I recently tried my prom dress on and it fit.

Barely.

Okay, not at all in any comfortable way.

Truth is I couldn’t breathe and I felt like I was wearing a corset.

ANYWAY…

I still have it because it felt like an important memory to hang onto.  That makes no sense now because, honestly, I hated my prom.  I hated my prom date.

I thought I looked pretty sharp but, in my defense, it WAS 1985!  My dress was dark purple taffeta with lavender accents, including an asymmetrical cummerbund and rosettes on the sleeves.  I had lavender fishnet gloves, satin heels, and purple eyeshadow.  I was the shit!

All these years later, I’m seeing more and more stories of young women wearing prom dresses worn by their mothers or grandmothers.  It warms the heart.  There is something sweet about seeing the newest generation revisit the past if only in one special outfit.

Unfortunately, I was a teenager smack dab in the middle of a fashion decade that should never be repeated or dusted off.  Make no mistake, I don’t regret the blue eyeliner, blonde rat tail, crop tops, or purple lipstick.  I just know that, in retrospect, I (WE) looked ridiculous!  It was fun as hell and the music was amazing but my daughter howls with laughter when she looks at pictures.  It’s humbling.

I’ve never expected that my daughter would want to wear my prom dress or my (only slightly better) wedding dress.  It’s okay.  Really!  She has her own style that makes me proud.  I often say that she is an 80 year old in the body of an 18 year old.  She loves 50s style dresses and her alternate prom dress could have been worn on the Titanic without a second glance.  She wouldn’t be caught dead in my dress.

I don’t blame her one bit!

Here it is in all its glory: