vintage prom

Although I'm way past my prom days, I still thought it would be fun to do a post about vintage prom dresses. And I was hoping to start things off with a photo of me in my prom dress (circa 1987). Unfortunately, I could not find the photo. I didn't wear a vintage dress to prom, although I had started thrifting and wearing vintage at this point. My dress was, however, vintage-inspired. It was a pretty amazing black satin floor-length sheath, with a fishtail hem, and I wore it with long gloves and rhinestone jewelry. Very Hollywood movie star! The effect, however, was pretty much ruined by my giant hair.

Since I don't have a photo of me and my dress (and my cute prom date!), here's a photo from the same time period of me and the hair (and our cute college counselor! Who is obviously quite rightly puzzled by the hair).

The rhinestone earrings? I wore those to prom!

Anyway, if I were 18 and attending prom today, I would want to go wearing one of the many amazing and well-priced vintage dresses you can find on Etsy! And naturally, these vintage party and cocktail dresses work just as well for more grown-up affairs. I put together an Etsy Treasury of 16 of my favorites. Click the photo to see a larger view of the treasury (links to each seller's dress below the photos), or click this link to go directly to the Treasury itself, which includes clickable links to all the dresses.

Row 1, l-r: 13bees; AdelaideHomesewn; HuzzahVintage; DearGoldenVintage

Row 2, l-r: swaneegrace; thegreedyseagull; persephonevintage; HinterlandVintage

Row 3, l-r: shopREiNViNTAGE; MariesVintage; denisebrain; landof1000dresses

Row 4, l-r: brownbagvintage; salvagelife; VivaLaVintageShoppe; studio1950

And here's a little selection of prom/cocktail party-worthy dresses from the shop.

Clockwise, starting at upper left corner: 1950s Black Taffeta MAGNIFICENT OBSESSION Party Dress; 1950s Blush Pink Chantilly Lace Dress; 1950s MIDNIGHT Sparkle Peg Palmer Party Dress; 1950s Satin BLUE HEAVEN Satin Cocktail Dress by Miss Brooks

Clockwise, starting at upper left corner: 1950s LILAC SMOKE Lace Party Dress; 1940s Black Taffeta R&K Originals Dress with Rhinestone Buttons; 1980s Metallic EMERALD Party Dress; 1960s Abstract ORCHARD Print Tiered Skirt Cocktail Dress

And hey, if you have a chance, check out this week's prom themed Etsy Voter, and if you're so inclined, put a vote in for my 1950s Lilac Smoke Lace Party Dress, which was nominated--my first time ever in an Etsy Voter!

xo

K