I have NO real concept of what a prom dress should cost. Every formal dress I've owned was made by my mother.


So its time for Syd to get her dress....this chick is totally for getting I'm her mother or something. She was looking at dresses around $350ish at first. I tried to remember if I smoked crack when I was pregnant and if that would explain what the hell she was thinking.

She found a dress for $250 and I still have an attitude. One of my co-workers who is only 23 told me that its a good price for a prom dress.


Is this about average? I'm really clueless.

I would be the same way for sure. I had to borrow the dress that my cousin wore the year before. My mom was a single parent so she said would you like to eat and have a place to sleep or a new dress.

I am sure that some parents allow their daughters to get dresses that cost $500 but you have to do what you feel comfortable with.
Your daughter is so beautiful that she could wear just about any dress and look amazing.

Wow..it is a good thing I am not a mom...she would hate me.

Well seeing as this is a special time in your daughter's life, if you can afford it, you should probably spend between $250-$300. If she loves her dress, she will feel gorgeous and special and that's what it's all about for someone her age. If you do spend that much try not to spend too much on shoes and accessories. Let her know that the dress is the main item and she will have to settle for less when it comes to shoes and other stuff.

Decide upon a budget or dollar amount you can afford and tell her that is it...if she wants/needs to spend more she will have to make the money herself or save for it.

That is what I did with both my step-daughters and they were OK with it....if you are not careful, prom can "break the bank", as they say....

And there are dresses for reasonable amounts...check out Macy's or Penney's or something. In Atlanta you can even rent really nice dresses, if that is what you want to do.

I'd say that $250 is about average. That's actually how much I paid for my senior prom dress.

I remember some years ago working in this store that sold mostly evening growns/dresses. I was amazed that parents were spending $800=$1000 plus for a dress.


My brain is just different than some. Heck, I wore a Calvin Klein nightgown to my 10th high school class reunion. No one had a clue.


My daughter would NEVER do that.


Thanks for the advice ladies.

that sounds like an extremely reasonable price.
I would be happy she found one she liked and it didnt cost more!

I used to find really fancy dresses marked down in the Dillard's sale racks.
I am not sure if you have one of those near where you live.

DUDE, be sure to check the sale racks & Macy's & Nordstrom too. I have no idea what prom dresses cost these days but it'd be nice to score something just under $200

that's still a lil high of a price, then again i'm cheap as hell so it was lots of fun to go shopping with my mom
then again, i designed and had my last dress made... and it did run about the same price too (if not less, about 150 - 200 with fabrics included) - you should give her that option too

just make sure it's something she can wear more than once
i wore the hell out of the dress i designed, partially because i was in love with it
still am, but my boobs got too big and well..

She's going to show me the dress this weekend.

We've done Macy's...nah.


I just wanted to know if that's average.


Plus staying away from the hoochie factor. lawd at these dresses.

sammij said:

That's what I regret about the dress that I bought. I wore it to prom and never wore it again. It's just hanging in my closet right now.




I looked damn cute that one time that I wore it though

jess555ja said:

that's why i designed one, it was something that wasn't cotton candy frilly up to the neck and it wasn't slutty on the other end either
maybe i'll get it altered so i can wear it again!

my mom would've died laughing if i asked for a $250 dress mine was like $100, i think.

That sounds about right for these days... if you both dig hard she may be able to find cheaper that she still loves, but if her heart's set on that dress, it's likely worth it.

Me - I borrowed a dress from a friend so my parents would pay for my boyfriend's tux rental (as he had no money and basically no parents) as well as my shoes and gloves and to get my hair done.

Rhondab said:

OMG, I can't believe some of the dresses I've seen lately I was in Macy's the other day looking at the dresses with my friend. I only went to prom 5 years ago, but these dresses are way different than what I was looking at when I was in high school

sammij said:

Mine was a strapless, silk dresses. It was gorgeous I just don't have an event to go to that I would need to dress up so much.



The dress doesn't fit me anyway My chesticles are too big now
[Edited 3/11/08 9:22am]

I think $250-$350 isn't too bad. I chaperone the prom every year, and these girls go all out!

What about transportation? Kids are renting stretch Hummers and party buses where I work.
(Hell, my uncle had a brand new Toronado back in '85, and he "chauffered" us! I thought I was the shit! )

jess555ja said:

don't you just hate that?!

evenstar said:

I asked her to runaway from home.....she said NOPE.

You may want to start by checking out www.nordstrom.com . I buy most of my clothes from them because you can search and find 100s of dresses often on sale and search within a certain price range. Also, it's really easy cuz shipping is only $5 and if it doesn't fit you can just return it to any Nordstrom store.

They have one of the best retail web sites. I usually buy 5 or 6 dresses at a time, try them on and return the ones I don't like to the store. (I hate going from store to store shopping and trying clothes on) Plus, I keep the ones I like and buy on an online wishlist and if the price goes down, they're real easy about doing price adjustments, even if I've had the item a month.

Good luck!
[Edited 3/11/08 9:34am]

Rhondab said:

sammij said:

Yeah!

jess555ja said:

I wouldn't know!

In the $100 dollar range sounds more reasonable to me but if my daughter picked a dress that was higher priced and it was perfect and she loved it, I'd probably buy it

chocolate1 said:

you're not missing out on much, trust


don't get me wrong, i love my girls but sometimes, they're just TOO much to handle

and you want to make sure you got a good handle on them when you're wearing something fragile like a prom dress

Rhondab said:

Yup - senior prom ?

Been through 3 of those with mine and about 3 more with dates with other s

So 250 - if it is her SENIOR prom doesn't seem like going over board

to me they guys get off easy with a 100$ tux and a few flowers - they usually split dinner costs here

is there a limo fee too ?

Mach said:

Its the boyfriend's senior prom...(Syd is a junior).....we still have to think about the hair....the plan is to add about a pound or two of hair

going for some version of Aaliyah's look

Honestly, $250 is a great price for a prom dress. My daughter had a friend whose parents spent $1500 on her Jr Prom dress! I thought that was nuts! Now I got off lucky with both of my girls, they are like me, they bargin shop. Christina dress, cost me $75 originally $275 and Jessica $100 orginally $300. I found both their dresses at Dillards.

I wish you the best of luck!

Rhondab said:

250 does sound bout right for just the dress - if it were HER senior prom I would consider spending more

hair, shoes, nails, and a handfull of other thigs will mak the cost rise too

damn good thing we love our daughters ( and sons )