We’ve yet to enter a Target collaboration launch party that didn’t instantly make us smile, and last night’s soirée for stylist Kate Young’s new eveningwear collection was no exception. In fact, we’re kind of still smiling about it.
“There’s a little bit of a showgirl and a drag queen in me and I think that it’s much more fun to do [evening wear] than make a bunch of black pants,” Young told us of the collection.
With prom season upon us, we’ve been looking at the dresses from all different angles: What to wear, what not to wear, how to get the look.
For most celebrities, however, this routine is nothing new. Getting dolled up for a night of partying and red carpet stomping is just another part of the job–however, for young Hollywood actresses the routine is slightly different since they have designers clamoring to dress them.
We can’t imagine that any of the current hot young things are tired of getting dressed up just yet, so we’ve decided to dress a few of our favorite starlets (of a certain high school-ish age–we know some of them are over 18…) for prom in some looks from spring and fall.
Click through for a prom we are very interested in attending.
When we reported on the elaborate prom rules that several American high schools were enforcing, we assumed the school staff was being dramatic. We asked ourselves: Are teen girls really wearing navel-exposing prom dresses? Are they really wearing Dancing with the Stars-type gowns? Are there that many high school boys wearing canes to prom to necessitate a rule? (The answers: yes, yes, and yes)
After a quick perusal of the many prom dress sites out there, we realized they weren’t being dramatic at all: There is a huge amount of appallingly inappropriate (and just plain ugly) prom dresses out there. And if they’re being produced, they’re probably being purchased. And worn to prom.
From up-to-there slits, to belly tops (seriously), it’s truly shocking the amount of skanky crap that’s actually being designed and marketed as prom dresses. For teenage girls. Weirdest of all, despite all evidence to the contrary, these frocks don’t even come cheap: Some of them will set you back as much as $800.
So ladies, consider this a PSA: Please do not spend $800 on a diamond-bedazzled, slit-to-there, plunging v-neck monstrosity. You’ll thank us when you’re going through your prom pictures a few years later, trust us.
The imminence of prom season means we’ve been inundated with an array of press releases on the subject, one of which actually grabbed our attention because it involved, of all people, PR queen Kelly Cutrone. While we love her, she’s not exactly the first person we think of when we think about prom. She’s teamed Read more →
For most of us, our earliest memories of Prom happened on the big screen. Movies like Pretty in Pink, Carrie and Never Been Kissed (depending on your age) all probably played at least a minor role in your expectations of the big night.
And while some of those expectations may have been a wee misguided (we’ve never heard of a high school simultaneously breaking out into perfectly choreographed dance routines, for instance…) there’s one area that the movies do offer some valid inspiration for: The wardrobes
From Bella Swan’s classy teal gown, to Romy and Michelle’s hilarious Desperately Seek Susan outfits, relive some of the movie’s best prom outfits–and how you can update them for today.
It’s prom season, and even if it’s been, um, a long time since you’ve freaked out thought about prom, for high school students (and their parents’ wallets) it’s a big deal. USA Today (thanks for the heads up, Pat’s Papers!) looked at spending patterns for the average prom-goer, and the results are pretty surprising. First Read more →
Dress codes are not uncommon, but, as we’ve learned, they can sometimes be a little crazy. The high school ritual of prom has changed quite a bit since the days of corsages and traditional A-line bundles of pastel tulle from the ’50s and ’60s. If you’ve been to a prom in the last decade or Read more →
Even if your dream prom dress is a Chanel suit, most high school seniors don’t have the funds to make those doubleCCs happen. So we’ve put together a list of our favorite prom-worthy dresses at attainable price points. (And if you’re like us, aka way too old to go to the prom, these are also lovely for formal occasions.)
When I went to the prom over a decade ago, Marc by Marc Jacobs didn’t exist. Our options were thus: Caché, Jessica McClintock, BCBG and if your mom could afford it, Betsey Johnson. Of course many of us opted for vintage. I, for one, wore a gunmetal gown with a little black cardigan on top, inspired by a Calvin Klein ensemble Gwyneth Paltrow chose for a red carpet appearance in the late 1990s.
But then there’s Steff, who wore Marc Jacobs collection to her prom. (Yeah, that’s right. She wore the dress again last year to the Whitney Art Party. It’s amazing.) Leah spent a pretty penny, but wasn’t as happy with the results. “I bought (what I then considered) a very expensive beaded BCBG gown. I also thought it was the prettiest dress ever,” she says. “Then coming back from a boozy pre-graduation beach week in Delaware (which is some DC schools’ ritual) my friends and I stopped at a Loehmann’s and I bought a slutty, pink postage stamp of a dress for $50 and wore that instead.” Don’t worry though, she wore the pretty BCBG dress to a wedding, and had a fever on prom and went home early so the slutty tube dress didn’t get much play.
But even if we loved our dresses, there are so many amazing options out there now–from Target to Forever 21 to H&M–that we’re pretty sure we could have found something even better if we were graduating in 2011.
Are you going to prom this year? What will you wear? If prom was long ago, what would you choose if you could do it all over again?
Click through for our gallery of dream prom dresses. (Tomorrow, we’ll give you some real-life options.)
It’s prom time. Stores are full of floor length tafetta, there are stretch limos in Times Square and teen based TV shows are heading toward their high school gym. Which of course makes us think about our prom. I spent three weeks searching for the fifteen pound, multi-colored, wannabe Britney Spears costume that will haunt Read more →
We all know there’s been a ton of rumors lately that Richie Rich and Traver Rains are walking on separate yellow brick roads these days, but some recent developments might prove otherwise – First, the glitter boys shot a prom-themed spread for ELLEgirl with Lydia Hearst right after the rumors of their demise swirled Gossip Read more →
I’ve always meant to donate my prom dresses to someone or some organization. But I never know where or how, so my closet still houses one long, red gown and one short, black dress that I thought made me look exactly like Audrey Hepburn. I promised my parents I’d wear both again and again, but Read more →
