Pennsbury Prom: Dress Stress

Yes! You've found the perfect dress. It's exactly what you wanted: the right color, fabric, style and price. You feel like a princess, and when prom day comes around, your friends tell you that you look amazing (and you feel it, too)! So after the excitement of the pictures, the floats, and the entrance, you wander the masterfully decorated hallways of the prom. You hear someone call your name from behind. As you turn around, you realize it's the girl from your physics class coming over to say hello. But as she gets closer, you both freeze -- both of you have the same exact dress!

For many girls, the situation I have described above has happened at the earlier junior, sophomore, and freshman formals. But no girl wants to have the same dress as another at the Senior Prom. However, this can be a tricky situation. With roughly 400 or so girls attending the most highly-anticipated event of the year, finding a dress that is entirely unique can be difficult, since many girls are going to shops and malls in the general vicinity to buy them. In addition, many girls are on tight budgets for prom, and do not want to pay exorbitant amounts of money for a dress which will only be worn once. However, Pennsbury girls are creating new ways to find the perfect dress, while avoiding replicas. Here's what they have to say:

When senior Melissa Petty was asked about how she budgeted her spending on her dress, she responded, "I did have a budget. However, I wanted to remain a little flexible, just in case I found something I loved."

Flexibility seemed to be a common theme; an extra $30-$50 is doable, just remember that there are a list of other expenditures that you might have to make for prom.

Melissa chose her dress because "It was very different from everything else I saw. It wasn’t plain and ordinary, it was unique!"

Lauren Zawacki, another senior, said that she loved her dress because, "Of the color and the design of the back. I always buy dresses for the back designs."

When you know what you like and dislike in dresses, it will not be such an overwhelming experience searching through hundreds of dresses. Each girl also had their own way of making sure their dresses would remain free from replicas.

Melissa showed only a handful of friends her dress ("The only people I did show were girls!" she notes). Lauren bought hers online, and posted a picture of her dress on a Facebook group titled: Pennsbury 2012 Senior Prom Registry -- created by senior Melissa Aguilar. This is where all the girls going to the senior prom can post a picture of their dress, so that other members of the group can double-check that the dress they will purchase has not already been bought.

So there you have it! From the budgeting, to your style preferences, to the fear of replicas, the drama surrounding the dress you wear to the Senior Prom can create a headache for even the most enthusiastic prom-goers.

However, there are ways to get around complications when choosing a dress. Set a reasonable budget; If you surround yourself with affordable dresses, you will not be disappointed. Choose a dress that fits YOU! After all, it is your senior prom, and you will look best in a dress that has a bit of your personality in it. And of course, find ways to avoid the nightmare of seeing another of your dress: Post it to the Prom Registry, tell some friends, or go to a store that's further from the Pennsbury area.

But when it comes down to it, no matter what happens on prom night, there is one guarantee: You WILL look spectacular!