Prom dresses represent so much to today's teens and quite often their parents as well. Most teen girls dream of picking the absolute perfect prom dress and having a night to remember for years, even a lifetime to come. As parents we all want our children to have special memories that will last a lifetime as much as we want them to be happy and safe. Helping your teen select a stunning prom dress can be one of the greatest bonding experiences between a mother and a daughter and there is no time like the present to being searching for that perfect dress.



One of the first things you want to do when selecting the ultimate prom dress is to make sure that you are selecting from colors that compliment your daughter's skin tone and coloring. Not all dresses are created equal nor are all colors created for every girl. It doesn't matter how stunning the dress is if it doesn't look good on your princess. It isn't always easy to tell your baby (she'll always be your baby even if you have 12 more and you both live till she's ninety) that a color doesn't do her justice, much less convince her that you are correct. For this I recommend a day of beauty and a consultation with someone from Beauty Control or another cosmetic company that deals with colors and what colors compliment your skin best. This could also give you a head start on cosmetics to accentuate the dress as well.

There are many other things to consider when selecting a prom dress as well. Among those are height, the type of shoes she'll want to wear (suggest comfortable shoes or at the very least slip some Isotoner's into her handbag before she heads out the door), her neckline, the jewelry she prefers to wear, her body shape, and her hair. All of these things can balance, over balance, or under balance a prom dress so you need to have a mental image of the finished product as you shop.

It's also important that you choose your battles when it comes to picking the perfect prom dress. This is an important decision for most teens, it's been a while for some of us, but I'm sure you'll remember if you think really hard. It's also an emotional decision at that point in your daughter's life. Save the big battle for curfew time rather than the dress itself unless it's something that blatantly goes against your values or your budget.

It's also important to keep in mind and remind her as well that you do not have to spend your life's savings on a prom dress, save the big spending for another dress that is hopefully a few years down the road and even more important in reality. Reality checks are a good idea throughout the prom dress buying process for both mom and daughter. This is a highly emotional and tense time for both of you. For mom, baby girl is growing up and for daughter; mom still wants me to be Shirley Temple. Keep these thoughts in mind, be sensitive to each other and find the most perfect prom dresses in the world from which to make your selection.