5 Tips to Help Your Teen Find the Perfect Prom Dress

The search for the perfect prom dress looms over the heads of trendy teens and wise mothers everywhere. Daughters want to emulate their favorite celebrity starlets. Their protective moms want to select pretty dresses that say classic Miss America rather than sexy hoochie.

Note to Mom: Pick the color that complements your daughter's skin tone and hair color first.

Most young women start ripping prom dress designs out of Seventeen magazine without considering the best colors for their skin tone. If pink is your color, remain faithful to the hue. Nothing looks worst that a beautiful girl in a dress that washes out her complexion or fights with her hair color. This essential style rule not only applies to prom dresses, but to every other garment in her teen closet. Your daughter deserves a dress that will be the envy of her group of friends and render speechless all of her high school foes.

Does this make me look fat? Leave it on the rack or use a seamstress alternative.

Fit is the next important element when selecting the perfect prom dress. If your daughter is pear shaped or has an hourglass build, find a figure flattering silhouette a la Beyonce Knowles or Jennifer Lopez. Don't hide her curves. Celebrate them. Boost a boyish girly figure with a column dress that will elongate and flatter her long and lean frame. Use Cameron Diaz or Nicole Kidman for inspiration. My fabulous mother had my entire prom dress collection inexpensively made to order. A local seamstress whipped up prom creations for less than $100 dollars. If cost is your concern, find a dressmaker who can design the dream prom dress at a bargain price.

Have several pictures of prom dress ideas in hand before you start shopping.

Nothing makes an eager commissioned salesperson's day than a clueless mother and daughter duo shopping for a dress. If you've followed my first two rules then you are more than prepared. You know what the perfect color is for your daughter. What dress flatters her figure? Can she move or dance in the dress? You've got all the answers. Walk into any store with confidence and don't be swayed by the flattery of the sales associates and other mothers. Start shopping a minimum of 2 months before the prom. Most importantly, the wrong prom dress choice will last a lifetime in the photographs. Pick wisely.

Rocker chicks and goth girls deserve a perfect prom dress too.

Your princess' fashion choices may not be on par with your motherly prom dress dreams. Compromise is the key to ending the longstanding fashion feud brewing between a conservative mom and her edgy daughter. When she chooses the black dress, suggest white or red accessories to elevate her fashion style. Remind her that although Elvira and Lily Munster might be her preferred style icons, she has a chance to be a classically stylish girl for one enchanted evening. Show her pictures of famous rocker Avril Lavigne's wedding dress for inspiration.

Just say no to the sexy prom dress.

In the age of visible thongs, sexy abs and celebrity style, its terribly difficult parenting a daughter with numerous messages of sex and sensuality everywhere. Is your darling daughter begging to try a plunging neckline or see-through dress? Steer her fashion aspirations towards a strapless gown or a waist cinching garment. Show your prom princess that she can be beautiful, trendy and age appropriate without compromising her femininity.

Other than finding the perfect wedding dress, no other garment receives more angst among women than selecting the perfect prom dress. Use these tips to make the prom a fashionable night to remember for your daughter. I look at my 80's prom pictures with a smile because the fit, color and style of my mermaid dress was beautiful. My dress was sheer perfection. It's my choice of prom date that I want to forget.