Did you wear something atrocious? Post a link to a picture if you want. If you didn't go, tell me what you did that night instead.

-- Anonymous, June 13, 2000

Answers

I didn't go to prom because, I suppose, I was a loser. How much of a loser? I have no idea what I did on prom night. I doubt that I registered that prom was happening. I ate my lunch in the art room and I had ran a petition because the library didn't carry anything by James Joyce, but had an entire *section* devoted to the 'works' of Daniel Steele. I think the librarian still hates me.

I'll tell you what I wanted to wear though. I wanted to wear something off the shoulder and cream coloured that went right to the floor. I thought that I would go to a store and put this thing over my head and when I came out of the dressing room everyone would turn and I would be completly different from my regular self. I would be transformed and beautiful and everyone at the prom would think, "can it be her?" and then I be able to do whatever I wanted without fearing snickering.

But at some point during that year I figured out that I could do that anyway without having to change a thing so long as I stopped caring that I was being snickered at. I bought a fedora instead of some annoying dress I'd never wear again and started cultivating my tendency to be a smart-ass.

-- Anonymous, June 13, 2000

You can see me here.

It was 1988. I'm in the bottom left hand corner wearing a Gunny Sax dress. I hated my hair. It was supposed to be like something in a Revlon ad, but turned out really trashy. Thank God I can use "It was the Eightes" as an excuse.

-- Anonymous, June 13, 2000

Didn't go. My family went out to dinner at a Greek restaurant that night. We actually had a lot of fun.

It was the 70s, though, so if I *had* gone to the prom, I probably would have been wearing something by Gunne Sax.

-- Anonymous, June 13, 2000

Keli, you were SO HOT!

Was Gunne Sax responsible for the white-lace-on-pastel-satin trend? Shudder.

-- Anonymous, June 13, 2000

Gwen, I believe so. Also lacy ruffles at the bottoms of skirts. And big bows in the back.

Gunne Sax has a *lot* to answer for.

-- Anonymous, June 13, 2000

Gunne Sax was the root of all envy in my high school for prom wear. I had to use my graduation money to pay for half of it. I think it was $120 at the time, which was considered expensive. My mom thought I shouldn't spend more than $80.

Every Young Miss and Sassy magazine featured them big time in their prom issues. I don't think they're as trendy as they used to be.

Does anyone remember how popular the Generra brand of clothes were in the 80s? They sell them at my Mega-Grocery store now. I'm thinking they're not so hot now either.

As for me being "HOT"... feh. But thank you. I wish I had realized how cute and skinny I was back then and used it to my advantage.

-- Anonymous, June 13, 2000

I designed my own dress, because I knew exactly what I wanted and couldn't find it anywhere. It had a black velvet bodice with a drop waist and royal/dark blue satin skirt, long and kind of flowy. All of my pictures are in America in an envelope somewhere. Anyway, it sounds kind of gross to me, and I just remembered that my dress is still hanging in my friend Nicole's closet, because we changed clothes at her house before going to after prom. This was six years ago, just to give you an idea of how forgetful/lazy/apathetic I am.

-- Anonymous, June 13, 2000

My "prom" (in Australia we call it the senior formal) was in 1996, and I wore an ice-blue satin halter-neck bias-cut gown that my mother made, with white strappy platforms and a white feather boa. I was highly dubious as to whether it would work, as I am deathly white and had my natural hair colour at the time (goldish-red), but it looked good. I was getting compliments all night, people kept telling me I looked like a 1940s film star. However, in ten years time I'll probably look back and cringe, thinking "God, what were people *wearing* in the 90s?!"

-- Anonymous, June 13, 2000

Argh. Okay, I didn't go to either jr. or sr. prom. I had tested out of high school in April of my junior year, left my mom and moved to Chicago to live with my dad, where I worked for a nasty greek man who owned the town burger joint, "Hamburger Heaven" (I kid you not). I returned to Calif. that fall, took a job, and actually continued with my senior class but only in marching band (they would have the bus driver stop by my work to pick me up for Friday night games). By the time prom rolled around (1982), my mom had sent me off to northern California to live in the dorms at College of the Redwoods. I saw pix of my best bud and her boyfriend (and husband now, all these years later) at prom...they both looked TERRIBLE and had a rather blah time, so I guess I didn't miss much.

-- Anonymous, June 13, 2000

Oh, mine was quite hideous. It was green and off the shoulder and had a big rhinestone bow type thing on the top. My shoes were dyed to match. I had braces on my teeth. :) Geekdom.

-- Anonymous, June 13, 2000

Black sparkly lace on black satin. Only I ate some bad shrimp at dinner and didn't make it to the actual prom. I missed seeing my school's cross country star licking up spilled beer once the booze supply ran out at the big post-prom party.

That was my senior prom. I was too much of a revolutionary to go to my junior prom. I hung out in a burrito joint and then a coffee house instead. At least, I assume I did. I might have been babysitting. If it wasn't one, it was the other.

-- Anonymous, June 13, 2000

slap a big "L" on my forhead....I sat at a friends house eating homemade chocolate chip cookies on prom nite. She was underclassman who felt sorry for me...I, of course, had completely forgotton about it being prom nite, and when I realized why she had invited me over, I was so sad and depressed.

Thanks for reminding me of Gunne Sax...I'm itching at the thought of all that lace...

-- Anonymous, June 14, 2000

I never went to my prom! In Ontario, there has always been grade thirteen as well as grade twelve, although by the time I got into high school the Ministry of Education was starting to phase out grade thirteen. So, when grade twelve started, I thought I was going on to grade thirteen, but then I worked it out before midterm that I would be able to graduate by the end of the year. So then it was too late to buy a prom ticket.

Plus I hated dances and didn't want to go.

I don't think I've really suffered much for it.

-- Anonymous, June 14, 2000

I graduated in 1984. Mom made me a long dress, out of "champagne beige" satin, with a chocolate brown waist-sash. It had a ruffly neckline (was worn off-the-shoulder, the ruffle extended around my shoulders), fitted bodice, sash, and long semi-full skirt, plainly hemmed. Then there was an overskirt, and the overskirt was gathered into (god, what would you call it?) um, like, swoops, or swags? at the hem by tiny chocolate brown satin bows. I got to wear it twice because I had my first boyfriend in 1985, and he was graduating that year, so I got to go to his prom. My own prom sucked ass, so I was glad I got a "do-over", and his was lots more fun.

Trivia: for those of you Melrose Place/Ally McBeal fans, Courtney Thorne-Smith (Allison/Georgia) was at that 1985 prom, too-- she was in my bf's class. Mind you, back then, she was simply Courtney Smith. *wink*

-- Anonymous, June 14, 2000

My date wore a beautiful, if fairly simple, off the shoulder white gown that went to the floor, and she had a bright red sash around her waist. I was wearing a white tuxedo with a bright red cummerbund. We looked pretty dynamite together, and we really stood out because our clothes were dazzling white.

It was fun to be with our pals, but this was our one and only date. Well, actually, we also went to a pajama party the week before prom. But neither of us had a date and a mutual friend suggested I ask her so we could all be together and I decide that was a good idea because I liked her as a friend and she was cute (bonus!).

-- Anonymous, June 14, 2000

Oops! Almost forgot. Keli, you were hot in that photo. :-)

-- Anonymous, June 14, 2000

Looking at my prom photo (which I am not posting), I realize the dress doesn't look too bad at all. I borrowed it from a friend -- it was a size ZERO, believe it or not. Strapless, multicolored, no lace or satin or anything poofy.

My date and I also wore matching "Nixon Now" buttons. We thought that was cool. And for at least one of the proms, I had peace-symbol earrings. Weird enough for 1987, at least in New Orleans.

-- Anonymous, June 14, 2000

Anyone who reads my journal already knows my creepy prom story, but if you want to skip the story and just see the picture, here it is, along with my comments on it. I was reading my high school journal last time I was at my parents house, and my exact words were something like, "I found a dress for the prom, and it is so tough! Now I just have to find a date." If I only knew...

-- Anonymous, June 15, 2000

Junior Prom, the year was 1982. My mom paid almost a hundred dollars for my pale pink 'gunny sax' dress with (ew) ruffles, pearl trim and lace. God awful ugly thing but I guess I was fly for the time with my "Farrah" hairdo and my rabbit fur jacket. My date was 21 and drove a red camaro. --What the hell were my parents thinking?--

-- Anonymous, June 15, 2000

Rabbit fur jacket! Shriek!

Y'all aren't losers for not going to prom. Don't think that. It's only that your lives are a tiny bit less enriched because you lack the blackmail photo from that special evening.

Kim, I never read about the actual case because I don't know where exactly it starts. When was he first suspected? (so I can go to that date in your archives.) I thought it was funny that y'all's "not having fun" picture is making the rounds, though.

-- Anonymous, June 15, 2000

*sigh* I looked like that purple thing from the McDonalds commercials. I never want to think about it again *runs crying*

-- Anonymous, June 16, 2000

The murder happened in June of 1998, but I wasn't keeping a journal back then. The backstory is mostly in this entry and then the end result is that it was declared a hung jury, so he's free pending the prosecutor's decision whether or not to retry him. If you check my weblog, there are lots of links to various more recent stories about the case, but I don't know if the links have expired or what.

Anyway, sorry to be all pimping my site! Anyone can e-mail me if they're interested in details. My ten year high school reunion is in a month, and we're placing bets on whether he will attend. I say no.

-- Anonymous, June 16, 2000

I didn't go to my prom. I was already living in my own apartment (yes I was the appropriate age for my grade) and frankly I was just TOO DAMN COOL for prom. Too cool for school. Also I graduated earlier so I was out of there by the time prom season was in full swing.

But I did go to my boyfriend's prom two years prior. My boyfriend was 2 years older than me so that made me even cooler! It was 1990. It was held at the Beacon Motor Lodge outside St. Catharines. I wore a vintage dress that was black velvet on top and some other black material from the waist down. It was an above the knees dress. I still have this dress and have worn it in a variety of scenerios. it's mulitpurpose really. But it doesn't fit me anymore.

I wore long black gloves that rode right up my arm past my elbows. I can't remember, and I don't have any pictures, but I might have worn boots. I didn't wear makeup (never do) and my hair was long and straight and flat (still is). I was the only girl who didn't have a poofy dress on. It was 1990 after all (which I still equate with the 80's becuase the styles hadn't changed yet). I was pretty proud of that.

I'd tell more, but that doesn't fall under the category of "what i wore".

I was the maid of honour at my friend's wedding just a few weeks ago. I'm less of a "maid of honour" type person then I am a "prom" person. But I'd have to say I looked way more promish then I did at the prom.

-- Anonymous, June 16, 2000

I wore Gunne Sax dresses to every event I attended from ages 13 to 18. I remember in Seventeen magazine, we'd all wait for the prom issue to come out, and we'd circle the dresses we wanted to try on.

I graduated from high school in 1987. My prom pic, Gunne Sax dress and all, is here. I look like I'm made out of confectioner's sugar. The shoes were lavender pumps from Bertie. I still have 'em, stashed in the back of my closet, along with my Kenneth Cole patent leather stillettos with lucite heels that I wore on New Year's Eve, 1987.

-- Anonymous, June 16, 2000

I was a total weirdo dork in high school, so I wound up going to my Senior Prom with my best friend (1986). No money, and my mother was NOT going to sew a formal for me! My friend dropped the formal she'd worn for the Valentine's Day dance the year before over my head, and her mother impatiently took it in with straight pins and a few bits of basting stitch. (I'm amazed I didn't get stabbed and bled to death that night!) My friend told me later that her mom was convinced she was gong to wear the dress again...yeah, right.

Anyway, straight blonde hair, just past the shoulders with dorky bangs, white shoes with only a one-inch heel, pink satin dress with pinky-white lace covering the whole thing. I have a photo somewhere...now y'all got me wanting to put it up on my site, along with the full-on prom story (which isn't pretty in the least). Hrmmm...I AM off work today...

-- Anonymous, June 16, 2000

I actually went to five proms. 2 Junior year and 3 senior. Don't ask. My friends and I bought new dresses to the first 2 or so, but then we got over the new dress thing (and the money being spent) and we just wore each other's dresses. So, you'll see me wearing one bubble-pouf plaid skirt bottom with black bodice number in one picture and my friend wearing it in another and the next year someone else in the same dress with maybe different straps. weeeee. I don't think any of y'all should feel bad about not going if you didn't go. I don't have any prom pictures other than the one's my mom took and I'm pretty sure it's because I destroyed all others to keep me from remembering. The themes. Yeesh.

-- Anonymous, June 16, 2000

G-force: I wore a similar outfit to yours at my ex-boyfriend-still-friend's prom in junior year. It was a black, pure polyester sleeveless mini dress with an empire waist and I think a black ribbon around it. And I wore the long gloves, and whorish black heels with ankle straps. And rhinestones. The best part was that I borrowed the dress from my friend and she'd gotten it from Salvation Army for $2 or something ridiculous like that. I had the Demi-Moore-circa-Ghost 'do working for me. I think I looked better that night than I've ever looked in my life.

Sara: you look beautiful in that picture! Only a little sugary, but still fabulous!

Sydney: do it!! And then send us the link.

Y'all don't worry about posting your links. Please feel free.

-- Anonymous, June 16, 2000

Okay, let me see how I can decribe this...silver sequined bodice, silver lame' ruffle on top, strapless. Looked kinda like this on top: \_/ The bottom was a full silver lame' skirt. I looked like a big baked potato/disco ball and I wasn't even fat. I have no idea what I was thinking. I can safely say that I was the only person at the prom with THAT dress on.

-- Anonymous, June 18, 2000

Ok, I liked my high school years. I wasn't in the popular (read: extremely rich and extremely stupid) crowd, and I wasn't in the smart (read: weird and dorky) crowd, but a middle crowd that was mostly smart and somewhat respected and popular. I had my fair share of teenage angst, but I thought it was all part of the learning experience and had a blast with it. My prom dress came from Ashland, Oregon at a shop called Elizabeth something, in Elizabethen-themes. It was a handmade dress and rather feminine. It wasn't trendy at all, but I wasn't concerned. My date and I went with two other couples, my best friends from high school. I was impressed with their dresses too - not a stitch of lace on anyone! The night was memorable, thanks to friend Ike's quirkly personality. My other friend Becca and I were notoriously picky eaters, and Ike because he was notoriously cheap. In the end we had a big banquet at my parents' house for prom night. Becca's and my parents did most of the cooking, we gave Ike and his family the easy job was doing the dessert. Ike showed up with one store bought pie, with a slice already taken out of it. Ike was also too cheap to rent a tuxedo, instead he wore his Madrigals choir uniform which had the vague resemblence of a tuxedo. We'd also had a big row over the rental car, a red convertible. Ike had said, "I'll get in the car, I'll have loads of fun in the car, but I won't pay for the car." And he didn't put in any money for the car, but that night we discovered we couldn't fit 6 people in the convertible. We made Ike and his date go to the prom in Ike's car - a crappy old Pergeot. Ike's gorgeous date dropped him like a sack of spuds once we got to the prom. I ended up feeling kinda sorry for him.

I spent the rest of the night in my long Elizabethan dress wondering what kinda prom committee approves the music theme of half gangsta rap and half live performance from Crucial DBC, a ska band, for the night everyone's wearing their fancy bests and making their romantic memeories of High School. Gawd, it killed my feet.

I still have that dress. It's made two appearances since that prom night. Once in an English class video, and once at my brother's wedding both of which were supposed to have some kinda English-style period theme. The really cool thing about this down-to-the-floor full-circle-skirt dress is that it's got pockets hidden in the side! Even when I was wearing it, looking all pseudo-coy and feminine, I still got to slouch around with my hands in my pockets.

-- Anonymous, June 18, 2000

Didn't go, and I don't recall feeling any trauma over it.

Went to some dances in college, and had two standards: long-sleeved red jersey dress with something funky going on at the shoulder and a jewel neckline that fastened behind the neck. Not a terrible dress, I guess. My other standard was a black wool jersey with a big eighties- style cowl neck and dolman sleeves and a side slit. I also wore hoop earrings, as I recall.

Wore the hell out of both of them, still have them, but the black one has moth bites in it now. Just discovered that the other day. Since I was a 5'7", boobless and buttless size 7 at the time and am now a 5'9" boobful hippyhippyshake size 10, I wouldn't fit in it anyway. Wore the black one with big wide belts with lots of silver hardware and studs all over them, tights of many colors and suede(esque) slouchy elf or slouchy pirate knee-high boots CONSTANTLY. You can imagine how cool I was. (When I felt too macha to wear a dress, I looked like Keith Richards in beat up jeans I'd painted all over, a scary leather jacket or army jacket and whatever tee or t-neck I thought was cleanest. I miss the eighties.)

Every single college dance, photos were taken AFTER everyone had danced for ~four hours and I went to school where it gets really hot and muggy. People had also been drinking, so you had thousands of red- faced wet-headed tired makeup-smeared people in the photos... We all looked like 'before' ads for Noxema or facial powder. And the roots of our hair got all wet from perspiration, so everyone had tacky two (or three or four) tone hair. (It WAS the eighties, but sweaty roots didn't look good on anyone. It made the eighteen different pastel colors on your eyelids and your purple and blue mascara run. Totally grody.)

-- Anonymous, June 20, 2000

AACK. THE P-WORD.

One of my platonic male friends convinced me to go with him to what was my junior and his senior prom, because his girlfriend was away at school and couldn't come back for it. I had not gone to a dance since eighth grade and would NEVER have condescended to do this had my mother and grandmother not threatened to tie me up and throw me in the back of his car. (Going to prom was a big thing with them for some reason. "I am NOT going." "Can't you get ANYONE to take you?" "THAT'S NOT THE POINT.")

Anyway...He insisted on wearing this...plum-colored...suit that he said he'd worn the year before (and boy, did he look like a fruit). I despaired of finding anything to match that and opted for black. Long, sleeveless black dress, long black gloves, black spike heels, short black velvet cape thing. Add to this my butt-length dark (at the time; I seem to becoming blonder somehow) hair and too much black eyeliner, and I looked like Morticia Addams. My friend Leah calls me Tish to this day. My best friend wore a black slip dress and hooker boots. It gave our redneck/preppie classmates something to talk about for months.

We only stayed at the actual dance for about an hour but were stuck at afterprom until six the next morning. I was seethingly furious before two. All my girl friends got to go home, but James the MORON forgot to have his mother sign the release form that would allow us to leave before it was over. Not to mention that he basically ignored me the whole time...gah. I ended up watching the boy I had a psychotic crush on all through high school karaoke I've Got You Babe with my female arch nemesis, who wasn't even his girlfriend. I then sat in a corner and thought about "Carrie" and pyrokinetics.

We went to another girl's house for breakfast. I start to get giggly when I've been up too long. Her mother thought I was high on something and made me drink what seemed like a quart of black coffee. Caffeine did not help. I got home at seven and had to go help clean up at eleven (it was mandatory. they made us set up too).

A couple years later, I discovered that my mother thought it was a REAL date instead of a PITY date. I nearly spontaneously combusted. I still hold a grudge about all this and, since we ended up at the same university, am making him repay me slowly by helping me move in and out of dorms, jump-start the Bitchmobile (it dies if I don't drive it every three days, and I never think to go anywhere), and bring me implements of destruction as necessary (I cannot believe no one in the whole damned dorm had a screwdriver).

Punkie of the hooker boots and I spent my senior prom tie-dying my sheets purple and her hair pink. THAT was fun.

-- Anonymous, June 22, 2000

Gwen: Hey my friend gave me my dress and she got it from a second hand store too!

-- Anonymous, June 23, 2000

I only went to Homecoming...I hadn't wanted to go. My boyfriend had dragged me there. So, I wore this 40's sparkly blue/black sleeveless dress, and my boyfriend wore a skirt. We were escorted to the parking lot by the police when we left, due to death threats.

-- Anonymous, June 28, 2000

I wore a black, fringed-all-over flapper dress that I bought at an antique store. I used it for my junior -and- senior prom, heh, how tacky is that? The first year I wore it how it was intended...I had a bob sort of hairdo and wore t-strap shoes, etc. The second year I morphed into some kind of scary goth looking creature with black too short hair, pale face, etc, etc. Looking back, I think I prefer the first time around. I still have the dress, but 8 years later it's way beyond fitting me. sigh.

-- Anonymous, August 04, 2000

OOOh! I loved prom! I got to got to every single Sr prom and Jr cuz I was always asked. One time I wore the same dress to both jr and sr and some b with a itch had nerve to ask me if i wore the same dress to both. I hate her. 1 dress i wore was a strapless and when i was dancing my boob popped out!!! i think thats why i got a a in biology!!!!

-- Anonymous, August 04, 2000

You got an A in biology coz your teacher liked your boob, or simply because you were anatomically correct?

-- Anonymous, August 04, 2000

you mean atomically correct like Barbi???? Well i was flunking bio and all of a suddne after prom i gots a A! My mom was so proud!!!!

-- Anonymous, August 04, 2000

Good for you, Floosie! I had to promise my math teacher I wouldn't tell anyone about his panty fetish so I could get my A!

-- Anonymous, August 04, 2000

Screech Sush! Did that really happen to u? I wouldve died!?

-- Anonymous, August 04, 2000

All of you are lucky at least you had the opportunity to go to a prom even if you didn't go, I live in Liverpool in the UK and I guess that if I was American my prom would be next year but they don't have them here and in my school you don't even get a leavers party. Since I was little I wanted to go to a prom in a long graceful blue dress, my friends laugh at me cos when I watch anything about proms I always say how much I'd like to go to one they tell me I should have been American, I think the school system over there looks so much better than the one we have in the uk.

-- Anonymous, October 25, 2000

'66, Hang Ten shorts, hawaiian silk shirt tucked in, white socks with blue tennies, sport coat, slicked back blond hair, got kicked out after sneaking in, ate mushies 1/2 hour before the dance, took my girlfriend to the No Tell Motel(Liberty Motel actually) lied about my age and had wonderful sex all night long. It was great. Couldn't have been better. Three weeks later got my notice. James

-- Anonymous, October 27, 2000

Oy, what a dress I wore. When I was little, I always coveted my cousin's Spanish Barbie with the mantilla and the red dress covered in black lace, and when I found the red/black lace prom dress, I knew that was IT. The only problem is, I'm a blue eyed blonde and just looked all...wrong...in it, but try telling that to my 16 year old bad self. Loved that dress, had a great time, looked hideous but never knew it. My sister and her little friends loved to play dress-up in it years later. It had lots of rhinestones and stuff on it too. Ew. I wonder if it still fits....It would be worth dieting to get back into it for our next family occasion. My sister would die.

-- Anonymous, November 02, 2000

Heh. That would kick ass.

I think that once every year or two, all adult women should get to try on formal gowns with their friends.

Okay, I just remembered -- I SWEAR I'm not making this up -- last night my 3-year-old son said he wanted a nightgown, because that's what knights wear.

-- Anonymous, November 02, 2000

I was in 9th grade when I went to my first prom. Our family was having some finacial problems but I went to all the botiques and formal shops I could find looking for the perfect dress. I couldn't find one that I could afford so I ended up borrowing my aunts old prom dress from the 80's with puffed out sleeves, ruffles, and lace galore! With a few adjustments I tore apart the dress (espically the sleeves, ruffles, and lace!) and bought some matching fabric that i could fix it up with. After I ended up with a long puffy dress halter, with a different colored skirt.It looked great on me. It was the best prom out of all of the ones I had been to!

-- Anonymous, February 10, 2001

All right, you all. You know how I said that the high school in Galveston had sororities and fraternities? Well, those organizations threw monthly formals several months out of the year. I went to a few, wore cheesy formal dresses-even rewore a dress from when I was in a Quincenera (mispelled?)-and was always way outclassed by the super sophisticated Jessica McClintock dresses surrounding me.

Went to Junior Prom with the guy I dated before I began dating my xhusband. Unfortunately, I was already dating said xhusband by prom time, so I was not real into prom. And, instead of getting a new dress, I wore my mother's wedding dress from her second marriage. Off white, poofy sleeves, calf length. Not bad, but now when I look at those prom pictures I look like I'm with my groom.

After prom, we all went to Rocky Horror Picture Show. I ran into my boyfriend/future xhusband there. On a date. And I wasn't in the position to be outraged, because I was there with a date. Damn the luck. Graduated from alternative school, no proms. Double damn the luck.

-- Anonymous, February 10, 2001