When Being CHEAP is a Good Thing
With prom season quickly approaching, I figured this was as good a time as any to share this information. After the Denver Firefighter Ball, I received lots of questions about where I bought my dress and who did my makeup. So, here it is in a nutshell!
First – The Dress
They key to finding a “cheap” dress for formal events is to make sure that the material doesn’t look cheap. One of my favorite sites for this is www.dhgate.com. When you go to the site there are tons of categories where you can buy anything from cell phone accessories to baby toys. Down the left hand side, click on Weddings and Formal Events. From here you will see options for prom dresses, little black dresses, evening dresses, cocktail dresses, flower girl dresses, mother of the bride dresses, and on and on. This can get a little overwhelming because there are literally thousands of dresses to choose from. I typically go with a color or style of dress that I want for the event and put that in the search. For example, for the dress I am wearing in the picture I clicked on Evening Gowns and then Hunter Green and Off Shoulder Sleeves.
Please keep in mind that these dresses are handmade. Every dress you can purchase in around at least 20 colors. There are pictures of swatches where you can see the actual fabric before you pick how you want to order it. So, don’t get hung up on the color of the dress on the model. You can easily modify it to a color of your choosing.
Most importantly when picking a size…….check their size chart! This seems silly because most people already know if they’re a 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, etc. However, since these are made overseas their sizes are a bit different. When ordering this green dress, I measured my top and bottom, and unfortunately I was in between 2 sizes. Fortunately for me I ordered the size up. This was the size I needed for the top portion of my body, and since the bottom was flowy I figured it wouldn’t be as obvious if it was a touch big. It says it will take about a month for delivery, but mine got to me in a little under 2 weeks.
Another thing to keep in mind is you might need some slight alterations. This mainly includes the hem line because they do come long (which is a big benefit for all you tall girls). I did my altering myself and adding a flower clip in the back to hold back the extra fabric. Voila! An out of my budget, red carpet dress became extremely affordable. You’ll be amazed at the pricing they offer. The great thing is if you’re only wearing it once you can also resell it after.
Holding Up the Ladies
The only struggle I found with this dress is there was a built in bra, but due to the neck and shoulder line it didn’t actually hold me up. I couldn’t wear a strapless bra due to no back of the dress. What is a lady to do?! I found this sticky bra on Amazon and it was a lifesaver. I’ve tried multiple of these before, but this is by far the best. It lasted all night, didn’t peel, didn’t move when I sweat, and peeled off without taking my skin with it. It’s also true to the bra size. It says Currently Unavailable but it comes back in stock pretty quickly. https://amzn.to/2UkUPPm
Let’s Get to Makeup
I did my makeup myself, but trust me, it’s all in the type of makeup you use. I’ll do a full post later on makeup styling, but for now I wanted to give a shout out to my new eyeshadow brand. Morphe! You can view all the pallets at http://bit.ly/2U4g5tq
As you can tell, the most expensive single pallet is only $24. Trust me when I tell you that it’s worth it. These colors are full cover and beautiful. I bought the Fall Into Frost pallet which is mainly sparkle colors, but there is a pallet for every single skin color or style. I suggest going into somewhere like Ulta or Sephora to see the colors in person. That way you’ll also get store points if you buy it there.
It would be an entire post in itself to go over every brand of makeup I used, but if you want to know something specific shoot me an email or comment and I’ll let you know.
The shoes are a side note. They’re from DSW and I bought those gel things you put in the ball of the shoe. They worked like a charm and I danced all night.
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