Hop on the UpCycle Trend: What Do To With Your Dress Post Prom

The UpCycle Trend

It’s a fashion renaissance, a time of recycle and up-cycle. The popular do-it-yourself Etsy site offers up a whole host of suburban designer creations. We’ll give them this: the dresses/outfits are certainly unique. John Hughes’ 1986, now iconic teen angsty comedy, “Pretty in Pink” features a much-referred to scene in which the “pretty” protagonist, the financially challenged “Andie” (Molly Ringwald) must assess what she’s going to do about her prom dress. She has her BFF (Annie Potts) Iona’s confection from her 1969-ish prom, replete with pink polka dots, and a dress her well-intentioned, but fashion-challenged father (Harry Dean Stanton) bought her. In a fit of inspiration, Andie combines the two dresses into what is clearly supposed to be the ultimate in stylish mash-up dresses (unfortunately, most viewers just found it unflattering and downright ugly). Still, we can’t help but admire Andie’s moxie.  And in this film, “moxie” translates into mad creative skills (or the intended portrayal of such).

Accessorize For a Personalized Prom Look

In addition to finding just-the-right dress, you’re going to want to look into matching or coordinating shoes (for all that is good-and-holy, make sure they’re comfortable!); and check out Prom Dress Shop’s prom accessories as well.

Getting the Most From Your Investment

A prom dress isn’t a wedding dress, and you’re not able to pack and preserve it in a special box the way you will with your wedding dress (at least, we’re going to assume you’re not). Still, if you’re going to invest in a beautiful dress, if you’re “going to “say ‘yes’” to that dress you might consider alternatives. Of what to do when the photos have been taken, when they’ve been posted to Instagram and Snapchat, and when the evening is done.

And, while you’re shopping for your prom dress, at, for example, the Prom Dress Shop in Chicago, the last thing (or, at least, one of the last things, you’ll want to think about is what you’re going to do with your dress post-prom. No, you’ll be – justifiably – preoccupied by the dress and its intended event.

The most obvious post-prom dress hack is to make it shorter (and that’s just assuming your dress is long). The “obvious” choices:

• Shortening
• Lengthening
• Adding bell sleeves
• Removing or shortening sleeves
• Changing the neckline
• Embellishing it with crystals or rhinestones
• Dying it another color (be sure the fabric will take the dye well)

Although you could always consider the following:

• Selling it – try Craigslist, Ebay or Etsy. Make sure you take really good photographs before you leave your start-off point. Take pictures with friends and make sure someone takes a solo photo of you.
• Keep it. Just because.
• Keep it for formal occasions – maybe an upcoming wedding, debutante ball, New Year’s Eve party
• Freecycle – post to your family and close friends on Facebook, Twitter or Snapchat – someone else may really need to wear a dress, but can’t afford one
• Turn it into a costume – after all, Halloween is only four months away. You could “go” as a fairy princess (just add a crown and carry a “wand” with ribbons at the end) or a pageant contestant (go as an actual contestant or mix it up, as a zombie or accident victim).
• Create something from it that will be a useful memory – use the fabric to cover the album which has prom pictures in it, make a decorative pillow or table runner.

Those are just some tips on how you can make use of your dress after prom. Do you have other tips in mind? Share it to us in the comments section.