Whenever I think of the term ‘prom dress’, I think of the US college functions where the guys dress up in black tie and the girls wear colourful concoctions that nip in at the waist and then flare out, sometimes quite a bit. For some reason long gloves seem to go with these as well, although I suspect I’m way behind the times on that one, perhaps you can let me know. The Oscar de la Renta prom dress here (if you want to call it that) is superb but of course outrageously priced, as you would expect, much more reasonable is the deliciously draped skirt version by Monsoon. I’d have them both, by the way.
Although I am a lover of dresses that I consider a more flattering shape - less girly and much more straight and fitted, I happened to spot what immediately made me think of prom dresses (the shorter version) in my branch of House of Fraser yesterday. I was ever so slightly tempted to try it on. The fabric was pretty, it flattered the waistline and the skirt did flare out, but not too much. The problem was that there weren’t many occasions I could see myself wearing one, certainly not up to London for my next meeting, so I resisted. Glyndebourne is only a few months away I told myself sternly, just wait. Although if I did wear one of the dresses below to Glyndebourne you can probably guess, if you read previous posts, which one it would be……………(just joking).
For those who have garden parties to go to and like to look pretty and feminine this may be a perfect answer - in line with this season’s florals most of the time. Beware going above a size 12 though (or 14 depending on the designer and your height) or you could look a bit like a floral meringue.
The problem is to avoid anything that looks remotely like a bridesmaid dress, as many of them do and to accessorize your prom dress with a modern pair of sandals or platform courts. If you go too ‘retro’ which suits the look, you may end up looking frumpy. And leave off the gloves, unless you’re going to a wedding and feeling in the mood, of course.
If you haven’t already please don’t forget to sign up for our competition to win Karen Millen’s fabulous red bowler bag. The competition will end on March 20th at midnight.
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