It's happening. High school graduation is now a runaway train with no brakes headed in my direction, and momentous things are beginning to occur. For example, last week The Teenager took possession of her cap and gown and her graduation announcements. At some point before the beginning of June I will need to dig out my address book and decide what lucky souls in my life should receive one of these coveted announcements.
Another momentous moment: Purchasing THE gown.
So, for those of you who are not familiar with the Mom of No, The Mom of No is not a shopper. Nor is she any kind of fashion maven. In my dream society of the future, clothes are purchased by walking into a tube, pressing a button and saying "Shirt", or "Jeans" or "Wedding gown", and presto- the desired garment appears, perfectly fitted, and priced to sell. This scenario is perfect for many reasons- no trying on forty pairs of jeans only to come to the conclusion that none fit, and more time for the important things in life, like birding, reading a good book, or trying to decipher college financial aid award packages.
I digress. The prom gown.
What I was hoping for was that we would walk into the department store, proceed to the prom gown section, try on one dress, and it would be gorgeous and fit perfectly and be reasonably priced and The Teenager would exclaim, "This is the dress I want! I am saying YES to this prom gown!". It would also cost less than a car payment, would not require driving around to four stores to buy the appropriate undergarments, and would not need alterations. It would take less than an hour, and then we could all go have tea and cucumber sandwiches.
The Teenager wanted to know what the budget was for this shopping expedition. "A price that starts with a one and has three digits", I told her. She seemed dubious that an acceptable prom dress could be purchased for under $199.99. I actually had no idea, either. Prom gown shopping is not something I do every day. For all I know, a suitable gown was going to require a second mortgage on the house. My frugal side had angst over this question; I wanted her to have the gown of her dreams but I could also hear the Grandma of No's voice in my head, saying "They want $350 for a dress made out of tulle and cheap polyester? Ridiculous! The seams aren't even straight and these beads are falling off!".
One of the items that should have been included in the Mom Manual is that the senior year of high school is expensive. Everyone wants your money. I've forked over money for a cap and gown, SAT and ACT tests, AP tests, application fees, gas and hotel rooms for college visits, and more. Like many other Mom Things, everyone knows this; everyone tells you this; but it doesn't seem real until it's happening to you. Then you spend the entire year internally screaming "Why didn't I pay attention to the warnings I was given by those who went before me?".
The first store had some lovely gowns well within the Mom of No's frugal budget (whew!) but none of them was really The Dress. The second store did not have much of a selection. The third store we tried had nothing but fancy gowns- not just prom, but wedding dresses (EEK! don't want to think about that! No, I do not!), Mother of the Bride dresses, bridesmaid gowns, and gowns for any other occasion for which you could conceivably need a fancy dress over-embellished with bling. The line for the dressing room was almost out the door, mostly made up of teenaged girls carrying huge poufy multi-colored bundles of gowns in their arms. Periodically the store would make an announcement about "Do not try on dresses between the racks!".
It was worth it, however, because here was where The Teenager found The Prom Dress- within budget, even. We bought the dress, spent another hour looking for shoes (no luck there), and went home. My brain was asking itself, when did you get old enough to have a daughter attending her senior prom? My feet hurt from all the walking. I had graduation announcements to address. That train just keeps coming closer and closer.
No comments:
Post a Comment