Daughters Prom - Special but Cheap any ideas

emilyt

I had the same problem with both my DD's.
I bought their dresses off ebay. Think the name of the shop was Cherlone.Cost about £20 and looked as good if not better than ones bought from debenhams at £150.
Bought her shoes from New Look. One had black with diamontes on and the other wanted silver ones. Cost no more than £20. Also found a handbag in there. If you start looking now you should be able to still find some in the sales.
My DH took them both to the prom with a couple of friends in my FIL Merc. He put a white cover in the back seat and it looked really good.
With my DD1 i ended up doing make-up for her and her 3 friends. They really enjoyed it. Another mother did their hair.And another one did their nails. None of us are proffessionals just practised before hand. You really don'y have to spend a fortune.
It is one night.The fact that they are having a special night out with their friends is what makes the evening.
Just make sure you give her some money for drinks. My DD1 paid to go and we thought everything was included. Unfortunately the drinks wasn't pre paid for.
I am sure she will have a great night out.

Maysie

just be carefull if you buy a dress aborad their may be tax to be paid on top.

Teresa60

Some of the "nicer" charity shops may have some good dresses. People only wear them once and they are given to charity shops. Do you have a "freecycle" site local to you? Ask on there, someone may have a dress they are just wanting to give to someone special!!!

Or if you have any nectar vouchers they can be spent in Debenhams, thats where I saved some money for a dress for my daughter.

Teresa60

Another thought, is there a dress hire shop in your town? I know some of the boys hired suits for their prom.

numberonemummy

my dd got her dress from tx max, we paid £30 for it,
it's navy silk, halterneck with crystal studs round the edge, with lace-up bit at the back, very sophisticated and not a puff in sight !
she never told her mates where she got it from, said a small boutique near her aunts !
they all went to debenhams, all ended up all paying £120 each for a normal dress and they all had very similar dresses on the night,
got a nice blue crystal necklace in monsoons accessorize, blue feather sticks for her hair etc,
10 shared the limo, i think they paid £25 each for pick up from 1 address and then drop back at their own homes,
she looked lovely, her total came to about £50, most of her mates £250, but all the teachers loved her dress, said it was really nice and different (it wasn't a pink or lilac puffy one !)
If you have enough time start looking in tk max now, esp. as they will have all the xmas stuff left over in the sales etc.
We took loads of pics, made a collarge ?? picture with loads of pics in a big frame, but most kids nowadays put their pics on their own websites, our holiday ones from xmas are on the net for all to see (:eek: )

just made me feel really old as she looked so grown up !

Mum-2-4

Last year around this time I was in TKMAXX & a load of school girls were in the changing rooms trying on dresses for their prom, they all looked amazing.
They had lots of different styles, colours etc, for £25 plus.
Well worth a visit.

HOWMUCH

I get all my Ball dresses from E Bay search for debut or monsoon and you will get good quality dresses at a fraction of the original price. Look out for the key wording worn once and don't for get to look at bridesmaid dresses too

jopsey

I would too suggest tk maxx I use to buy all of my cruising dresses from ther fab dresses but if I was you I would buy it asap then the stock would have changed by the time its the prom and your DD can be assured she is the only one wearing that dress

If you need a wrist corsage pm I can sort you one out

No_Future

TK Maxx have fab dresses. I bought one for my leavers ball for £19.99 (was £150!!) it's not over the top, it's sophisticated and could be worn again on a smart occasion. I can't wait to wear it!

I got last year's prom dress from the Debenhams clearance. At the end of their sale they had 50% on top of sale prices so my dress was about £8 from £85+. I had so many compliments on it too!

For dress and accessories: TK Maxx and department store clearances! Keep going to TK Maxx as their stock changes regularly and good buys go fast! The day I got my dress there were a few in stock but by the next day they had been snapped up!

Why not get some BOOTS bargains (e.g. fake tan, waxing strips, nice moisturiser products she loves/will use) and put them in a pretty box/bag as a prom treat so she can use them to get ready?

As suggested, book a consultation with a beauty counter (her fave brand) and say she is wanting to purchase some products for her prom, can they suggest colours etc. So they'll do her makeup and you don't have to buy anything. Or you could buy a lipstick/gloss just to touch up later that evening! Make sure you go to a store that is open until late so she can get herself done near to prom time. (Debenhams/Boots for Nectar/Boots points). n.b. it is worth getting an experienced/skilled makeup artist to do this - see how THEIR own makeup looks beforehand.

Whoa, £285 for a dress? I could never afford that and my parents would NEVER buy me that!

ps. I remember reading about free beauty treatments with Tampax e.g. manicures. If you do a search, maybe you could look into that. I think there were manicures and stuff.

Sallys_Savings

Thank you for all your replies....it looks as if TX Maxx is going to be our first stop.

We've decided against ebay, eventhought there is some beautiful dresses out there. A friend has just brought one off ebay and eventhough it looked lovely off when she put it on, it was very disappointing.

Just looked at the tampax beauty treatments and there are no salons in our area

I'm going to start collecting freebies for a pamper basket and have a few practice sessions with her hair.

Still stumped for an alternative for the limo though...any ideas??