BAG LADY: Prom dress search, while frustrating, can work out

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 It’s the time of the season for the right fit, the right shoes, the right hair and makeup to walk down the red carpet into the so-called night of our lives. 

  In my opinion, the biggest struggle of it all is the prom dress shopping. Looking for that perfect dress is like trying to find a needle in a rather large hay stack.

  Prom dress shopping is the most chaotic thing I’ve ever done. The chaos of dozens of teens and their mothers yelling, scrambling and fighting over horrific dresses thrown everywhere. I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy. Some girls spend months on this process. If I had had to keep doing this for months, I would have had a mental and physical breakdown.

  However, I was lucky enough to find my dream dress on the first try thanks to my mom’s excellent shopping abilities.

  While my mother and I perused through Dillard’s in Lubbock, we were unsatisfied by what the downstairs junior section prom dresses offered. They were either too revealing, made for someone with vastly different proportions than me, or extremely uncomfortable for my sensitive skin. I had red marks all over me after trying on eight of these torture devices. 

  My mom suggested we go look upstairs in the women’s section, but I was not so sure. After all, the last thing I’d want to wear was something that looked like it belonged on a middle-aged woman at her daughter’s wedding. When we looked upstairs I saw many disappointing options, and then suddenly, there it was shining in four different colors as the light hit it.  There were only two left. The first was a size 12…fail. The second was…a perfect fit. Could this be the right one? Should this supposedly months-long process be this easy? We were confused, so we asked them to hold it while we looked all over the mall for other options. In the end, it was the one, and we bought it as well as matching shoes.

  I realize not all people will get as lucky as me, but I have some tips. Try looking somewhere you didn’t expect you would look like the women’s section because you’ll never know what you’ll find. This section has something for girls who don’t want to reveal all their skin.

  Another idea is to be open-minded and try dresses on even if they’re not your style. I tried on four dresses that I would never consider wearing in public, but at least I know for certain now.

  My last suggestion is to remember that comfort is key. I know that strapless dress with the shimmering jewels and the matching shoes may be pretty, but it will be a torture device on your big night. The only thing you’ll remember from prom is how horrible that dress was to pull back up constantly while dancing along with those pinchy shoes.

  Prom dresses are hard to find, especially when you don’t have many weekend days free like me. But it’s not impossible if you have an open mind while looking. Trust me. The perfect look was right in front of me, and I denied it for a few hours of indecision.