Prom is one of the most important events of a girl’s life (second only to the day you get your first period, losing your virginity and turning 21). You have to find a great limo, a fun after-prom place, and, of course, the perfect dress. Oh yeah, and a date. Whatevs.

But let’s talk about the dress for a second. It’s gotta be beautiful and timeless. Flattering and very “you.” And it’s gotta move so you can shake your groove thang to whatever that sweaty DJ is spinning from the stage.

It also has to be horrendously, hideously, mind boggling-ly ugly. At least that’s what it looks like from the crop of dresses I’ve spotted online lately. (Yes, I look at prom dresses every year. Don’t judge me; I like to relive the moment.) I don’t know what is going on with high school seniors these days, but if this year’s prom dresses are any indication of what these girls are into, we’ve got major problems coming to our campuses next fall.

As we look to our neighborhood magazine stand, we can start to notice the new crop of mags popping up to kick off spring. And mixed in with all that glorious spring fashion is the creme de la creme of prom style.

Obviously, we aren’t really looking for prom dresses (unless we’re robbing the cradle and dating high school boys), but just seeing these magazines dedicated to high school’s most important night really takes me back. I remember the stressful search for a date (found one a week before!),  coming up with the money for tickets (which, at my school, cost an arm and a leg both years), the limo (who’s friends are we going with, and the after party (who’s friends are we going with, aka, we’re going with my friends, get over it).

Yeah, prom was stressful, but totally worth it. I had a blast both times. Mostly because I spent 60% of the night shaking my groove thang, and the other 40% of the time staring at all the girls in their hideous prom dresses.  You know the ones I mean – the  fashion don’ts dresses that girls completely tricked out and possibly bedazzled to make prom super special. They were annoying then – ruining every picture when the flash reflected off all that sequins – but I loved every tacky minute of it. Even now I find myself drawn to dress department in Macy’s, watching young girls make the biggest fashion mistake of their lives. Read More »

We all remember our senior proms.  Probably the most hyped up event of our lives before 20, we focus so much attention on having the “perfect prom.”  Personally, as one of those bitter-anti-cliché-too-cool-for-school kids in high school, I didn’t want to go to prom; the pressure of finding a date, the limo-drama, the $100 up-do that makes us look like “Toddlers in Tiara’s”…. but I went anyway, because we all remember our senior proms.  As Josie Gellar in “Never Been Kissed” reminded us, the word prom comes from promenade, and you can’t promenade alone.

A high school in Jackson, Mississippi is not so keen on their ballroom knowledge as they denied 18-year-old Constance McMillen the chance to promenade with her partner. Her lesbian partner.

According to the prom “rules” of this school, students may only be escorted by a date of the opposite sex.  Also violating “policy,” was McMillen’s preference to wear a tuxedo.  After fuss over her attempt to bend these discriminatory rules, the district canceled the prom.  McMillen is now suing her school district to reinstate the dance and to be allowed to attend with her girlfriend.

It is hard to believe that this issue, which has become nationally recognized, is even surfacing in the year 2010.  The concept seems completely bizarre.  Schools are supposed to educate.  They are supposed to prepare students for the future, and build them up to be positive contributing members of society.  How can this mission hold true, if they are supporting discrimination?  Not to mention, McMillen’s significant other is also a student at the school.  If both attend the school, both are allowed to go to the prom, how does the school even have a right to ban them from going “together?” Read More »

If teen magazines are to be believed, from January to June, there’s exactly one thing on every female high school student’s mind: prom. Or should I say: ~~*OMG PROM!!@! Only writing out the word like that can give it the respect it deserves.

According to sources like Seventeen, CosmoGirl (now only a website—RIP, CG!), and even classier options like Teen Vogue, prom is the absolute apex of a teenage girl’s existence. The big night apparently requires months of preparation and planning: who’s your date going to be? What are you going to wear? Can you get your dad to spring for a limo? Are you going to lose your virginity, or your dignity, or both? How will you resist the pressure to drink at the after parties? (… Because obviously, nobody ever voluntarily drinks alcohol in high school.)

I know what you’re probably thinking right now: “This is a website for women in college! Why is this stupid blogger talking about something that we all experienced years ago? I can barely remember my own prom. Sure, it seemed really important at the time, and I guess I had fun, but it definitely wasn’t actually the biggest night of my life.” Read More »

A few weeks ago we put out a call for prom pics. We thought it would be fun for CollegeCandy readers to share their favorite prom memories with one another and to compare prom experiences. Ok, that’s bullsh*t. We really just wanted to have something fun to look at in the CollegeCandy headquarters.

And boy did we. The prom pictures flooded our inboxes and left many of us “working” late to sort through them. The funny thing is, though, that no matter how many we got and how many different places were represented, prom is the same no matter where you go.

We chose a handful of our favorites to break it all down below. We’re pretty sure you’ll enjoy these more than the actual prom itself as much as we did.

The Posed Group Shot:

There are so many of us that there is no way we can all fit in one frame. Also, one person in this picture will look bad, thereby ruining it for the rest of us.

"Wait, no. You are ruining it! Everyone has to stand in front of their date. That is THE prom pic!"

The Glam Factor:

12 cans of hairspray, 3 bottles of self tanner and countless eyeshadows were used in the taking of this photo.

The Corsage/Dress Color Scheme:

"Thank you for listening and getting a flower to match my dress. Now we will look perfect forever."

The Corsages:

"These things are going to die in a few minutes, so let's get an artsy shot!"

The Putting-On of the Boutonniere:

Girl: "OMG my mouth is KILLING me from all this smiling. But we have to get the pic of me putting this thing on you." Boy: "Watch my nipple, woman."

The “My Baby is All Grown Up” Moment:

"Mom, this is really awkward. Stop crying. Mom. Mom! It's not that big a deal!"

The BFFs:

The just-girls shot must always be taken in a garden setting. Always.

The Limo:

"Ohmygod, mom. Get a picture of this! We're in a limo!"

1 or 2 pictures from the actual event:

"I had class with these girls once freshman year, but they look so pretty so we shoved the camera in my date's hands and made him get a pic."

Look how much FUN WE'RE HAVING!!

Aw. Together forever. Or until they go off to separate colleges and hook up with other people at their first frat party.

The Picture with Asian Tourists
(Ok, so that one isn’t quite so standard, but it is pretty awesome. How could we not include it?)

Sigh. Prom. What we would give to go back there and do it all again (in sweatpants…without a limo….and without that awkward date who spent the entire night at the dinner buffet instead of on the dance floor with us.) At least we can relive it through everyone else’s identical experience.

(Thanks to everyone who submitted prom pictures. You definitely made our week.)

We spend our whole lives imagining the big high school prom. What will we wear? Who will we take? Will there be some sort of breakout choreographed dance a la every high school movie ever made?

And then it’s over and, with the aid of the 4,256 posed pictures we take in someone’s backyard, we remember it forever.

For some, it’s a fantastic and memorable affair. For others, it’s a waste of 6 hours and $700 that we’ll never get back. But either way, everyone has some pretty vivid memories of that milestone night. Being that it’s prom season, we decided to ask the CollegeCandy writers to share their favorite prom memories.

No joke – some of these will make you LOL. For real.
Share your faves in the comments section below, then send us your prom pics!

Laura – St. John’s: My favorite prom memory was going out to Denny’s and having a sleepover with all my friends afterwards… it was a great way to keep the party going after the dance was over and enjoy one of our last high school events together!

Charlsie – Hollins: The one memory that sticks out from prom is the overwhelming feeling of stupidity for spending so much on my hair, make-up, nails, and dress.

Lauren – University of Michigan: My date left me because I decided to try a Mike’s Hard Lemonade at the after-party. Then, after passing out, I opened my eyes to witness my friend going down on her date.

Mazuba – Westchester Community College: The prom memory that stands out is my dad not letting me go out clubbing after my prom. So I attended the prom after that and partied hard to make up.
Read More »

It’s prom season! No, I don’t know this because I plan on cougaring it up and heading off to de-flower some high school senior on prom night. I know this because I was visually assaulted by hundreds of horrible sparkly dresses when I attempted to cure my weekend hangover at Nordstrom. And let me tell you – they did not help me with my task of “keeping vomit down.”

Why oh why do you have to put those things next to my beloved shoe department?!

All that taffeta got me thinkin’ back to my own dreadful prom night: my pastel blue dress, the flowers in my hair, my date who left the after-party because I thought I’d try a Mike’s Hard Lemonade for the first time…

Ah, memories…

I started getting a little nostalgic for that overpriced night of mediocre fun, so after I returned home (and pulled the trigger) I flipped through my old pics. And they are priceless. I realized that I am clearly not the only college girl with a book full of awkward posed photos chock full of hairspray and caked-on makeup. We all have ‘em…and we should all share ‘em.

So this is my call to all of you: send us your favorite prom pics! We are going to compile them all into one fantastically awkward post and share them with the world. The more cliche (in front of limo or not!) the better! You can block out people’s faces if you want, or let everyone see that smiled-so-much-my-cheeks-are-killing-me face.

Just attach ‘em to an email and send them to Lauren@collegecandy.com by Friday, April 24th and we’ll put them all together next week. And don’t worry; I guarantee mine are a whole lot worse than anything you can come up with. I left a deoderant smudge on my date’s shoulder…and didn’t realize until I’d gotten my 4 rolls of film back from CVS.