We are heading into one of the most important seasons in any teenage girl’s life: PROM SEASON. Make up and manicures! Should I get a limo? Of course I should! Oh, and yeah, the big question: who’s gonna be my date?!? But the dress – the dress is number one. And back in the 80s, boy, was it ever. The prom dresses of the 1980s were pretty epic; like everything back then, they were bigger and louder than anything teenagers would dare to wear today. My senior year prom dress was surprisingly simple; I had it made from a pattern and felt pretty fancy going to special fittings.  I loved this dress, and I loved knowing that nobody else would be wearing the same thing. Surprisingly it wasn’t big and brassy; it had little silver polka-dots on the top and bottom. My shoes were dyed black with little jeweled clips. It all felt very grown up and classy. Speaking of classy, let’s rewind a year back to junior prom. Ah yes, here we go. Besides being big and brassy, prom dresses of the 80s had several defining characteristics.

Let’s re-visit some of the most often seen features of the typical 80s prom dress. If you attended prom in the 80s, I’ll bet that your dress was styling and profiling with at least one (likely a combination of several) of these design details.Patio Furniture Thread The more ruffles, the better. Walmart Chicken CurtainsLook at my friend Tiffany’s admirable shoulder/waist ruffle combo.Extra Foods Carpet Cleaner Rental And, how about this glorious example of 80s ruffles from 1984? Check out this gorgeous blue ruffle confection (note the dyed to match shoes).  That’s none other than Matthew McConaughey at his own 80s prom.  He coordinated his tie and cummerbund to match her dress (so 80s), and check out his gold ID bracelet.

My friend Marci went with a very popular 80s silhouette; pale pink, sleeveless sateen with giant bow at the hip. Check out my girl Jen, in our living room by a big brass bird with her classy tea length dress that had that ruchey-bubble at the bottom, very on trend. I envied this one. Oh, and bonus giant hot pink butt bow! What’s the opposite of tea length? That’s right, some girls opted to take the hemline way up and go for the cocktail dress approach to prom-wear. Seen here, Valerie took a different approach than I did with her black dress. If I had those legs, I’d be wearing this too. Last, but certainly not least, metallics represent their own category. Holy moly, look at Vicki. And, this one-shouldered, tea-length number was a custom-made metallic wonder. One metallic color was not enough. Two were definitely required: metallic silver and blue. These awesome 80s gals have ruffles, bows, lace and wrist corsages galore. Kids, I know this is one of the biggest nights of your young lives thus far, so have fun at prom this year.

But, not too much. Boys, get your girl a big corsage (maybe with some baby’s breath?) and have a nice dinner at Benihana. Ask her to slow dance. And girls, take lots of pictures so that in 25 years your friend can relive her own prom night by writing a nice piece honoring the fabulous retro dresses you were all wearing to your senior prom.From leggings and ankle booties to long tunics and off-the-shoulder tops, the 80s are back in a big way in the world of fashion. Many of the more memorable styles from the outrageous 80s have gotten modern-day updates and are hip again as trendy retro looks. Formal occasions are no exception, and many girls choosing dresses for prom are opting for the bright colors and bold styles of 80s prom dresses. Bright and shiny fabrics were all the rage in the 80s. Taffeta was a glamorous fabric for prom dresses and helped ruffles and puffy shoulder pads to stand out. For a true 80s style prom dress, look for taffeta, satin or metallic lame. Designers mixed silver or gold lame with black velvet to create sparkly and dramatic formal wear.

For prom, girls often wore dresses in bold colors or patterns such as polka dots. Styles ranged from gowns with wide shoulders and loose-fitting drop waists to strapless dresses with fitted bodices. Some girls opted for full-length dresses, but the 80s were also the era of the short formal dress. Trendy styles included knee-length or mid-calf dresses. While the full-length dresses often flowed to the floor in a simple A-line cut, the shorter dresses played up more of the whimsical design fads of the day. Dresses with shorter lengths above the knee often fell in tiers of material below the waist, like a wedding cake. Knee-length prom dresses were often more snug at the waist and knees and were cut wider at the hips and even wider still at the shoulders. Designers seemingly placed ruffles, bows and frills wherever there was an inch of space on an 80s prom dress. When designing glamorous formal wear, many dressmakers took their cue from trends on television shows such as “Dynasty,” where the millionaire women wore huge shoulder pads and plenty of ruffles.

Designers created dresses with huge bows on the backside or on the side at the hip of a drop-waist dress. Strapless or one strap gowns had ruffles made of taffeta or tulle running down the front on a diagonal or layers of frilly ruffles on the skirt. No 80s prom dress would look authentic without proper shoes, jewelry and hair accessories to complete the ensemble. For a glamorous look that is true to the time period, top off the dress by wearing 2- or 3-inch pumps with pointed toes. Find costume jewelry in a vintage or accessory store and wear large hoop or dangling earrings and a pile of silver or gold thin bangle bracelets. Or wear elbow-length, fingerless gloves in lace or satin. Match them with a lace or satin headband that ties in a bow.Victoria Royal Coral Pearl Silk Beaded length Lined, Teir, Evening Gown SZ-12 100% AUTHENTIC CHANEL BEADED DRESS Vintage 60s military white empire waist metal zipper velvet bridal wedding dres SPLENDID Movie Star 1920s 1930s HARLOW Ecru Enbroidered Ruffled Wedding Dress

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