As we are heading into Prom season, it is important to start looking for one of your most memorable dresses of your life. Choosing something memorable yet trendy might be a bit daunting when going in blind so here I have laid out the biggest trends of the 2021/22 Prom season.

Before we get started you may wonder, “What does this girl know about prom dresses?” I work at a Formal Dress Shop. My job is to help any and everyone that comes through the door find the right dress that makes them happy. As we are coming in the middle of winter, my favorite season has just started, Prom Season. I see what girls all over Mid Missouri are buying and become extremely familiar with every season’s trends. With that being said let’s get into the 2021/2022 Prom Season trends. 

Neon

Neon is a residual trend from last year’s season but this year it is in full force. Sometimes I feel like I started working for Justice(In a good way). This means there is a huge rise in Hot Pink, Electric Blue and kind of surprisingly Tangerine Orange. Personally, if you are of a deeper skin tone I think that these neons, especially Tangerine, look absolutely stunning. With that, beware of the cursed orange spray tan, you will 100% regret it looking back at pictures. 

Fitted Silhouettes

Another huge trend that is making an even bigger appearance in this season is fitted bottoms. I feel like everyone was expecting this, it’s no huge shocker. I find that many girls who walk into the boutique I work at, especially bigger girls, are a tad bit scared of trying these on and I think that could not be farther from the truth. As long as the dress is not too tight and fits right, it is easily the best way you can emphasize curves. Something that is also becoming increasingly popular that goes hand and hand with a fitted dress is a trumpet bottom and who doesn’t absolutely love the drama a trumpet could add?

One-Shoulder

This is the first time I have seen one-shoulder dresses become popular since I was a freshman. Personally I think they can make or break a dress, sometimes they can be very cute and unfortunately sometimes it looks like a toga. Or maybe that’s what you want to go for. If so, good for you. However if that is not what you are going for my best anti-toga tips would be to stay away from light colors and draping. The way a one shoulder dress drapes can be a one-way ticket to going from stunning and flattering to wearing a bed sheet at an anything but clothes party. 

Patches

Now this is one that I have never seen, let alone considered before this year. Most commonly you can find dresses that feature rhinestone or sequin patches have patches shaped as butterflies or stars. I think these can be super cute as long as there aren’t so many patches that you start to look like the most dedicated girl scout at Prom. Another thing to look for in these dresses is the proper base fabric to not over power the patches. Something too bland or too busy quickly takes away from the entire point of this dress. This is a trend that I never would have expected for this year but I definitely think that it has its place as a trend this season. 

Confidence

At the end of the day and through the huge cliche, it does not matter what your dress looks like as long as it makes you feel like you could take on the entire world and then some. The empowering way your prom dress should make you feel is comparable to no other. It does not matter if the dress is fresh off the Malian runway or straight out of Goodwill, if it follows the trends everyone else is doing, without confidence no one will be able to see you behind the dress and that is what really matters. Showing up to the Governor’s Garden knowing that you are wearing the literal best thing in your own opinion is a feeling that is unmatched. And trust me, my mother hated my prom dress until the day of prom, when she got to see just how powerful it made me feel. That is what she and everyone there that day remembers. Not what the dress looked like but the confidence that it made me feel and present to the world. 

Getting Your Dress in Advanced

This is a trend that I am starting right now! Please start looking for your dress ASAP. I know it is still only January but the early bird gets the worm, especially in a shop with a dress registry. You don’t want your perfect dress to already be going to your school and hanging on the rack teasing you. Get out there and start looking. I am also tired of seeing girls come in the day of or the day before their prom and frantically looking for a dress. Typically in that situation the only thing you can do is find a dress that requires no alterations and settling is not something you want to do, especially for your senior year. I know life happens but the sooner you get the dress, the less you have to stress. 

With all that, I wish you the best of luck dress shopping this year. I hope you find THE dress right in your budget and I can’t wait to see everyone at Prom this year! And a big thank you to Barb from Barbra’s Boutique for allowing me to use promotions photo from her Amarra line.