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Do Tell: Share Your Prom Dress Photos and Win an iPod Touch!

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The conversation went something like this:

"My dress? I just remember bows. Everything had bows. Bows on the boobs, bows on the butt, bows around the bottom, clip-on bows for my shoes, bows in my hair ... "

"Mine was short, and the entire bodice was made of stretchy black sequins."

"Whoa. Black sequins? That sounds ... "

I was sure my friend was going to tell me that my sequined dress sounded like a joke. But she surprised me.

"... kind of AMAZING."

This gave me pause. Sparkly? Yes. An on-trend-for-1993 fashion decision? Maybe. But until that moment, "amazing" is not how I'd come to think of my senior prom dress.

Suddenly I realized how wrong I'd been.

I mean, when you think about it, what ISN'T amazing about a dress made entirely out of sequins? When ELSE can you -- and all of your friends! -- adorn yourselves in sequins and bows and glitter and satin and taffeta and heels and douse yourselves in eyeshadow and hairspray and then full-on celebrate how fantastic you look?

The answer is: Never. There is no other time. And THAT is the ridiculous magic of prom. THAT is the ridiculous magic of prom dresses.

And so, with this stunning realization in my mind, I felt it my duty to launch Promtacular!, a Web site dedicated entirely to showcasing awesome -- and awesomely awful -- prom photos. So who better to kick off BlogHer's Do Tell: I Rocked That Prom Dress Contest than yours truly? Truly, prom dresses are the best.

Like this one:

 

New Jersey. 1991.

And this one:

 

Talk about embracing sequins.

And this one

Amanda (in the photo) explains: "This was my senior year prom, and year two of mullet-dress look (short in front, long in back.) Although as you can see, this number certainly had some party going on in the front too."

Oh, and this one

Carolyn (in the photo) explains: Here I am in my my plain white polyester gown that I felt so HAWT in. I can’t believe I went somewhere without a bra, ever ...

And the dress of black sequins and lace (complete with one of the world's tackiest backdrops):

Do you remember your prom dress? We know you have photographic evidence of the biggest dance of your high school career. So rev up your scanners and prepare to enter BlogHer's Do Tell: I Rocked That Prom Dress Contest. The prize is an iPod Touch!

Here's how it works: Leave a comment describing your most memorable prom dress. You can upload a photo here using HTML (here's a guide) or leave a link to the photo somewhere else on the Web like Promtacular. If you want to use Flickr, please upload your photo without restrictions to our Flickr BlogHer I Rocked That Prom Dress group.


Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

You must embed or link to a photo in the comments on BlogHer to be registered for the iPod Touch drawing, which will take place at noon Pacific on Friday, April 23!

Make sure you have your e-mail address in your BlogHer profile so we can contact you if you win.

One comment on this post equals one entry into the contest. We will put all the comments into a randomizer to choose the winner. Comment as many times as you want! Good luck!

Official Contest Rules

Don't miss the Do Tell Archive. Last week we asked for the shoes you wanted to be buried in to win a $100 Visa gift card. Updated! This contest is closed.

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WendyWearsBlack 5 pts

I hate to be a party-pooper, but I was the poor nerd girl who couldn't have afforded to go to prom even if someone had asked me to go. For my family, fancy dresses were not in the budget. We were content with a decent house and food on the table. Heck, I only spent $500 on my wedding dress and I still think that was the most foolish use of hard-earned money. In those days, my RENT was $500! Be glad that you were so blessed as to have been able to go to prom!

BShallue 5 pts

My prom dress is still hanging in my closet! Yes, I get a lot of teasing about that, and no, I don't believe I've worn it since the DPHS Prom of '77 (although a friend borrowed it for a sorority event the next year) - but I just love the dress. You can't see it in the picture, but it's just a simple, black dress - I think pretty classy for the times. Now, you should see the dress I wore for our 10 year reunion in 1987 - I totally made up for my lack of satin, ruffles and pouf in '77 ... what was I thinking?
Here I am on the right in the black with my BFF and actor Will Greer ("Grandpa Walton" on The Waltons)who just happened to be in the hotel at the same time.

( http://barbarashallue.typepad.com/.a/6a00e552a02fb... )

Barbara Shallue writes about her life at http://barbarashallue.typepad.com and is contributing editor of http://jobs4autism.com.

JoanieAtwater 5 pts

OMGosh, Carissa! You look perfect! ;-) I LOVE all that lace! Your date is pretty cute fo sho!

mollypg 5 pts

My prom dress was made entirely out of electric blue sequins! It's totally true. I'm headed to find proof now.

This post was so much fun! Thank you, thank you, thank you for inspiring a future prom post of my own. :) (Headed to check out Promtacular! now)

come visit and say "hi" at my blog ( http://www.aforeignland.blogspot.com/

or on twitter ( http://twitter.com/mollypg )

lizwb 5 pts

I didn’t rock my prom. I wasn’t there. No one asked me; I didn’t dare appear alone, and the $125 fee was exorbitant for my family – not to mention getting the dress of my dreams, which I’ve drawn over and over again over the years (my wedding dress is eerily similar, no surprise, except of course, it wasn’t green.)

And of course, the Stevie Nicks-style boots, which I know own about a half dozen pairs.

I didn’t rock my prom. I wasn’t there. I didn’t dare.

Now, instead? I rock the world.

Too many teens out there are like I was then: insecure, lack confidence, hit middle school and high school and suddenly lose interest in everything but every tiny or imagined flaw on their face, or on the real but beautiful body they have that doesn’t match the highly Photoshopped images they see in the media.

They COULD rock the prom, or the world. But they don’t dare.

So they’re not there.

Now, I run a web site for kids. There’s a big yellow banner on the home page that says: “You can do it. Never give up.” It’s true: I started the site all by myself, ten years ago – just me: everything you see on it I did, from the text to the images to the music to the programming, and it’s still a one woman show, now that I’ve added video.

It gets 2 million hits a month from all over the world. That’s a lot of kids to be pumping confidence into.

My 13-year-old and I are going to be launching “InklessTeens.com” soon – with the same message. That it’s cool to rock the prom – proms are fun.

But whoever you are, whatever you look like, whatever you’re into? You can rock the whole wide world, whoever you are.

You can do it. Just don’t ever give up on yourself.

After all: if one ugly duckling whom no one asked to the prom can grow up into a swan with the brains to create a web site that became globally popular all by herself?

Anyone can rock anything they choose. One person CAN make a difference. Whether they rock the prom or not.

As long as they have the confidence to know they rock at all? It’s all good.

(My dream prom dress:)

Elizabeth Williams Bushey

www.inklesstales.com ( http://www.inklesstales.com )

www.inklesstunes.com ( http://www.inklesstunes.com )

elizabeth@inklesstales.com

1-888-RAMARKA

1-888-726-2752

Kellyology 5 pts

What can I say? It was the 80's. And apparently I loved virginal white. At least I didn't have the lace gloves on to match.

( http://www.flickr.com/photos/kellyology/4540501639... )

Kelly
Link Text ( http://www.kellyology.net )

Was that out loud?

http://kellyology.net

Annette D 5 pts

My Mom made my prom dress for my Junior-Senior Prom in 1976! It was white eyelet and so sweet!
http://abdoggett1.blogspot.com/2010/04/prom-1976.h...

Diana Laurence 5 pts

My 1973 prom dress was not as revealing as the styles are today...

dianalaurence@wi.rr.com

meryl 5 pts

Only went to one prom and it was with my boyfriend who later became my husband. Wasn't I all ruffly, sparkly and high haired? Can you guess what decade? :)

luv2knitnsew 5 pts

This is the best picture I can find, all the other pictures I have are in storage :O( that is my daughter, and my now husband of 10 years next month!! The best find for only $130, I love this dress, so many great memories!!

newrose23 5 pts

Here's mine :) Got to love the big bow in the front and all the sequins. And where the photo ended was where the skirt ended too, My Dad asked where the top and the bottom of the dress were.

cdelbueno 5 pts

to add to the fun, I also hosted my own prom pictures group on my blog:

http://delbueno.net/index.php/site/comments/attack...

cdelbueno 5 pts

Look, it's a bird, it's a plane, it's a meringue - nope, it's my sleeves from 1989!!! seriously folks there was a huge ass bow in the back too for ultra-gloriousness. i embrace my 80's cheese.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cdelbueno/4538149166/...

IsleDance 5 pts

Prom dress? Oh my. In my dreams, there was one. But not in reality. :o)
One Friday night, I loaded up my life and headed out... ( http://isledance.blogspot.com )

unlikelymama 5 pts

Oh dear...I was so tragic in H.S.
Hold me Hot Topic :P

The Unlikely Mama ( http://www.unlikelymama.com/ )

texasebeth 6 pts

I loved my prom dress! My mom was in the hospital all of May so she missed my graduation & prom. I hemmed my dress at the hospital. My date & I went by to visit her before dinner & the dance.

Here's the link to me trying to be sexy! I made the garter myself to match the dress. It is backless, a shimmery dark emerald green color.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/txebeth/4535479169/

I tried the HTML thing but couldn't make it work. I did upload it to the Flikr group.

Elizabeth

@texasebeth

http://texasebeth.blogspot.com

http://www.LandRDesigns.etsy.com

sonjathegreat 5 pts

Opps, somehow this posted and it shouldn't have! Delete me!

JennaHatfield 10 pts

I loveloved my senior prom dress. I still kind of do. It wasn't all that fad-ridden. Kind of a classic shape. I'm posting a picture of me with my Dad (who shaved his mustache for my 18th birthday in this picture! OMG! It was the 1st time my Mom had seen him without a mustache!) and my Grandpa who passed this past January is sitting off to the side.

BY THE WAY, that picture makes me sad that I thought I was fat at the time. MY GOD, CHILD-ME, WHAT WERE YOU THINKING.

Also, if this picture doesn't work, can you let me know? I linked over from Facebook but can copy to flickr if need be.

I'm wordy today.

@FireMom ( http://twitter.com/FireMom ) from Stop, Drop and Blog ( http://stopdropandblog.com ) and The Chronicles of Munchkin Land ( http://thechroniclesofmunchkinland.com )

sonjathegreat 5 pts

I was a huge tom boy in high school. I had little interest in prom, but was convinced that I must go because it was my senior prom. I said I would go, but I wasn't going to shave. It was a deal.

My best friend and I went prom dress shopping for me and we found one for $25.

( http://s409.photobucket.com/albums/pp180/sonjakay2... )

Sonja

The Mud and the Lotus ( http://www.mudandlotus.com )

Fairly Odd Mother 5 pts

Because I have no shame, I uploaded a photo of me and my matching friends to the Flickr pool. This contest makes the public humiliation worth it!

Fairly Odd Mother

http://fairlyoddmother.blogspot.com

modchik 5 pts

What a great way to feed my need to do everything but work on my site today - I LOVE THIS POST! Forget my dishes, the laundry the emails... I'm going prom picture hunting!