Prom dress peril: the search for the perfect dress
Photo taken by Izzy Sareen ʼ22
Winged Monkey in Westport displays its prom dress collections, as schools in Fairfield County have both junior and senior proms coming up this spring. Some schools have a short dress theme for their prom, and others are choosing long dresses. These themes can even vary based on age. For example, at Staples, the junior girls are wearing short dresses to their prom while the senior girls are wearing long dresses.
Prom is one of the most grueling processes in the life of a teenage girl – figuring out heels, hair, nails, makeup and this list doesn’t even include transportation. However, by far the most stressful part of prom, the part that could make or break your night, the part that everyone will remember: the dress.
The difficult process of finding a dress has teens hopping from store to store and searching multiple websites.
“I searched maybe 50 different websites on the internet, and I still wasn’t able to find any style that looked good because I think the microtrends sometimes ruin the classiness of the dress,” Amy Hogan ʼ22 said. “ I wanted something simple and timeless, and I feel like everything online was too flashy for me,”
Locally, there are only a few stores that offer prom dress options. Popular shops include Apricot Lane Boutique in Fairfield, Guiliana’s Boutique in Fairfield and Winged Monkey Westport. There are also corporate stores as part of the Sono Collection in Norwalk, such as Nordstroms and Bloomingdales.
Options are limited even further, as there are Facebook groups where girls post their dresses to avoid matching.
“My prom dress shopping experience has been difficult so far, because it is still not over. People started posting their prom dresses in February, so I realized I had to start looking soon or stores wouldn’t have any good ones left,” Lena Pantzos ʼ22 said.
The worry of finding not only a comfortable but fashionable and affordable dress is one that many girls face.
“There is a pressure to be fashionable and stand out, so it is hard to find a dress,” Hogan said.
Some girls this year, however, had trouble-free prom dress shopping experiences, as they ordered a few dresses online and chose their favorite one.
“My prom dress shopping situation was pretty easy. I was able to find a few online that I liked, so that I didn’t have to shop in a store,” Sarah Thomas ʼ22 said.
