The minimalist goes to prom

Nobody loves getting dressed up more than I do but with prom season always comes the itch to buy new shoes, a dress, jewelry, fancy dinner, and spend hours obsessing over every stray hair. My goal for my senior prom was to stay as simple as I could so I wouldn't have to worry about anything but having fun.

The Dress:

I was super lucky to find this dress at a bridal outlet store in town. I loved the bones of the dress and had a few ideas how to make it perfect. With some tailoring it turned out just as I had imagined (see the photo on the right). I was going for classy yet original and I think I nailed it. This is one of those dresses that I would wear every day if I wouldn't get strange looks but the likelihood of my going to another formal occasion is slim to none. Since I love this dress more than any of my other semi-formal attire I already have, I'm planning on having it all shortened to semi-formal length and then purging my other shorter dresses. Win win!

The Accessories:

It's customary to have a corsage or boutonniere for a formal dance but that seemed like an added expense and throw-away token that my significant mister and I weren't really interested in. Since he wants to be a librarian I had made him a book boutonniere for homecoming in the fall and we decided to keep up the trend and have him wear it for prom as well. I wanted some sort of flower to match, so I made another one and hot glued it to a hair comb. These flowers held a lot of significance to us (more than store-bought ones would) and saved us a pretty penny to put towards our road trip this summer.

As for jewelry, I wore my usual rings (a gift from my grandma) and then decided to wear costume jewelry (earrings and a necklace) from my grammy to represent both sides of my family. I wore what I had and didn't need to buy a singe thing! My purse was also something of my grandma's that my mom lent to me since I don't have any formal bags. 

I've been really lucky to find three pairs of comfortable formal shoes in black, silver, and bronze. These three pairs have gotten me through almost all of my high school formal dances. They match everything and I never have to worry about finding a pair of shoes at the last minute. I'm keeping them until they fall apart (and since they're higher quality brands that is likely to be a while). 

The Hair & Makeup:

I spent a total of about 20 minutes on my hair and 4 minutes on my makeup. That's it. Simple as could be. On any given day, I usually wear no makeup. For prom I went all out with mascara, eyeliner, sheer eye shadow, and blush (all used in very small amounts). I even curled my hair before putting it up. I'm so glad I chose to stay simple because at the end of the night I looked about the same as at the beginning: mascara in place, dress not smudged with foundation, hair not a hairspray helmet. I felt comfortable staying natural and was more confident because I wasn't trying to be a made-up version of myself. 

The Totals:

What I bought:

• A dress
• A hair comb for my flower

What I re-used:

• Boutonniere from homecoming
• Shoes
• Earring & necklace
• Rings
• Purse

What I'm getting rid of:

• Multiple semi-formal dresses once I shorten this prom dress

How I felt

• Grateful
• Beautiful
• Loved
• Confident

I'm so glad I kept it simple. What a wonderful night :)

Enjoy today,

Addie