Prom is a great opportunity to show off your personal style, but current styles may not offer the particular look you’re searching for. This is where vintage clothes come in. Vintage clothes offer styles from past eras that can provide a quirky, graceful, or blasé look. This is a guide to finding the perfect vintage prom dress.
The 20s
Vintage dresses from the 20s embody the newfound sense of womanhood. During this era, women shifted from the quiet, reserved female or fun-loving flappers. When looking for a vintage dress you first need to decide if you want a genuine vintage garment or a replicate. Both choices have their benefits- genuine vintage can, at times, be a little easier to find while replicates are brand new and don’t need any prior special cleaning. TheFrock.com has many vintage-styled garments. Fashion icon, Dita Von Teese identified TheFrock as her favorite vintage store and TheFrock has previously provided clothing for Lemony Snicket’s “A Series of Unfortunate Events. Of course, these beautiful, genuine gowns come at price, but if you have the money to spend, this store can be a goldmine. The website to find these beauties is www.TheFrock.com. Try to find lots of beading and lace to make style look authentic. Also, make sure the fabrics flows; the 1920s was a time of dancing, so the dress should move as you do!
The 40s and 50s
The 1940s and 1950s was a time of poise and elegance. These dresses are often long, feminine pieces. TheFrock.com has some 40s gowns but there are also many other websites that specialize in these types of dresses. Vintage Gowns for an Uncommon Goddess has a few 40s vintage dresses at a much lower cost. They currently have a “tea rose lace gown” which costs only $575. Vintageous.com has dozens of dresses that range from short and flirty to long and graceful. Prices at vintageous.com range from $150 to $300 but are usually at the long end of the spectrum.
The 70s
For all the hippie-chic girls out there, finding a 70s vintage dress could be the perfect expression of your personality. These dresses are often fun, young, and easy to find. Sydneysvintageclothing.com has some great 70s dresses and the prices are unbeatable! Prices for these dresses are often under $100 and they are amongst the cutest on the Internet. Vintage70sClothing.com has some great finds, while the prices aren’t quite as inexpensive as Sydneysvintageclothing.com, they are average prices for genuine vintage dresses.
Shoes
Shoes are an important part of any prom attire. Try visiting pinupgirl.com for shoes from any era. There are many styles at amazing prices! Other websites with great vintage shoes include remixvintageshoes.com, poshvintage.com, and vintagecityclothing.com. Of course, you can always mix and match vintage with modern and make a quick trip to the nearest mall and find some gorgeous shoes. Department stores like Dillards have a great variety of prom shoes!
Hair
Hair of the 20’s was often cut short and styled curly but you can easily mask long hair under a cute, vintage hat! Online websites such as fashion-era.com has great pictures of vintage hats to lend some ideas of what to look for. Hair from the 40’s includes rolls, pincurls, and fingerwaves. Visit your hairstylist and ask them if they are familiar with any of these techniques, chances are, they will be and can give you a great look! Hair from the 70’s is often long and wavy so you can either loosely curl your hair or wear it straight with a part down the middle.
Some other tips for finding dresses not included in the eras above would be to search ebay.com; eBay constantly has new merchandise being posted at great prices since it is an online auction. Goodwill is another great place to look for dresses because many people donate old prom gowns and eBay sells them for ridiculously low prices. The websites covered in this article generally have authentic vintage gowns but reproduced vintage gowns can be found in many normal prom stores. Promadvice.com has a section of 70s inspired dresses, modelled with great accessories that could help you decide what to pair your find with!
