Get Thrifty: Prom Dress Thrifting

Samantha just had her last Prom of High School this past weekend. We had decided that we would thrift her dress as we had others so we started a few weeks early to give ourselves plenty of time. We've had some good luck with thrifting regular items as well as special occasion dressing at this point so I thought I would share a few pointers. 

1. Have an inspiration.
With special occasion dressing I think it's really helpful to have an inspiration to search for. In this case Sam was moved to search for something you would see in a movie from the 80's! We found photos of the dress from the prom scene of Footloose and the final scene of Sixteen Candles and started from there. 

2. Take photos.
It's one thing looking at yourself in the mirror, but it's something else looking at a photo. There is a remove that makes it a bit easier to be objective about if a dress is working or not. We will often take a quick photo of something we are considering then delete it right away just for the moment of peeking at it. 

3. Be Open to Surprises.
Though Sam was hoping for something along the lines of her inspiration pieces, we both knew that we might not find what she was hoping for. So we were both open to finding something different. This green dress was something special that we both thought might fit the bill. It was a vintage Jessica McClintock that with a little love we though could be a head turner. But we decided to look just a little bit more. 

4. Bring along someone you trust.
Thrift shopping can sometimes be a tedious thing though we find it fun. It's helpful to bring along someone that has the same love for it that you do, and that can see possibility in the racks along with you. (and maybe keep you laughing as you search!)

5. Have a tailor you trust.
We found the dress that we knew would be the one with a little work (that cost $5!). We love and trust Tommy the Tailor downtown and ran it down to them immediately to make sure there would be plenty of time to get it tailored. It needed the sleeves and neckline worked on but otherwise it was ready. 

6. Remember the extras
We have been really fortunate to work with Rebecca of Rebecca's Flower Shoppe and she really outdid herself for this one. Sam decide to really go for it with the Sixteen Candles look. We shared the inspiration photos with Rebecca and decided to go for a flower headband due to costs. Rebecca decided to go ahead and make Samantha the crown, and graciously gifted it to her! We were so surprised and stunned, and it just made her look that much more special! 

So what do you think? Did she do it? We were pretty happy with her look! Her dress with the tailoring cost a total of $30. I love that she brought the Sixteen Candles look into the present!