prom but it was the eighties. Big hair, poofy, shiny dresses, big jewelry was what my friends were wearing.

[J-rap]

Oh, Gunny Sax dresses!  So funny to hear that name again.  That brand isn't even around anymore, is it?  I wore one to our school's "Harvest Ball" -- ha.  I look at it now and it looks more like a medieval nightgown.  

 

The first year I went to prom, I wore a long formal dress that I had just received as a spring birthday present from my aunt in another state.  I don't think I had even been asked to the prom yet.  I think she bought it at a bridal store that went out of business.  It was long with stiff, satin-like fabric in a light beige, with capped sleeves and a kind of high waist and a little bit of a poof for the skirt part.  I think it had colorful embroidery on it.  :)

 

The next year, my family took our first big vacation (other than traveling across the country to visit relatives) and flew to Hawaii.  I bought a long Hawaiian dress (nothing fancy -- more like a beachside dress) with my Baskin Robbins job money and wore that to the prom.

 

My senior year, my mother bought me a dress.  (She almost always made my clothes otherwise.)  It was long and pink with spaghetti straps, very simple, and came with a matching shawl.  My four girls wore that when they played pretend for many years!  

 

As you can see, our prom was for any high school age, as long as one person of the couple was a junior or senior.

 

 

 

[alisoncooks]

I only went to two proms. 

 

My first dress was a red beaded spaghetti strap for similar to this (vintage!) one:

http://prom.unique-vintage.com/retro-style-red-sequin-beaded-fitted-mini-dress.html?gclid=CjwKEAjwgPe4BRCB66GG8PO69QkSJAC4EhHh9HLHrIGB7X_fDCLR1MzeoB3oJus-pHoPFB0HZYYzvxoCTiLw_wcB#

 

 

1996 - I had one like the above dress, in purple, with glittery shoes to match. :D

1997 - a simple black mermaid style, silver spaghetti straps

1998 - reddish pink, sequined top, fluffy sheer layers on bottom

[happypamama]

I went to four proms in four years: my boyfriend's junior and senior, then my junior and senior.  (A very long-suffering boyfriend to put up with all of that, LOL.  Eh, I've put up with a fair number of his crazy ideas in twenty-five years, but my favorite tux that he ever picked out is still his wedding tux.)  My dresses are in a huge bag in the attic; they are teal, royal blue, peach and black (that was probably my favorite), and light blue and white.  At my high school, it was traditional for senior girls to wear white dresses to the prom, to the extent that some even got wedding gowns.  Yeah, no, not my thing, so I went with light blue instead.

[Matryoshka]

Jessica McClintock was the Gunny Sax designer, and the rest is history!

 

I didn't go to my prom, but I sewed by own Gunne Sax dress (yes, that's the correct spelling) for high school graduation from a Jessica McClintock pattern.  Only time I've sewn my own bias tape (so the pattern matched)...

Edited April 26, 2016 by Matryoshka

[Ellie]

I wore a formal, because in those days, proms were formal events: young men wore evening dress (aka tuxedos) and young women wore formals (floor-length swishy dresses).

 

I still have my dress, BTW. :-)

[Harriet Vane]

We had a banquet, not prom. (And incidentally, we loved it! The juniors made an elaborate theme and the faculty+staff put on a hilarious play each year. My first one was a 1920s speak-easy, complete with bouncers carrying violin cases and a secret tunnel. My second one was a medieval castle that included an entire indoor garden with goldfish creek and a swordfight. Good times.)

 

I was genuinely poor during those years. The first year, I went shopping the day before and found one dress for $25. It was pale blue satin with a sweetheart neckline and a lace overdress. A friend's mom saw that it didn't quite fit and altered it for me, bless her. The second year, I made my own dress as a home ec project. It was modeled on a bridesmaid dress. Royal blue satin, sweetheart neckline with spaghetti straps AND off-the-should poofy short sleeve, dropped waist, with a higher skirt from than the back. It was so elegant, and I felt so beautiful.

 

When dd found it as a little girl, I let her play with it. She spent years with that dress in her dress-up box.

[sassenach]

I was married, and didn't go to prom! :lol: :lol: :lol:

Yo!

I was 9 months pregnant and didn't go. :lol: Dh, who was not yet Dh, tried to talk me into it, but I was not having that.

[Alice]

1988- My dress was not very 1980s. It was some kind of silky material but not taffeta. Kind of a dusty pink, very plain in the front, high neckline, back had three big bows over the closures (I guess that part was pretty 1980s). 

 

1989- Senior girls had to wear white to our prom. My dress was lace over a silky bottom layer. Very straight drop waist skirt. High necked lace collar and long all lace sleeves. I wore it again junior year of college to a dance where we all had to wear white. 

 

 

[slackermom]

1985, #1: white lace drop-waisted flapper style dress, with fingerless lace gloves, ala Madonna.

1985, #2: white strapless silk dress that I sewed. Tea length skirt. Bright blue plastic high heels.

1986, #1: peach brocade, thin straps, the skirt had many layers of ruffles, with the bottom layers removable. I chose not to wear all the ruffle layers, so it stopped mid-shin.

1986 #2: pale green metallic floor length dress, one strap, which had a big wing-like poofy thing on it. Shimmer dust in my hair. It was the 80s.

[Dmmetler]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/375296795475?itmmeta=01HRK8VGP846SP9Y3AGK4BM64T&hash=item57616ea353:g:Up8AAOSwj9Nl6R2T

 

This is pretty close to mine. I have senior pictures in it with a lace parasol 🙂 

[Laura Corin]

Zombie thread.

Edited March 10 by Laura Corin

[KungFuPanda]

On 4/25/2016 at 9:30 PM, clementine said:

My junior prom dress (in the mid 80's) was a Jessica McClintock. mint lace, princess style, long dress.  I got shoes dyed to match.  I think it was $80 at JCP or someplace like that.  I loved it at the time. 🙂

I think I wore this dress. The first time as a bridesmaid and next to a prom. I also wore a peach satin-and-lace thing with spagetti straps, a bubble skirt, and dye-matched shoes. I thought they both looked amazing . . . at the time. 
 

My daughter was born with an actual sense of style so her prom photos will age better than mine. 🤣

[Halftime Hope]

I went to a school where everyone had to attend the "formal", date or not. The girls and guys who didn't want to date hung out in buddy groups, and generally did their best to get away with the least amount of dressing up they thought they could get away with.  I wanted a pretty dress, so I bought a Vera Wang pattern and sewed a cream colored satin sheath with a bias-cut overskirt and matching shawl that one could add or take off at will. (The word shawl sounds terrible, but the whole ensemble was pretty.) I had just gotten back from Spring break and worked hard on a tan, so it didn't look terrible, but, in hindsight, I don't know why I thought cream was a good color. At the time, I was tall, thin, and had long brunette hair, so it wasn't bad compared to what was in style. But it certainly wasn't what everyone else was wearing!

[J-rap]

Oops, zombie thread!

Edited March 10 by J-rap

[klmama]

I attended prom all four years. Gunne Sax and similar prairie style dresses with shoulder straps were popular then, so that's what I wore. One dress was all white, and my cousin got married in it a few years later.  

ETA:  Shawls were hugely popular with these dresses!  Most were light, single-layer, machine-crocheted triangles with long fringe along the angled sides.  Mine had a big rose in the middle, all white like the rest of it.  I got so many compliments.  Of course, dancing with a floor-length dress and a shawl doesn't end up working well, so the shawls usually ended up draped over a chair next to the too-high heels we short girls all tried to wear so we didn't have to hem our store-bought dresses.  Instead, many ended up holding up the skirts a bit while dancing, LOL! 

Edited March 12 by klmama

[KungFuPanda]

Dammit

[Carol in Cal.]

7 hours ago, Laura Corin said:

Zombie thread.

But still turning out to be a good one.

[alysee]

May 2004. My husband and I at 17 and 18yo.