School Prom vent....

Pollycat

pinkclouds wrote: »

Most parents won't spend over 700 quid on a senior school prom - that's just one extreme example. About a decade and a half ago, my prom dress was about 100 quid and, yes, I wore it once.

£100 15 years ago was a fair amount of money.

gingin_2

I think it's fine. If my daughter studies hard and behaves well then I will be happy to treat her. I was drinking in pubs and going to nightclubs at 16 and there is no way I would let my daughter do that, but a party in a semi-controlled environment with friends sounds fun.

Notakid, your daughter's dress is beautiful and her accessories are fab - I'm wearing a skull print scarf now, they're "in" so I hear

Dunroamin

janninew wrote: »

In your opinion, in mine a very appropriate lesson for 15/16 year old children to learn.

Some probably learn even younger when the expensive school trips come around, or after the Christmas holidays when some come back with the latest IPOD, IPAD etc.

I remember my Dad telling me when I was young that life wasn't fair and some had more than others.

There doesn't seem much point in spending 11 years in school uniform as an instrument of social equality, only to then turn round at the end of it all and have an occasion that shouts "I'm richer than you are"!

I'm surprised that schools don't do something to curb some of these excesses or to at least discuss the implications with the students. Hopefully some of them actually do this.

POPPYOSCAR

Dunroamin wrote: »

There doesn't seem much point in spending 11 years in school uniform as an instrument of social equality, only to then turn round at the end of it all and have an occasion that shouts "I'm richer than you are"!

I'm surprised that schools don't do something to curb some of these excesses or to at least discuss the implications with the students. Hopefully some of them actually do this.

Yes I agree.

I only found out today that one girl my daughter knows did not go because she could not afford a dress. She thought she would be alright about it until the day itself and then she really felt she was missing out.

If I had known I would have bought her one myself.

itzmee

I'm another mum who had it easy with my son's prom. It cost me £47 to hire a tuxedo complete with shirt, cuff links, bow tie, braces and shoes, £25 for the ticket and £10 spending money. He paid £30 himself towards hire of a limousine with his friends. He looked extremely handsome - just like a very young, tall lanky James Bond . He came home with horror stories of orange girls with big hair and bigger dresses looking like they were part of Big Gypsy wedding - he wasn't impressed!

POPPYOSCAR

itzmee wrote: »

I'm another mum who had it easy with my son's prom. It cost me £47 to hire a tuxedo complete with shirt, cuff links, bow tie, braces and shoes, £25 for the ticket and £10 spending money. He paid £30 himself towards hire of a limousine with his friends. He looked extremely handsome - just like a very young, tall lanky James Bond . He came home with horror stories of orange girls with big hair and bigger dresses looking like they were part of Big Gypsy wedding - he wasn't impressed!

Yes, boys are much easier!

My son was the same, hired the lot from Debenhams even got a student discount!! No hair, nails etc to worry about either!!

System

Wow, i am amazed by how much some people spend. :eek: i think my sisters probaly spent a lot for theur proms, but then they had their hair/fake tan/nails/etc done. Going back 10 years to my prom, my dress cost a fiver and i think i paid maybe £15 to hare a limo with friends. My friend's mum did my hair, and we didn't drink. And we had a great time.

If i was 10 years younger i still wouldn't spend much on it.

I also have the most awkward photo ever of myself from that very prom...:eek:

looby75

Pollycat wrote: »

It's the parents who can't afford it (and of course their children) who I feel for.

it doesn't HAVE to cost £100's though.

TKMax get a big selection of prom dresses in every year, that was where we were planning to get my daughters prom dress 3 years ago we saw a lovely cocktail dress for £30 that we were trying to get in her size from another branch, but in the meantime her grandparents wanted to buy her a dress from a boutique. It's a beautiful classic designed dress that she plans to wear again at her Uni ball.

We hired a limo between 8 of them which cost £31.25 each to take them to and from the prom, but other people just went in their parents cars.

My friend did her hair and make up for free, her shoes were bought in the sales for £7.50, her tiara was £5 off ebay her clutch bag, £5 from claires accessories in the sale, she wore earnings and a necklace that my mum got her the previous christmas.

So the total cost of prom for us (if we had got the £30 as originally planned) including her prom ticket (£20) was/would have been £99.25

One of my daughters friends paid even less as she borrowed her older sisters prom dress and did her own hair/makeup etc. She still looked fab and they all had a great time at the prom with lots of happy memoires of it.

jellyhead

notakid wrote: »

Thanks for asking!

This is her dress!


And this is her necklace.


She has also got a sequinned shrug to cover her arms! As I'm a fuddy duddy!

Wow that dress is gorgeous! Keep it for her to get married in

balletshoes

I don't really understand why, if you're not friends with the girls who are vying with each other to outdo on the cost of their dresses,hairdos, nails, tans etc etc, you'd be remotely bothered about them. If you are going to prom with your own friends, surely thats the important thing, and your friends aren't going to make snide comments about your dress if it didn't cost £500 (well, not if they are real friends).

My DD is 11, she's seen her best friend's big sister and our next door neighbour go off to their year 11 prom, both looking stunning in long dresses, hair and make-up done, little tiaras etc, and she can't wait to be doing the same, in a car with her friends. I know both the dresses (and a lot of the accessories) came from TKMaxx.