The ever-challenging and ever-changing prom fashion keeps students on their toes each year, ready to invest their time in finding the perfect dress, height-friendly matching shoes, elegant hairstyle, and fashionable accessories to make their prom memorable. Students plan months in advance to make sure they have a stunning look and many girls will agree that it takes a lot of planning and preparing to make the night a fashionably successful one.

Styles are changing constantly when it comes to dresses, makeup, hair and jewelry. This year, simple dresses or dresses with floral patterns seem to be the trend.

Although flowery patterns and fabrics have been pushed to the front of many dress racks, many students may decide to go with a laid back, yet elegant look.

Plain black or red dresses are one way to go to get this look. Pale colors, such as pinks, tiffany blues, or ivory colors also achieve a classic look.

“I’ve seen a lot of girls come in and buy a variety of different dresses where I work,” Posh Prom and Formal Wear employee junior Maddie Castrillo said.

Regardless of style, one way to jazz-up a minimal dress is by putting extra time and effort into the makeup.

‘Dressing the face,’ as some may call it, is an essential step to completing a formal appearance. Makeup can done in a variety of ways to best flatter the person’s features and dress.

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“The go-to eyeshadow is the smoky eye. It makes someone’s eye color pop and compliments any color dress,” junior Gabi Ramkissoon said. This is a style of eyeshadow that begins with lighter colors near the inner eye and darkens as it moves outward. Black, browns, whites, and even red eyeshadows look sharp with the dresses.

To complete a simple look, students tend to compliment dresses with an arm cuff or a shiny necklace and earrings. Arm cuffs come in a variety of designs and colors, most commonly gold and silver. “I love the arm cuff look because it dresses up more simple dresses,” Castrillo said.  

Once one has matched makeup with dress and accessories, the hair comes next.

When it comes to a hairstyle, the most popular this year are braids. This look sometimes trails back into an up-do or loose curls. Loose curls give the hair a more wavy, beachy look. The braided up-do’s work best with an open back dresses. This way, the open back of dress is more noticeable.

The final challenge is figuring out what shoes to wear. Girls try and look for heels that are not too tall that their feet will be hurt but not too short that their dress will drag on the ground. Most girls will  search for several weeks for a heel that compliments their jewelry and dress. However, upon arriving at the actual dance, it is common to see girls change into a flat shoe, like sandals, to make the night’s activities more bearable.

Although the struggling to find the perfect dress, the perfect makeup, and the right shoes and accessories can be quite hectic, many girls will agree that the troubles are worth it.