Now, you think that this specific type of dress shopping would be a fun mom-daughter bonding experience... and it can be, but I can also tell from personal experience (this was not my first Prom Dress rodeo), it can be an exhausting and stress-inducing situation. Let me explain our Saturday...
We first went to Macy's. While we found some cute dresses, nothing popped. We decided to cut-to-the-chase and just make the trip to the mecca of Prom Dresses -- a high-end Prom Dress shop (yes, those do exist) that would allow my girl to get a feel for what style dress she would like.
My mistake.
We tried to go for as inexpensive as possible -- which at this store is basically a $250 marked-down dress. They carry dresses that cost anywhere from the $250 dress to over $900. FOR PROM. And people were snapping them up -- WTF???
Second, it was a black/white combo which, while beautiful, did not flatter my daughter's pale complexion and hair. It was pretty, just not knock-your-socks-off pretty on her.
Third, the price...it was $250 - the cheapest dress we had found that she liked. Now, don't get me wrong, if it WAS a knock-your-socks-off kind of dress, I would be happy paying $250 for my girly to have the prom dress of her dreams. But $250 for meh and additional $$ for alterations? Again, a big ol' NO.
And finally, as she tried on at least 5 dresses, each one getting more expensive, I was starting to break a sweat. I was terrified she would fall in love with a $400 dress.
I had to get out of there. I was getting stressed. The peer pressure of all these other moms oohing and aahing as their daughters came out and modeled dresses over $500 was vomit-inducing. There was not a single person in there freaking out over price, except for me. I overheard many a mom saying something along the lines of "Now, let's just not tell your dad how much the dress costs. Once he sees you in it, it won't matter." WHAT THE HELL??? Nope, nope, nope. Not gonna do it. Oh, and also -- ALL SALES ARE FINAL. That's right. You get home with that pricey dress and Dad pitches a fit? Ooops, sorry daddy, because I CAN'T RETURN IT. I'm sure that went over well with a load of dads this weekend.
So, anyhoo, I told my girly we would put the dress on hold, but would go to another shop or two to see what else we could find. I could tell she was not happy. We went to the other shop and tried on at least a dozen dresses. I got a dozen responses full of attitude and sass because my lovely daughter thought the other dress was 'IT'. She was not open to anything else at this point. I was spent. We left the shop and had a tense discussion on the way home. The hubs and I had been talking and decided we were not going to buy that other dress, because in the end, it would be just be too expensive. This prom is her Junior prom, not Senior prom, and she is going with a friend, not a boyfriend. Not spending top $ on that situation.
Luckily, we got home without anybody completely melting down and I took a breather. There had to be other options out there. I told our lovely girly we would go out again on Sunday, but she wanted to try again at the mall. Fine. Let's just get it done...
And then, we found it. THE DRESS. (cue the angels singing...) At Carson's, no less.
It was perfection on her. Flattering fit, no alterations needed. Flattering color -- blush, which enhanced her porcelain skin and blonde hair. And the price? $149.00!!! DONE!
As we got to the register, I thought, "I wonder if Carson's has any coupons out there?" I looked them up online and BINGO! There was a coupon -- $50 off a $100 or more purchase. WHATT?!?!?!!?
So we got the dress. For $99.00. The universe heard me and came through. And my daughter?? She couldn't be happier. Me too. All is well again.
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