Having been invited to seven formals in my lifetime, certain themes have started to occur in terms of people's approach to what they wear. There are a few key ways in which people go about their formal that once mentioned you'll begin to notice and pinpoint with everyone at your own. These are: The online shopper, the handmade dresser, the vintage lover, the extravagant and elaborate and the subdued spender.
The online shopper: There's no denying that online shopping is possibly one of the greatest inventions since probably the invention of the wheel in the 4th millennium BC. But as wheels can lose air, online shopping too has its faults especially when shopping for a formal dress. Shops like ASOS, Princess Polly, Nasty Gal and thereformation are the go to shops for formal dresses, and while it's convenient and in some cases cheap. The chances of someone wearing the same dress as you is heightened drastically. The problem with online shopping is that the dresses and shoes are very 'in' at the moment, so your shoes and dress aren't necessarily going to be unique or make you stand out in the way that you'd like. At my year ten formal, someone bought her whole outfit online, off a pretty conventional website and someone wore the exact same dress and the same shoes in a different colour. For my formal this year, I looked for a dress for ages and couldn't find one. So eventually, I just asked my mum to find me a dress online. I've admittedly bought my whole outfit online this year which I'm a little bit concerned about as it was all from Topshop but I tried imagining anyone else in my year wearing the same dress and I can't picture it, so hopefully that's a good sign.
The handmade dresser: I have a lot of respect for the seamstresses amongst us who are talented and committed enough to make not only their own dress, but dresses for their friends as well. There's a few in every year who wear the most stand out dresses that are an absolute reflection on their personality and style. Some, who are unable to sew go to dressmakers to manifest their dream dress into reality, the best dresses I've seen at any formal I've been to have been handmade. But at the same time, often these handmade dresses are so to one's own personal taste that nobody else appreciates it. That's okay though, because in all honesty if you're dressing to fit in with other people's style, you'll end up in an unhappy and unmemorable dress and situation.
The Vintage lover: There's no denying that vintage dresses are absolutely fantastic, I personally love wearing a vintage dress and knowing that someone else wore this to a similar event, it's like you're wearing a part of history which I find really cool. In fact, there's this vintage dress shop near my house and I went there to find a formal dress with my mum, as well as being whisked away into a dressing room with my own personal dresser whilst being served coffee and tea, I found the most beautiful dress ever and it fit perfectly but it also cost $1000 which nor my mother or I were willing to pay. The people who wear vintage dresses to formal are often the most gutsy and memorable, often going for total vintage vibes, they look elegant and timeless which I adore. For one of the formals I'm going to this year I'll be wearing a handmade dress designed and made for my grandmother which really excites me as I know that nobody else will be wearing the same thing, and that someone who I never got to meet but whom I've heard so much about had really lovely experiences wearing this dress.
Extravagant and Elaborate: Without fail, this person graces every formal with their $90 makeup from mac, their $180 hair design from an elite hairdresser and their $400 dress with $200 shoes to match. These are the people who have counted down to their formal from when they were five years old and whose parents are living vicariously through them to make up for what they didn't have growing up. There's absolutely nothing wrong with this though, as many people have different priorities but one thing is for certain, money doesn't equate to style and while I've heard of someone wearing an $8000 Versace dress, I'm sure that someone who spent $100 on a dress will look equally as beautiful. The Extravagant and Elaborate formal go-er will be trying to make formal the night of their lives and remember spending what some would consider their life savings on a dress shouldn't be intimidating to those of us without that luxury as it's like when people ask how much you've studied just to brag about the ten hours of maths they did, your two hours was just as effective and got the job done.
Subdued Spender: The subdued spender is often envied by many, they're the person who managed to pick up a killer dress for a steal. They're the person who watched youtube tutorials for their hair and makeup and it looks professionally done. Some of the best formal looks I've seen have been found for under $200, even cheaper than that for some cases. I'm personally a big fan of this person in the formal situation as rather than spending their savings on a dress they'll wear once, they buy something a bit more versatile and can wear it again and again, which I've not been able to do and regret immensely. I'm trying to be as cheap as possible this year with formals as I'm currently not in the best financial situation so will be doing everything myself, which I'm looking forward to.
Now the above list is a drastic generalisation, I'm not going to say that everyone who attends formals will fit into five handy categories but I like to think that everyone identifies loosely to some of the categories. But most importantly, enjoy your formal, dance lots, laugh lots and be comfortable and confident in what you're wearing. Confidence shines brighter than any outfit would.
Liv xo
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