Junior Prom/Grad Dress Shopping

[CrazyQT]

Why, oh why does it have to be SO STRESSFUL grad dress shopping? Is it just me or are prices for grad dresses ridiculous? $225 for a dress she will probably wear once, maybe twice at the most? I think we went to 20 different stores over the past 2 days and found one dress. However upon closer inspection it had a run in the sheer at the front of the dress. We probably could have gotten away with it and no one would notice but I can't bring myself to pay out $170 for a flawed dress.

Having said that, does anyone know of any dress shops in the GTA, (Oakville, Miss, Burlington, Hamilton, St. Catherines, Niagara Falls)area that sells these types of dresses. We are running out of weekends to shop.

TIA

[MrsSunshine]

believe it or check out Kijiji in your area. look under clothing, then wedding or dresses.. you'd be amazed at what you can find.

[MrsMer]

I feel your pain! My daughter and I went through the exact same thing. We ended up ordering from an Etsy Shop located in Hong Kong. I would post the shop, but I am not sure if this is allowed. PM me and i can send you a link to it.

I was VERY skeptical about ordering on-line but it worked out perfectly. My daughter got the dress of her dreams, and is very pleased. The dress only cost me $150 and this included shipping, and a very small fee to have the dress custom made to her measurements ($10). The only problem is it took 8 weeks from the time we ordered to arrive at our home.

Good luck!

[luckbealady]

I regret getting a fancy dress for my grad.
I couldn't find one I liked, so I got the material and pattern and paid to have it made (wasn't too costly, probably around $150 altogether).

But I only wore it once. I wish I had gotten a nice dress that was fancy enough, but not so fancy that I couldn't wear it to dinner or special events.

[xox2010]

I wore mine once and I think it was close to $200! I've tried selling it but there's no been no takers. I bought it at Le Chateau after looking all over Toronto and Ottawa.

[windowwendy]

i bought my daughters grad dress on ebay. used one time for only $96 for a designer that she loves. they had really cute formal dresses at target for $60.

[Giddymonkey]

I spent $300 on my grad dress, 15 years ago. I did get to wear it three times, it was gorgeous, I loved it and I paid for it myself. I bought it at Fairweather, back when it was a nice store and not full of cheap cr@p.

[CrazyQT]

She tried a dress on at Le Chateau $225. I was going to get it but she wasn't 100% sold on it. I told her I want her to LOVE it 100% to spend that kind of money and she just liked it a lot so we passed on it. I have faith something will come along for her but man it's frustrating. Thank you all for your suggestions. I had never thought of any of them but will check them all out.

[Minou]

I paid $300 for my grad dress back in 1995.... loved it... black off-the shoulder evening gown with black sparkling lace along the neckline...felt like something someone would wear to a fancy opera or a black-tie ball. I like it more than my wedding gown!

Yes, check kijiji! Lots of girls have realized that they'll never wear their brightly-coloured confection ever again!

[Midnightly]

this is one of the things i don't look forward to for having a girl.. the addiction to clothing and shoes (heck she's 5 and her show collection could rival that or a grown woman) grad shopping and formals are expensive.. it's just part of the package i guess.. anything specialty sadly is expensive, have you considered checking out chain stores, consignment stores, your local craigslist usedeverywhere.com you will find tons of dresses pre-loved by people ready to sell for a fraction of the price and remember you can always bring it to be altered slightly if you find a great dress (turn a zipper back into a corset back to allow for a better fit)

[c_mcarthur]

my high school prom was in 2006.
I bought a dress from Norma Reed (square one) for $90, went to a shoe outlet store, got a beautiful pair of shoes for $15, and went to a stitches outlet and got a shawl for $5.
Basically for my whole outfit I spent $110 , not bad at all! and my dress was beautiful!
That being said, I've NEVER worn it since haha

[c_mcarthur]

I spent $300 on my grad dress, 15 years ago. I did get to wear it three times, it was gorgeous, I loved it and I paid for it myself. I bought it at Fairweather, back when it was a nice store and not full of cheap cr@p.

it's funny you say that, all the girls at my prom (except me) all wore pretty much the exact same dresses but different colours from Fairweather.. I thought it was HILARIOUS! I was the only one to wear black

[sweet sparrow]

my high school prom was in 2006.
I bought a dress from Norma Reed (square one) for $90, went to a shoe outlet store, got a beautiful pair of shoes for $15, and went to a stitches outlet and got a shawl for $5.
Basically for my whole outfit I spent $110 , not bad at all! and my dress was beautiful!
That being said, I've NEVER worn it since haha

I was going to recommend that place. I got two dresses there for my wedding; one was a gift, the other marked down from $600. There were two twin dresses in different sizes. One had the decoration ripped off from the front marked at $200, the other was in perfect condition marked at $50, no adjustments necessary! Incidentally, that was the most I spent on my wedding attire if you don't count shoes (bought online, also my favourite shoes) and corset thing for the wedding dress.

I still think it was one of the best bargains I've ever found. Since then, I've worn it to two weddings and it's going to many more.

[luckbealady]

my high school prom was in 2006.
I bought a dress from Norma Reed (square one) for $90, went to a shoe outlet store, got a beautiful pair of shoes for $15, and went to a stitches outlet and got a shawl for $5.
Basically for my whole outfit I spent $110 , not bad at all! and my dress was beautiful!
That being said, I've NEVER worn it since haha

Oooh my prom dress I love. I only went to my senior prom though, I wasn't interested in dances. I still have the dress, and got it the year before my prom, on clearance for $20. As far as shoes go, I just wore a pair I already had. My mom was trying to get me a new pair, but as I told her and the sales clerk, no one could see my feet under my dress anyways, so I might as well be comfortable!

But I didn't wear it to my grad. My grad I went very casual, as we had robes anyways. It was my grade 8 grad where I went fancy and regretted it.

[lghend]

I have an embarrassing prom story from my SON'S prom. lol It was his grade 8 grad/dance. He is my first born and as I work full time and raised my children myself (divorced many years ago), I did not have the time or inclination to "hang out" with PTA, sports parents etc. to compare notes. SO, before the grad we went shopping and he picked out a brand new pair of jeans and a nice top. He was clean and smart looking. Great....I thought. We get there and the kids, IN GRADE 8, are in suits, tuxes, and long gowns. Are you kidding me?!?! I felt like a horrible mother! We did much better for my daughter's prom.