what did you wear to yours? mine is coming up and im hopeless with fashion and am scared about it all.
everyone seems to be getting TOO dressed up, so yess i am worried ill end up being uncomfortable and out of place.

I didn't go to my prom because everyone was getting spray tans and buying expensive dresses, and when I was 16 it was my worst nightmare. I really regret not going though.
For my work ball at the end of September I am thinking of buying:

i turned up to my school prom in a lolita style black & bright pink dress & stockings.it felt great.

I went to prom in a sleek black dress, with lovely draping, tall stilleto strappy sandals (my stepmom called them "CFM" - come fuck me - shoes), lots of mascara, and a deep reddish lipstick, with my hair blown out and parted way to the side. I felt classy and old glamor-sexy. I went to a snotty school in the south full of debutante types, and they were all in these frilly white and pink debutante or even bridal looking dresses, with fake tans and caked on makeup, and I felt really unique.

I wore a white Betsy Johnson dress to my junior prom.
Knee length, strapless (with optional halter strap that i wore), with a pink ribbon around the waist.
It was a junior prom so I didn't want to go all out, but I probably would've worn the same to my senior prom. Plus I wore a tiara. People said I looked "precious" and that it fit my style. HA.

i wore a bright pink raw silk ballgown to my yr12 formal. silver shoes, silver jewellery. i did my hair and makeup myself, and drank a bottle of champagne in the limo on the way there

it was the biggest waste of time and money EVER. but hey at least i have a really expensive dress that i'll probably never be able to wear again.

__________________
"I knew I was too late - and I was glad something bloodthirsty waited in the wings. For in failing at this, I forfeited any desire to live."

i wore a black silk cocktail dress that was very fitted with a little frill around the bottom
it was lovely, it had lots of ruching and lace on it
mmmm mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmi wore it with black shiny high heels with a big bow on them

Yeah, definitely. My ball was everything I'd expected - meaning it was dull; my boyfriend & I spent most of the evening quietly mocking everyone from the corner. I got persuaded into going by my boyfriend, formerly known as my best friend. As best friend he was forced to say that it was cool I wasn't going to the ball, but then once he became my boyfriend (it had to happen) he realised he'd be a bit lonely on his own.

I did my hair and make up myself (for my hair I wore it loose, with a few bits pulled to the back and clipped there) and wore a black just-below knee length dress from Karen Millen, with silver shoes and silver bag. I hate shopping with a purpose, so it was quite a relief when the first dress I tried on fitted really well and looked good. I felt a bit different because most other girls were wearing those strapless, floor length dresses (cliche bridesmaid/prom style) that look boring and you can never wear again. At least a smart LBD can be an investment.

Strawberry, that dress is lovely; Monsoon have some covetable dresses...if only I could justify buying one. Rosieholic, if you're from the UK it might still be worth going into one of the bigger branches and seeing if they've got any in the sales. Though they may just have the dregs left by now. The Oasis vintage dresses are rather nice, again, if you're UK.

Just ignore everyone else's preparations; better to be more subtle so that you can laugh at those who've made too much effort. The ones with foundation-caked faces or hair teased into ridiculous poodle-style up-dos... As long as you're confident and your dress is a good fit, it doesn't matter how much you've spent or how many hours you spent (or didn't spend) putting make up on.

for my junior prom i wore a silvery blue corset dress with silver embroidery at the top part. i did a lot of sparkly make up and curls and felt like cinderella.

for my senior prom i wanted the opposite so i wore a deep red fitted dress with an open back, these fabulous black shoes and an antique diamond (fake, of course) necklace. i had dark red lipstick and dark eye make up for it too...i loved it!

I also panicked and assumed everyone was going a la Cinderella but honestly? Although many did, a lot of people were in jeans and just dresses which you would wear out clubbing etc.

I found a cheap dress in TK MAxx (i don't know if you have that outside the UK) and that did me fine. In my opinion, DON'T spend a lot of money unless you go to these things a lot.

Oh, I just noticed rosieholics location...I have no idea what kind of shops you have in Brisbane. There's always the internet, but I wouldn't recommend that for something as personal as a dress.

Debonair, if it's a formal I really don't think jeans are appropriate! I know I said not to look like you'd made too much effort, but I think those people pushed it a bit too far...

I'd say that you should set a sensible budget for yourself including accessories, shoes, bag, dress and try not to go over it. My dress cost me £120 and I don't think it's necessary to pay more than that, unless your parents are ludicrously well-off (I don't know what that is in Australian dollars).

Buy it.

haha I can see what you mean, I'm just saying that if you're really feeling DESPERATE, it worked for some people here.

I went for this dress myself, it only cost me £25 reduced from £100 odd which made me chuffed.

beautiful!

proms always seemed like such an american thing, the schools where I live never had then until the year after I left school, gutted
I don't know what happened to change it all, but all of a sudden they started having proms
I've always wanted to go to one of these things but so far haven't had the chance
I was a bridesmaid at my brothers wedding and we had black dresses, really classy
I'd love to go to an occasion where I could wear that dress again

i hated prom. i wish i hadnt gone

Everyone told me I'd regret it forever if I didn't go. I spent, I went, I was bored. £50 a ticket, to spend a night with a bunch of people I tried my hardest to avoid when I was at school; I empathise with you.

crap on every level right.

Mine probably was too, but it was overall fun. The thing is you just have to accept that your own appearance is going to be the most interesting thing about these events -- it's all about the shopping and getting ready. If you think it's going to be special or a fun night you'll be disappointed. I think my boyfriend at the time -- who honestly I haven't corresponded with since graduation except through facebook -- had this 80s teen movie idealistic view of prom, that it was going to be some special time for us. I'm pretty sure he was annoyed with me for not taking it seriously or thinking it was romantic, but it really wasn't. I spent the actual prom mingling around because I don't like dancing. Afterwards we went to waffle house with my ex boyfriend and his girlfriend at the time, where she kept accusing us of flirting. At his prom, he got mad at me for talking to his friends, who were in the corner making fun of people, instead of dancing, and so I went to dance with him, and as soon as I got out there, he said "I'm sorry, I can't dance." It was really a ridiculous experience. And I was sick as crap, and had 1 hour (including showering and shaving) to get ready because the house painters decided to do my bathroom that afternoon.

Anyways. The point is, be as indulgent as you want to be about obsessing over how you look when you're there, because that's the only exciting part and otherwise it's a waste of time.