Are you looking for a prom dress or a graduation dress? My DD needed both. Her prom dress was to the floor and very glamorous.. think 1940's movie star. It was a bit sexier(but not trashy) than I would have liked but she was 18 and these are the times we live in. We went to a bunch of department stores and dress shops in the garment district of NYC right after the new year but she couldn't find anything she liked. She ended up ordering a dress from an online store which turned out to be one of the dress shops we had visited! Luckily it fit her like a glove and she looked beautiful.

In her high school, the dresses worn under graduation gowns were usually short dresses. She ended up wearing a fairly simple dress she had gotten when she was about 14 for a party.

Thanks, czarinalex. Yes, she really needs two dresses. One for the graduation exercises (with a small garden party afterwards). These dresses are typically more of a sun-dress and have to be white. The other one is for what we call grad night (we don't do proms here) but I assume is sort of like a prom (never been to a prom) - dinner, dance and generally a big party in a hotel ballroom.

I think we can find the white dress without issue, but the glamour gown has me more worried. We live in a very small market and I generally buy my clothes online. I suppose if we tried on a few gowns here to figure out her size and what looks good on her, we could possibly order online. I don't suppose you'd share the name of the store you used?

I like your distinction b/w sexy and trashy. I guess I could live with sexy, but trashy is what I've sort of been put off by.

The last few weeks of high school here (Florida) are packed with parties. Some more formal then others. Calls for multiple dresses. (Prom is still the most formal.)

What is gaining in popularity are dress rental businesses. Designer, high price gowns that rent for a few hundred dollars. The shops will not rent the same gown to more then one young woman attending the same event. Not inexpensive by any means, but a way to have a Designer gown for a special event.

Good luck.

Both my DD's went shopping with friends for their prom dresses. When they found something that they liked it than had to be mom approved.

They went to an upscale mall that had a Nordstroms, but also small boutique stores as well. Bloomingdales was another favorite.

You might need to make a weekend trip to the big city or just be prepared to watch your credit card bill go up and down while you order multiple dresses online and send most back.

Nordstrom has a nice selection. Modcloth, Asos and Anthroplogie don't have as many formal dresses but are good choices for vintage inspired clothing. Friend's children have had good success with Rent the Runway. Also check Yelp for good dress shops in cities near you. Good luck!

I would caution against buying a dress too soon. One of my GF's daughters did that and by the time the event came around, she changed sizes and then had to buy and alter another one at the last minute.

Also, in our area, there are local shops that keep track of who is buying which dress so the girls are less likely to be duplicated at the event.

Daisychain,

where are you located?

There's always another trip to Paris that could be considered.

blfenton - I wish!

Annie, that is exactly why we didn't buy in Paris last spring and her body shape did change quite a bit then, but I think she's fairly stable now. However, we may not buy yet, but just want to start seeing what's out there and if we do need to make a plan to have something made or ordered from afar.

dgw, Lyban, we are in Wpg. so a trip to the big city would be ... Fargo?

eld - sending her off with her friends would probably be a good idea. She can get an idea of what's available and what sort of thing everyone else is getting (so NB at this age).

maddielee, I will check and see if rentals are done here. I bet there are probably high end consignment shops we could check out, too.

Great ideas. Lots to think about. We were folding sheets the other day and I was teasing her and saying I'd just whip her up something on my sewing machine out of the old sheets. For some reason, she was not thrilled with that idea.

Prom season, (spring) is about the only time there is a big selection of long formal dresses in stock around here. However, there are always a few in the larger stores in the junior departments. And as others have already mentioned, Nordstrom, and the larger online retailers have them most of the year. Dillard's is a big, more reasonable store here. Or Belk. But after prom season you might find something for sale in a consignment shop.

Beware of anything for sale from overseas. I have heard some horror stores about how mis-represented these dresses can be.

Thanks, outside. So you think if we wait until spring, we'll be able to find something? I'm notorious for doing things at the last minute and missing out, but I'd rather wait and get the size right, etc.

Are there any seamstresses in your area? I just hopped over to the Vogue/McCalls patterns website- a dazzling array of beautiful choices.

I'd wait until early Spring to buy. Many new dresses will be showing up online and in stores then. My own DD is graduating from college this December. She just picked up her cap and gown last week and is just now starting to think about a dress. As she's in a sorority, she (thankfully) already has a number of appropriate dresses she can wear. Last time we talked about it, she was considering a simple, classic LBD that she can dress up with jewelry. What color will you daughter's (cap and) gown be? When she graduated from high school, DD'S was white and they were required not to wear something too bright that would show through glaringly. Another consideration is what the heat and humidity will be then. I still recall how uncomfortably warm a lot of the kids were wearing those long, hot gowns.

I agree waiting until spring styles come out. Or locating some resale/consignment shops that carry vintage styles that you could pop into occasionally.

Based on my experiences, those girls shopping now are those who enjoy the hunt and love to shop anyway. If your daughter is like this, then certainly let her start looking around for ideas. But reassure her there is a lot of time between now and graduation!

I hope she enjoys her final year of high school. :-)

Yes, I would wait until spring. For one, there might be several people selling last year's dresses (ebay, consignment). And the selection of new dresses will be better than now, especially for your daughter's age range. As you said, you shouldn't have much of a problem finding a white dress that is suitable for the graduation itself. The formals are a lot harder. Some of the girls around here even borrow gowns from their older friends who have gone off to college. Win-win.