The Perfect Dress...

Prom: a beautiful, yet stressful part of the high school experience. Girls look forward to this day for months on end, and there is an incredible amount of pressure to have a perfect night, with the perfect date, the perfect hairstyle, and, of course, the perfect dress. I have gone through this absurdly stressful time twice in my life, and now many of my friends who are still in high school are going through the motions of it again. Many of them have been worrying all year about this one night, and talking to them has caused me to wonder about the emphasis put on clothing. Why do we have a tendency to feel that if we don’t have the perfect outfit, we won’t have the perfect night? Isn’t the important thing the amount of fun that we have?

I was so concerned about loving my dress and looking different from everyone else at prom that I ultimately made my dress for both junior and senior prom. This process added another ton or two of stress to my already heavy load, since I was dealing with class and homework, my date, my friends, the limo situation, and the after prom party, and yet I decided that it was completely worth it so that I could have the prom dress of my dreams. But when I look back on prom, I think of all the amazing memories and laughs that stem from that night, not what everyone was wearing. And yet, at the time, my dress was the most important part.

I suppose that we worry so much about our dresses because in a way, it sets the tone for the night; the better we feel about ourselves, the more likely we are to be in a good mood and have fun all night long. And, since I’m obsessed with fashion, you could probably guess that I will always think that the dress is important. But although the prom dress is a staple in the high school experience, it is important to remember that it’s not the most important staple in the box! The memories are more important, so don’t let the little things stress you out. Be calm, cool and collected at all times, and you’ll feel better about the whole experience, regardless of your dress.


Besides, if you stress too much, you’ll lose sleep and get bags under your eyes, and that will definitely ruin the pictures!