“How much did it cost?”

After reading Audrey’s blog today, F.S.P. Parties, I’ve decided to come clean.  To my husband, that is.  After all, it’s been years… and I never did really tell him how much it cost!

OK.  It’s about the prom dresses.  And the formal dresses.  You know, the ones that your daughters simply must have.  Honey, I spent way more money on those dresses than I may have let on.  But I had a plan.  And the plan worked.  

Don’t believe me?  Read Audrey’s blog!

You see, it had everything to do with sharing.  Yes, sharing.  Sharing the dresses.  You remember… Audrey would wear a dress, then Jane would wear it to a completely different function, then Audrey might wear it again (to a completely different occasion than the first two, so as to never be seen by the same people!), and so on.  I actually developed a nice little dress-division scheme to justify it all.  Here’s an example: If I spent $200.00 on a dress (did I just say $200.00?), I would tell the girls that we had to get at least 4 occasions from that one dress.  This, I must say, was ingenius… because rather than spending $50.00 on each of 4 just-ok dresses, they would get one spectacular dress!  Yes.  Are you understanding?!  Hey, I even wore more than a few of those dresses myself to various functions… making the dress-division scheme all-the-more-economical!

Take this dress, for example.  The white one with the back open down-to-there, covered with tiny, sparkling sequins and slit up-to-there on one side.  “How much did it cost?” you ask? Let me explain! I bought it for Jane’s Winter Solstice high school dance… and then Audrey wore it to a formal dance at Brown that same winter.  Jane then wore it to a friend’s senior prom that spring, and Audrey wore it to a formal dance at her then-boyfriend’s college a couple of weeks later.  Shared.  4 times.  (Actually, that was a 5-er… because one of Jane’s friends borrowed it for her senior prom the following spring.)  This brings the grand total of each sharewear to $80.00.  

OK. Still not convinced?  

This next dress is my All-Star.  I bought it in New York City at a small boutique… for a campus dance.  It fit Audrey like it was designed for her.  It cost like it was designed for her.  But of course it wasn’t, because I knew Jane would be wearing it, too.  Well, that little blue dress with its classic, sensual, alluring fit literally “fit” 20 occasions.  Count ’em.  20.  Audrey wore it.  Jane wore it.  I wore it.  Again and again and again.  In fact, I still have this dress in my closet.  I don’t even have to go into how it can be dressed up or dressed down… well, you get it.  OK.  You want to know how much it cost.  In my world, $20.00/share-wear.

It’s all about the sharing.  Now, aren’t you happy at how well your daughter learned this particular fashion tip!?

I thought so.

About Audrey

Audrey McClelland has been a digital influencer since 2005. She’s a mom of 5 and shares tips on her three favorite things: parenting, fashion and beauty. She’s also a Contemporary Romance Author.

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8 Comments

  1. 2.11.09

    It’s funny how we all tell those little white lies to our husbands. Eventually, they really do understand.

  2. 2.12.09

    I fully understand you girlfriend! You are one smart shopper. I would had give anything to be able to fit into my daughter’s dresses when she was growing up. It sounds like you did get your money’s worth for sure!

  3. 2.12.09
    Erin said:

    Ingenious! And I think it’s awesome that you can fit into your daughters’ dresses. Forget that pregnancy weight you gained, because you obviously worked to get that nice body back by the time you were able to share clothes with them!
    I remember my dad being horrified at the cost of my wedding dress, but not getting that it was actually a REALLY GOOD DEAL because we got a Maggie Sottero gown for 50%. It was a floor model and fit me perfectly, only needing a tiny bit of hemming. My mom got what a good deal it was, but dad? Not so much!

  4. 2.12.09

    Run that by me again.

  5. 2.12.09
    Lisa said:

    LOL, Barry! I wish my girls would share stuff like that. Unfortunately my 14 year old has hips like me, my almost 13 year old is just getting some (but has really, really long legs-all her Dad!), and the 10 year old is not a teen yet. I hope as they grow and get older they can start to share clothes. It would definitely help with the budget!

  6. 2.13.09
    Christy said:

    What fun pictures!! Thanks for sharing!

  7. 2.13.09

    I bow to your wisdom! And am highly grateful that I am learning this now, in time to use the same tactics when my daughter is at the formal wear age.

  8. 2.15.09
    Chrissy said:

    This is so funny. That system seems more than fair! My mom and I often neglected to tell my dad how much dresses cost too – but it’s great to see the practical logic behind it. 😉

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