Prom Prep: Style

In my previous blog post, I talked about where the best places to find a dress was. Today, I’m going to talk about what kind of dress is perfect for you. If you think about all the styles of long gowns you have a-line, mermaid, ballgown, or crop top. For materials of dresses you have chiffon, tulle, jersey, taffeta, and satin. In this blog post I’m going to talk about the different styles of dresses that fit each body type.

A-line dresses are a go to classic prom dress that looks good on anyone. This simple style usually has a chiffon skirt that flows beautiful and hides away any body imperfections you are a big fan of. There are also a large variety of A-line dresses to choose from whether you want a very beaded top and a low waistline or a simple, sophisticated top with a high waistline. The options are truly endless! My favorite designer to sop for A-line dresses is the Sherri Hill Prom collection. She has made beautiful, elegant A-line dresses that have enough chiffon at the bottom to cover every up and create a beautiful flowy look, but also make it look soft and simple. If you are looking for a time less dress that you will certainly love in 20 years, pick an A-line dress!

Mermaid styles are very bold and can look very dramatic. I would recommend body types with a larger hips or a slightly curvy body type to wear a mermaid because then you are able to fill out the curves in the dress. I also like to think there are two different style of mermaid dress, the straight down and the trumpet style. The straight down mermaid dress doesn’t have as much of a poof at the bottom of the dress and the trumpet style has a big poof at the end. If you want a very dramatic dress, the trumpet style is your best option! My favorite designer for mermaid dresses is MacDugal because he create very dramatic, edgy mermaid styles.

Ballgowns can really make you feel like Cinderella on your special night! These dresses while dramatic, can be very girly. I recommend wearing a ball gown if you have a larger bust so the bigger bottom can balance the top. There are of course the sweeter, girlier ballgowns that’s are made out of tulle that look like a princess gown, but there are also very fashion forward ball gowns that look edgy and dramatic. Sherri Hill has just put out GORGEOUS ball gowns in their recent spring 2015 collection that are more edgy and fashion forward that can make you look like a show stopper on prom night!

Crop top dresses are the new trend this year for prom. This style of dress looks great on those with a skinnier waistline because the open stomach can really accentuate that area. If you want to go bold and try something totally different for prom this year, go for a crop top! I think crop top dresses are so fun and different so I got this style for prom this year! I think all designers have tried to put out some unique crop top dresses so be sure to look at all the different styles of crop top dresses!

The style and cut of your dress can either make you look like a potato sack or a victoria secret model, be sure to find a dress that fits you best!

Prom Prep: Where to go?

It’s finally prom season guys. Time for cute Promposal pictures on Instagram, scheduling pictures and dinner, creating the best prom group, and my favorite, buying a prom dress! I admit, prom dress shopping can be extremely stressful, especially if you don’t know what kind of dress you’re looking for. But getting that perfect dress outweighs it all! As an avid gown shopper, I know just the way you can buy the perfect gown without all the trouble it may take to find it.

If you live in a small town like Cedar Rapids, Iowa where a mall with Express is pretty much the best it can offer, a gown store is probably nonexistent. But have no fear, because thankfully, we have the internet to provide us with all the dresses in the world! Online shopping can be very intimidating, but the right websites can lead you to find the perfect dress. My #1 prom dress site is newyorkdress.com because it has all the top gown designers like Sherri Hill, Tony Bowls, and MacDuggal and cheaper ones like Allure, La Femme, and Faviana to fit your budget. The best part about this website is it allows you to shop by designer, if you want a more elegant formfitting dress you can click on Sherri Hill, if you want a dramatic, show stopping dress you can click on Macduggal. The options are endless! From my experience, the shipping and sizing is pretty accurate on this website. If you don’t know what size to buy you can click on the size chart and the dress is usually true to the size you choose.

Even though there are no gown shops in Cedar Rapids, there are some great gown stores in Iowa. I went to Hope’s Bridal last weekend to search for a prom dress, and while the service was great they didn’t have a lot for me to choose from. I understand it is very late in the season to search for prom dresses, so if you want to go to a store to look for a prom dress, be sure to go early so you can have a variety to choose from! I would recommend going late December or early January because that’s usually when stores get their new shipments of gowns. My absolute favorite gown store is Le Chic Prom and Pageant Boutique in Muscatine Iowa. This cute little store is owned by an awesome couple who is sure to find you the perfect gown! They will always have a lot of gowns in store and can easily order them online for you if needed. Le Chic does sell more expensive brands like Sherri Hill and Tony Bowls, but if you are looking for cheaper options they can provide those as well. Not only can you find a great prom dress at Le Chic, but the perfect shoes, earrings, and whatever else you might need can be found there too! I know I’m definitely going there to find my prom dress this year!

Finding the perfect dress is so important and you need to feel confident and beautiful in what you wear. Good luck finding the perfect dress and I hope you all can “say yes to the dress!”