Prom Dresses UK 2015
1. The ‘promposal’
Once upon a time lads had to pluck up the courage to ask their date to the disco without a fanfare. Now there’s a much more an elaborate way to find a date, with a whole ritual around saying I do. Some have even hired police style cars with their sirens blaring and ‘arrested’ the potential date and taken them to the proposal site.
2. Saying yes to the dress
Forget a trip to C&A or Tammy Girl for your frock, now there’s a whole industry around prom dresses – and no two dresses can be the same. Betty Nelson from Bridesworld in Wallasey says: “We keep a log. When a girl buys a dress we note down what style it is, what colour and which school she goes to. These girls are paying a lot of money and you don’t want them turning up on prom night and finding another girl wearing the same dress. We don’t even sell the same style in a different colour.”
3. Suits you sir
While the girls have their gowns, the lads have to scrub up too, with smart suits. But Betty says that boys are more easily pleased than girls: “They are happy if I cut a bit of fabric off the bottom of a dress to make a dickie bow to match their partner.”
4. Face the music
It’s not just about dresses. Up-dos, facials, manicures and pedicures, and fake tans add to the overall cost of a prom, with packages available at around £100 in many Merseyside salons.
5. Colours of the rainbow
Simple chiffon and pale pastel and nude shades have all been big over the last few years, but gone are the Gypsy-Wedding style, fuller dresses that we saw a few years ago. That’s a reason to be cheerful, at least.
6. The car’s the star
Forget the old stretch limos. Many teenagers are now rejecting the cliche in favour of Rolls Royces, Bentleys, Ferraris and Lamborghinis, all of which can be hired by prom-goers – for a fee.
7. The prom fayre
Proms are now such big business that like weddings, they have their own events where teenagers can go and get ideas as well as sourcing items for the big day. This weekend there’s one at Aloft hotel on North John Street, running from 11am-4pm, with free entry.
8. They’re getting younger
“We are starting to see 11-year-olds having junior proms now,” says Betty. “It’s gorgeous when you see the girls all dressed and looking beautiful, and sometimes we will get four girls, friends, coming in together and having great fun trying on the dresses.”
9. Before and after
Like the Oscars, it’s all about the pre-parties – where groups of lads and girls get ready for the big night together, as well as after-parties, where the fun can last all night. Girls are now looking for separate after-party dresses for a different look after midnight.
10. It starts earlier every year
Get planning because the countdown is already on. The hunt for the perfect frock begins from January onwards as the shops take delivery of the latest looks and the girls begin the hunt. Betty says: “It’s crazy. It has really grown over the last few years. For mums it’s definitely a pre-run of how manic their daughter’s wedding day is going to be – except with teenagers it’s worse!”
