Prom on a Budget

I recently had my school prom to celebrate the end of exams and school year and whilst it is a great experience and I would never suggest to anyone to not go to your school prom, the amount of money surrounding this industry is insane and often leaves people unable to attend. There is this illusion that you have to spend hundreds of pounds to find the biggest and sparkliest dress, pay to get our hair, nails and makeup done and arrive in an limousine. For my previous Year 11 prom I definitely fell into this trap, buying all new makeup products and an overpriced dress that I didn’t even 100% love. 

However, this year I had learnt my lesson and managed to only spend less than £20 on my full prom look, so, let me share some tips that I have learnt through going through the prom experience twice now. I have included some photos from this year's prom in which I wore this black, pleated maxi dress from Boohoo and also from my prom two years ago where I wore a dress with a large grey tulle skirt from Miss Selfridge, that I had altered to have a sheer lace top, instead of a black, long sleeved top as it was too hot to wear in Summer.

SAVE

Don’t get your makeup done professionally or try out new products on prom night, you know what suits your face and what makes you feel your best. Even if you don’t think your good at makeup, it probably means you don’t wear a lot of makeup on a daily basis so there is no need for one night to suddenly change your personal style as you may end up hating it. Getting ready with friends is not only a fun experience, but they can also help you with any makeup if need be. 

On my first prom night, I tried out a new foundation and it turned out it didn’t match my skin tone at all which only caused unnecessary stress and panic that I thought everything was ruined. In the end, I only wore concealer to cover any blemishes but apart from that nothing else regarding skin makeup because I didn't wear a lot to begin with and I personally thought I looked great! This year, now that I do my makeup more often and have more of a routine that I know I feel good in, I felt comfortable enough to wear a full face with products that I have used time and time again. 

SPEND

Spend money on getting your hair done professionally only if you want an intricate updo as these will be harder to recreate by yourself, and often require you to work on the back of your head where you can't see directly. If you do go to the hair salon, go with a direct vision and some inspiration photos from Pinterest, so that they can also understand the look you are trying to achieve. Otherwise, you can get a friend or family member to help you to  to curl or straighten your hair as these don't require as much skill or talent and with a couple of twists to pin back away any front pieces, it can look very effortlessly glamorous!

SAVE

If you are searching for specific jewellery just to match this one dress then I would recommend going to places like Primark, Accessorize and Claire's Accessories to find costume styled jewellery that is not made from pure metals which means it won't last as long, but if you only want it for one night it is a cheaper alternative and still looks good. For my previous prom, I bought a necklace from Accessorize, however I never wore it again so it helped that I didn't waste a lot of money on a special piece. And, for my most recent prom, I just wore my everyday jewellery, alongside some earrings that I borrowed from my sister that were originally from Anthropologie. If you have family or friends who share a similar style, I'm sure they would be happy to let your borrow any jewellery they may have for the night.

SPEND, then SAVE

If you’re wearing a maxi dress it doesn’t matter what shoes you wear, especially considering you will probably be taking them off as soon as photos are over. I wore my shoes that I wore to my previous prom and I definitely didn’t carry the same willpower and inner strength as I did two years ago as I couldn’t wear them for any longer than an hour! Yet, I have worn these shoes quite a few times after prom as I purchased them in black so that they could be paired with a lot of other outfits after the event. They are one of my only pair of heels, so I would recommend spending the money to start with as an investment and then you won't have to buy another pair in the future.

SAVE

You don’t need to spend a lot of money on a dress. I previously spend £80 on my Year 11 which is considered to be relatively cheap in the prom world as I know some people spent well into the hundreds. I would recommend searching for dresses that aren’t advertised to be worn as prom dresses as that four letter word in the description doubles the price in seconds. Using websites like ASOS, Boohoo, Missguided and PrettyLittleThing are a good way to find inexpensive dresses as they don't specifically make prom dresses, but will curate a selection of their occasionwear into a prom category that makes it easier for you to find a suitable outfit. The great thing about these websites as well is that they constantly have sales on or discount codes available. 

I got my dress this year from Boohoo that was originally £25 which I was ready to pay the full price for but luckily there was a sale on all dresses so it ended up only costing just under £19! My dress was also advertised on the website as a bridesmaid dress, which also helped to bring down the price as they were expecting people to purchase this dress multiple times, also with a great range of sizes available. This brand is also well recognised which ensured that I was going to be receiving a good quality dress and it is guaranteed to arrive. There are a lot of dodgy sites on the internet that will advertise cheap dresses, however they never end up looking like the photo; to avoid this disappointment always check reviews of the company before buying anything.

Another great place to purchase prom dresses is charity shops, often as it gets closer to formal dance season, they will bring the formal wear they have been donated. A lot of the time, these dresses will look brand-new as they have too been only worn for once, and cost a fraction of the price!

Obviously, this is all just my opinion, and at the end of the day, this is a rare occasion and a great excuse to dress your best so I don't blame anyone for going full out and splashing the cash on everything. However, I understand that not everyone is such a privileged position so these are just places where I personally think you should spend versus save regarding prom. 

Side Striped Trousers | Restyle Revolution

I have loved the style of these trousers for so long now, but I could never find the right pair that had exactly what I wanted and for a decent price. Bearing in mind that I originally made these trousers in December, I have now found this amazing pair from Primark that have rainbow stripes down the side of the leg. However, I still really love this pair as they are more of a classic tribute to the athleisure style.

This is quite a simple 'Restyle Revolution' as I'm not completely changing up the whole purpose of the existing garment, instead just embellishing on what is already there. I purchased these trousers from a charity shop, however they were originally from New Look; it appears that they seem to be a part of a basic work range so you can probably still purchase them. However, this restyle can be done on any style of trousers you have!

I couldn't personally find a ribbon that had all three of the colours in one ribbon, so I had to DIY the ribbon as well, but it was super easy to create as all I had to do was sew 1 straight line down the middle white ribbon to secure it to the navy and red ribbon underneath it. If you do have to create your own striped ribbon, then you will have to ensure that they decrease in width to allow all the colours to be seen. But if you find a ribbon that already has the colours you want, then you can skip this step.

To attach it all to the trouser leg, I sewed two more straight lines down the navy blue outer ribbon on both edges to secure it to the trousers. This process could be done by hand, however I chose to use my machine for convenience and time purposes.

This process was super inexpensive as I bought the trousers for £1 from a charity shop and the ribbon was only around £6, but that was because I had to purchase three different ribbons and I got 2.5 metres of each when I definitely didn't need that much with my short legs! So a tip would be to measure the length of your trouser legs beforehand, multiply it by two and maybe add 10cm extra just to be on the safe side and this also allows you to fold over the edges so it doesn't fray at either end. If you are able to find ribbon that already has stripes in it or you want to do a solid colour stripe, this would also reduce costs.

These trousers are also super effortless to wear; they can be paired with literally anything! I personally styled them for this bike ride with a slogan tee from Primark and gingham bow sliders also from Primark to play with the colours that are found in the trousers. I added this hair scarf into my ponytail as I think it's a good way to make an otherwise dull hairstyle more interesting.