There is a recurring popular question this spring, debating none other than prom dresses. Prom is one of the most memorable moments of high school, which people will reminisce on for decades. A new trend this year is to wear more laid-back dresses or sundresses, which have been nicknamed “Easter prom dresses.” Over the past few decades, prom dresses have been relatively fancy, with lots of sparkles, gems, ruffles, slits, and sometimes even two-pieces. “Traditional prom dresses” are similar to black tie event dresses. “Easter prom dresses” are what some would say you would wear to an Easter church service, or just a casual event. This topic has been highly debated on social media recently, where some girls are being criticized for wearing Easter prom dresses.
The main reason people who wear traditional dresses are so concerned is because they think that you only have prom once or twice in your life, so you should wear a fancy dress for that night. They argue that Easter prom dresses are dresses you can wear at any event, so they are not as special. They also think that wearing a sundress to prom is not “appropriate attire” to a fancy dinner event.
On the flip side, people who are Easter dress defenders say that you should be able to wear what you want to your special night. It also can come in handy having a less fancy dress, because you can wear it for other occasions in life than prom, and save money and materials. A simple look has also been in style recently, so a simple, cute prom dress can be a staple item for that aesthetic.
I spoke with some students at Western to get their opinion on the prom dress debate, and what they think is the right decision. “I feel that wearing whatever makes you feel pretty is the best decision. It doesn’t matter the style, just the feeling,” said Junior Caroline Thomas. Junior Gigi Hathaway said, “People should wear what they want to wear, it doesn’t matter what anyone thinks.” Out of most of the people I talked to at Western, the common opinion was both, or to wear what you want.
Based on the recent trend of Easter dresses for prom, I believe that in the future prom dresses will become more simple. If you look back through the decades, dresses in the 80s were at times very over the top. Now, dresses are tighter, not as poofy, and have less excitement to them, meaning less sequins, sparkles, ruffles, and width. In 20 years, prom dresses will probably be way more simple, in ways we can’t even think of.
