Frugal Ideas to Create a Fairytale Prom Dress

Prom night can be a memorable, once in a lifetime evening to enjoy dancing, dressing up, and socializing. While there are several designers and stores set up to help you find the perfect dress for a huge wad of cash, there are several other ways to get a memorable gown at a price you can afford. Throughout four years of high school, I used various methods to find my gown and my most memorable one years later wasn't the one I paid a fortune for at the boutique.

One of the first things you can do is let your friends and family know you are shopping for a prom dress and that you would like to stay within a budget. One formal dance, a friend I worked with had just gotten married and her sister loaned me a gorgeous royal blue gown that she had worn as bridesmaid. It worked perfectly and looked beautiful for the event. Another time, my neighbor had five grown daughters. Her basement was full of cast off formal gowns. I went down and selected one and she put the time into updating and adjusting it for the big event. Together we sewed rose garnishments across the bodice, added a satin bow to the back and updated the length of the simple gown I had chosen. Of all the dresses I wore throughout the years, this is by far the one that cost me the least amount of money and yet, has given me so many memories. Altering a gown with a friend or relative can give you time to bond with that person.

Another good trick to buying your prom dress is not buying it while the dresses are in season. If you look ahead to the next year, in June the department stores will be running huge sales on dresses. You can easily find a 200.00 dress marked down to 40 or 50.00 brand new a month or two after the prom season. If you decide to use this method, you should look for classic gowns. Look for gowns that do not bounce in and out of style each year. Something elegant, in a light color or black works the best.

Watch the local papers as well for a local high school dress sale. My town had a private school and public school and each year the private school hosted a huge formal gown sale. You can take all of your gowns to the sale and price them, usually the schools charge a commission or a few dollars to put the dresses on the racks. In addition to making some money off of your old gowns, you can browse the dresses and find one for yourself at a great discount.

If you want a gown that is memorable and unique, you can look for a local seamstress. With my heart set on designer gowns that were entirely out of my budget, this was another one of my gowns that stood out in my memories years later. I combined several of the designs and talked to one of my friends mothers, whom I also worked with at the local craft store. We set out to create a masterpiece gown for the price of materials and her labor. When it was done I had a gorgeous product that was as beautiful as anything in the magazines. In fact, everyone loved the dress and wanted to know where I had bought it. With this method, you can create your own unique gown at a price you can afford with your paycheck.

With a bit of imagination, a needle and some thread anyone can afford the dress of their dreams. It's not about how much the dress cost or where it was purchased. It is about putting on a dress that makes you feel like the fairytale princess on the night of your event. Feeling like Cinderella doesn't have to cost hundreds of dollars, in fact, Cinderella didn't even spend that on her evening!