On the Prom Dress Hunt

As prom season is slowly rolling around, I am on the hunt for the perfect dress. There are many things to consider in finding the perfect dress- the fit, the color, the length, etc. This weekend, I went to Jacquelines in Livingston, New Jersey to start my search. 

When I got to Jacquelines, I filled out a survey saying what I am looking for in a dress. I have been contemplating on the color being blue or pink, or the fit being a mermaid, a poofy skirt or a two sets. After deciding to go with a light blue dress, I still couldn't figure out what fit I wanted. I wore a bright pink mermaid fit dress last year from Rent the Runway, but I didn't know whether or not to go with the same style or switch it up. 

I've wanted to wear a Sherri Hill dress ever since I went to prom two years ago, but when I went to Jacquelines for a fitting, I tried on a bunch of other dresses that opened my mind to some other options.  

I️ knew for a fact that I did not want sequins or sparkles or anything on my dress. I first started off by trying on a Sherri Hill set because I wanted to see what it looked like in person compared to online. The first one I put on was adorable. The top was my favorite part of the dress because it has a bow in the back, which I thought was so cute for a prom. When I put the skirt on, I wasn’t really feeling the mermaid style with it. I️ also didn’t like the flowers that were sticking out from the dress. It make the skirt very uncomfortable because I️ could feel it scratching my legs as I️ walked. Now onto the next dress..

The next dress was similar to the first one, but it had a different skirt and style. It was much more princess-ey. I really liked the print on the skirt and the dress was something that I would definitely wear, but there was something that wasn’t really right about the top. I’m not a big halter top person, and the tulle on the inside of the skirt made it look almost too poofy for my liking. I definitely would’ve liked it better if there was less filling on the inside. 

After taking off the pink, I switched to blue because that was the original color I intended on wearing. There was a very similar dress to the other one that I put on next. This one was much better than the other two. I liked the style of the top and I thought the blue design looked pretty! The store said they could take out the tulle on the inside of the skirt if I really wanted less poof, which I did. This made this dress a contender. 

Switching to a completely different color scheme, I put in this dress. I really liked this dress a lot. The fit of it was very flattering with the mermaid skirt, and I really liked the strap detail of the top. I was also really surprised at how pretty the color combination of black, white and pink went together. This dress definitely surprised me and made it into the “maybe” pile.

I did not like this dress at all. I wasn’t a fan of the fit, the material of the dress, or the color. It did not feel as flattering as I would want a dress to feel in me. This was a definite no.

Last, but not least, was the perfect dress! I absolutely loved the color; it was exactly what I was looking for coming into the store. It also had something that none of the other ones did, a slit. Slits are so trendy in formal wear this year, so I wanted to, of course, stay up on my trends for my prom. The material of the dress was perfect because it was very stretchy, which will make me feel less self conscious about my look. Although I’m not a huge fan of halter tops, I think I can make an exception for this dress. I don’t think any other style of top would fit this dress because of the open back. The open back was my favorite part of the entire dress. Having the open back allows the person wearing the dress to be able to do more with their look. I imagine wearing my hair in a curled bun or ponytail, allowing people to see the entire back of my dress. As my hair would be in an updo, I will also be getting long earrings to accessorize. I definitely have to get the skirt altered to fit me, but other than that, the dress was perfect, making it the dress for me.