Senior Chloe Ey bought her prom dress her sophomore year. She went into the store with an unclear idea of what she wanted, but all she knew is that she wanted to be different. “I saw it in the vintage shop and thought to myself, that is absolutely incredible; I want it as my prom dress,” said Ey.
Many other senior girls weren’t as lucky as Ey to find their dress so early. Many girls looked at the Oscars as a reminder, perhaps a somewhat unwelcome reminder, that they need to start thinking about what kind of dress they want to wear for prom. Watching Hollywood’s biggest stars’ choices for the biggest event in entertainment is a great place to start.
For those looking for the simply glamorous look, Amy Adams personified that in a floor length red gown. For those princess types, award-winner Penelope Cruz was the one to look at with her long cream-colored dress covered with lace. If you want to catch people’s eye you might choose the Miley Cyrus look with its tiered skirt.
Unlike Adams and Cyrus, senior Lisa Whiteleather chose a prom dress that is more simple and glamorous. “I actually stumbled across it on the Cache website in the school library! I saw it and had to get it, so I took the risk and ordered it offline!” said Whiteleather.
Whatever your style, you can now find look-alikes online and in stores across the country. How much easier can shopping for THAT dress be than watching TV and ordering it online?
The best websites to find imitation-Oscar and other celebrity-inspired dresses include edressme.com and faviana.com where hundreds of beautiful dresses can be found. Faviana has been featured on major shows such as Access Hollywood and The View because of their excellent imitation dresses for reasonable prices. In addition, Faviana has several local retail locations in Towson making it easier for customers to find the styles in their sizes.
While many opt to search for styles that are made well-known by celebrities, many high school seniors across the country are looking for unique dresses that will help them stand out on this special night.
“Everyone looks the same, they go to Cache which has the same stuff, same colors, and it’s just boring. I wanted something different and unique so that people will remember my dress,” said Ey.
“If someone has the same dress as someone else, it might be the same dress, but it’s a different person, so the dress will look different,” said Whiteleather.
Senior Lexi Verschoore said, “I had my own ideas of what my perfect prom dress would look like in my head. I, personally, like the really sparkly dresses so I can stand out.”
As we asked many senior girls about their dress choice, many, including Ey, said that they were looking for one in a reasonable price range, a by-product of the struggling economic situation. Others, including Senior Mairead McGuirk, are borrowing dresses from family members or friends to cut back on costs of this night.
Not only have senior girls been looking to celebrity dresses for inspiration, but they have also been imitating celebrity hairstyles. “I googled Oscar hair and celebrity hair styles and found a Taylor Swift style that I loved,” said Whiteleather.
The Oscars showed teenage girls what the “in” fashion is. Whether we choose to follow the popular style, or go with our own look, we still will look beautiful. Who said that celebrities get to set the standards of beauty anyway?