Prom night in Chicago
By · May 22 2011My flight is totally delayed so I’m blogging. And what is on my phone? Oh images of the amazingness I witnessed each night in the lobby of our hotel.
This is when I admit to growing up completely sheltered. This weekend I witnessed a parade of prom dresses I never knew possible.
These fuzzy shots were all taken in stealth mode in our hotel lobby. And lest you think I am making fun of some poor, innocent high school girls, I think these ladies were not innocent and knew exactly what they were sporting. I just can’t believe their mothers let them leave the house.
First lesson. Apparently there is a garter ceremony? The dresses were mostly cut to display the coordinating garters. I did not witness their dates pulling them off, but according to two sources there is an episode of This American Life where such an event takes place.
Lesson two. If a top brand has trademarked certain colors, do not let this stop you. In fact, call up Ronald McDonald and ask to borrow his wig. this was one of the most amazing looks of the night.
Lesson three. More is more. And less can be borderline scary.
My final lesson would be to always wear underwear. I much appreciated spying clashing briefs than I did seeing a girl pull a Britney. (no picture of course)
Oh, and as was demonstrated by a few girls, don’t let being knocked up stop you from attending. Make that baby daddy put on a white tux and show you a prenatal night out on the town. It is best if he sports a hood.
All this said, I have to admit to occasionally regretting not being a little more risqué at my own prom. Little did I know in my purple dress (with embroidered butterflies) and full sleeves that I would not have that skinny petite body forever. Still, the garter, clashing colors and scanty cut-outs are braver than I think I could have gone. After all, in my high school it was shocking if your dress didn’t have sleeves. Oh Utah.
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Oh. My. Goodness. That garter thing must be new because we totally had nothing like that at my prom. For us, prom was LONG dresses and opera gloves. Fancy stuff for a fancy evening. I cannot believe some of those things the girls are wearing.
This just makes me scared to have kids.
Oh so sorry your plane is delayed! Loved your purple dress with the embroidered butterflies.
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Not one of those dresses looked remotely cute! We were up in that area around homecoming one time at Portillos and I swear the dresses they were wearing were so short that I was just waiting for one of them to flash us everything! I’m sad that stuff like that is in fashion! Ick!
Oh my, those are hideous.
and I think you should post a picture from your prom…
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Garters????
So concerned.
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The garter thing is either really new or regional (I’m guessing).
Be glad you stuck with your standards. I went to multiple proms my junior and senior years and wore a few dresses that my mother wasn’t too happy with (some had straps, one a bit of exposed back, one had completely bare shoulders). I have two daughters and don’t know exactly what I’m going to do when they get to that age. “Do what I say, not what I did?”
[To be clear, and a little fair to myself, while LDS I am from the east coast and a beach town at that--modest dresses were few and far between and hideous at best, and this was before you could do much shopping online. I don't know of many/any other LDS girls in my area that wore "modest" dresses, though ours were often more modest than the norm]
This is the first time I have heard of the garter thing. Kinda trashy.
But I agree you will never have the 18 year old body again so I say have a good time, look hot, just don’t be slutty!
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Oh.My.Gosh.
Thank you so much for this enlightening/entertaining post. The garter thing is so trashy. I hope the trend doesn’t stick around until my daughter goes to prom otherwise I’ll have a huge parenting issue to figure out.
I hope Chicago was a blast! I love girls weekends and can’t wait to read more about it.
Great lessons!
I was at the Prado on Friday night when La Jolla High School was having their prom there and I pretty much did the same thing…took photos after picking my jaw up off the floor! I looked YOUNGER than some of these girls, thats how dressed up they were, too much makeup and too little clothing! and all I could think was “I can’t believe their mother’s let them leave the house like that!”.
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If I were a mother, I would probably wouldn’t know what to do if I see my daughter wear something like those. But I think the solution is to teach the kids about modesty as early as kindergarten perhaps. They should know how to appreciate it and see the beauty of it. I think the long gown and the long sleeves you wore in high school is elegant.
Thanks for this post!
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Gross! I’m totally turned off by the garter idea. These girls look more like they are dressed in some cheezy saloon girl costume from a musical instead of like they are going to a formal event. I get that dresses at prom are going to be strapless, low-backed, etc. … but prom is supposed to be a junior version of going to a formal cocktail party or a really nice dinner/dance. Kind of dress up for the real world. And while most adults don’t wear what I might consider “modest” to those type of events, they usually are classy. If anyone showed up at a formal work function dressed like those girls they would be escorted out … particularly the McDonald’s girl. =)
Are you sure you were not caught on a time travel vortex to arrive on Halloween night?
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I’m suddenly grateful that I don’t have a daughter.
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I went to prom in Chicago and yes, garters are common. There’s even a special garter dance. I wore mine right above the knee because the whole idea was awkward. It was common for the guy to keep the garter hanging from his rear view mirror in this car. I know my date did.
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holy shit. those are the only words.
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Yup at my high school we did the whole garter ceremony thing too. The guys would wear the garter on their arms. Soo weird.
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Oh my gosh, that is insane! And you are so funny taking pictures of them! Thanks for sharing – it definitely made me laugh!
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[...] promise this city had a lot more than crazy prom nights. We had such a good time. Mostly, it was the perfect spot to meet up and have a low-key weekend. [...]
I had an awesome prom dress – though it was expensive. I was living in Germany, so my only modest options were to make it myself, or to buy one from beautifully modest. I of course fell in love with the most expensive one, but my parents bought it any way. It has been to prom every year since, on a different LDS gal, so we’re definitely getting out money’s worth from it!
[...] The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks in the Chicago airport when I was delayed (and blogging about prom dresses was no longer thrilling [...]