The alternative prom outfit....

As many of you will know, it's prom time of year. I've heard some horror stories about prom outfits. One chap who was at our house fixing the dishwasher told me how his wife had bought his daughter a prom dress that cost over £700. He was so incensed that he left the family home for two days and went to stay with his Mum. On top of that there were still shoes to buy, a limo to pay for, plus the hairdo and so on. Now that's a big fat "Ouch".

Well let me tell you, there was none of that in this house! I do understand that prom (not my favourite term but let's go with it for now) can create all sorts of issues for the girls. Long dress, short dress, colour, fabric, cost - well the usual that us ladies face when choosing a special outfit. The one thing that I do really like about prom though is that after weeks of revising, wearing tracksuits, no make-up, hair in a ponytail and glasses on - it gave our daughter the chance to dress up and have some fun and that was lovely to see.

I'm not one to offer fashion advice unless it's requested but Flo and I did have a brief chat early on about what sort of outfit she wanted to wear. She's old enough to make her own decisions so my only suggestion was to encourage her to think about wearing a less obvious choice than a short, tight, cut out number which although can look lovely, isn't really her. Initially she ordered a few beaded dresses from ASOS but even the size 6 didn't fit. She has a tiny waist and although they were really pretty on her, she didn't feel that they were quite right.

And then one Sunday when we were in town we nipped into Coast in Debenhams, just on the off-chance to see what they had. She had thought about wearing a 1950's skirt and the assistant that I know kindly looked in the stock room and produced the size 6 skirt that she is wearing above, reduced from £120 to £59. Within minutes the deal was done.

The skirt that Flo had was the Rita skirt but the nearest at the moment is the Coast Eve Jacquard skirt (£129 - below). They do the Rita style every season in a few prints and it's a real gem, especially for those ladies who are more pear shaped as they can show off their narrow waist whilst not having anything that skims or clings over the hips and thighs. Plus the addition of heels elongates everything too, giving a lovely silhouette.

I've just shown this Coast Kalisse skirt (£120 instead of £160) and matching top to my husband and I've told him that I'll be wearing it when we renew our wedding vows, which having seen this outfit I now have plans to do. Oddly he seemed slightly bemused. But seriously this is a great outfit for a bride, whether first, second or third time around.

I've styled a client in this Coast hyperbloom skirt (£165) for a wedding that she's going to, along with the top below which is from Reiss. You may have seen Susannah Reid wearing the skirt of this month's cover of Good Housekeeping. What I love about this style skirt is that it really does transcend the ages so well - from 16 to 60 (and beyond) it's a great option.

Reiss  Rita top, (£29 reduced from £89)

Anyway back to the prom outfit. After securing the skirt in record time, we then went into Topshop which is almost next door to Debenhams. I figured that the top could be tricky. It needed to be short, if not cropped, either silver, the same green as the skirt or white at a push and because the skirt is quite covered and traditional, I realised that she would want something slightly edgy and nothing at all like a top I would choose for myself! And within two minutes we found this top....

Topshop bralet top (£15)

So I know that it's not overly covered up but it's no more revealing than anything that might be worn on a beach. And sometimes you just have to appreciate when to let things go a little!

As for shoes, we left them until pretty late - the day before in fact. And the hair appointment too but all worked out well in the end.

New Look silver snake print sandals (£24.99)

Flo was accompanied by her friend, Josh, who was the perfect gent bringing her a beautiful corsage. Apparently one boy who she has known since Primary School went up to her and said "Flo, I like your attire. "

I had a budget in mind of £100 for the outfit and this came in at £98.99 which was a little more acceptable than £700. Even now I can't help thinking about that poor chap!