Ya – that is me, center front with my rebel spikey haircut and my anti-frilly dress. Looking back now…what the hell was I thinking? But, I thought I looked good at the time and that was all that matters!
You would think we were Southern Belles, but we were as “wicked pissa awesome” as any Boston suburb girls were (I was not in this picture).
Surfing the news today, I came across this this article about proper prom gown attire and decided to post on it. There is a little dress shop near my house that displays dresses year round. It seems, Louisiana always has an occasion for a ball gown or formal gown/dress – whatever you want to call it. Now a little confession here, when we moved here in 2007, my husband called me and said we were invited to a ball. I had tons of ball gowns from being an Officer’s Wife – but this was my new life in Louisiana. I headed to a dress shop and was informed that “conservative” gowns were not “Mardi Gras” gowns. What a relief to hear! I quickly consigned all my gowns and had fun re-inventing my new formal attire look with dresses that made me feel like a princess or sexy…whatever. Cleavage showing, high slits, cut-outs..anything goes!
Back to prom talk – it may have been 1986, but from the pictures above, I would say we all looked gorgeous and frilly. We wore conservative and tasteful dresses, some even wore hoops (I still remember my friend getting stuck in the limo with her hoop). We looked like “teenagers” going to prom, not teenagers going to work at a strip club or to Mardi Gras! Back to the little dress store, the gowns displayed right now for from season, look eerily similar (may actually be due to inventory) of the Mardi Gras, tight fitted, cleavage hanging out, big slit dresses! Makes my head explode! I don’t have any kids old enough to go to proms this year (next year) but I hope the girls remember they can look beautiful without looking like working girls to prom this year.
Below is this year’s picture of my Mardi Gras gown. I went fitted with a high slit this year. I don’t think I looked like I was working in a strip club, but for 43 (just turned 44), I felt good and age appropriate!
I think you went to the same prom I did… with the same friend’s hoop getting stuck in the door. My dress was very sweet- white lace, pink taffeta with little hearts on it… and little white lace gloves. The sluts wore short dresses, but all of the respectable girls wore long dresses, and their dates wore matching tuxes (mine had a white tux with tails and a top hat, and a pink bowtie). The most “rebel” I got that night was *gasp* wearing his bowtie to after-prom.
Now if you ain’t ho, you don’t go…. it is sad. I have boys, but I hope like hell they pick girls to take to prom that wear a classy dress not a ho dress.