Taking a look at the dress trends for the upcoming spring 2017 prom season
By Katie Chong and Daniela Wainfor, ’18
From silky straight shifts, ruffled necklines, to puffy ball gowns to form-fitting mermaid dresses, fashion is an ever changing element, and factors such as celebrity endorsements and new technology bring about a new era of fashion seemingly every week.
You’ve seen that tragic picture of your mom on her prom day dressed in a cream colored lace gown with a high neckline. Of course, that was the trend back in her day and “everybody had it,” but imagine someone wearing that dress today. Hard to imagine right? That’s because trends are quickly evolving and different companies seem to be in a never ending competition with each other to be the first to get their new styles on the floor.
That being said, one of the biggest sources in which UA student’s rely on to get the new prom trends gives us its opinion on its predicted upcoming prom dress trends for 2017.
Going along with the era of new technology, Nordstrom has made the smart decision to put most of their prom dress collection online this year instead of in stores. Cortlyn Henningsen, the manager of the dress department at Nordstrom says that girls started going into the store as early as January in hopes to find the perfect gown.
2016 was the year for two-piece ensembles, and this is present in the fact that this was a common trend amongst what many girls wore to last year’s prom. According to Henningsen, 2017 has carried over this trend of crop tops paired with puffy skirts. Another trend that showed a lot in prom gowns last year is the high-neckline, “based on what we’ve received from what people are buying, the 2-piece is still gonna be a big trend. And instead of having a high neckline, showing your shoulders is a popular style,” says Henningsen.
Sparkly jewels have forever been a thing for prom dresses, and even today if you look at the prom dresses in the Nordstrom stores, or others such as David’s Bridal and Henri’s Cloud Nine, you will come to the conclusion that most of the gowns are decorated with jewels. However, lace has been a big trend recently in the fashion industry.
“It seems like we’re getting more lace this year, usually it’s all rhinestones and now lace is kind of, not taking over, but there’s more than we’ve seen before in the past,” says Henningsen.
While some of last year’s trends such as the two-piece combination, rhinestones, and high-necklines might still thrive this prom season, new trends such as lace, cut-outs, and bare shoulders are making their way into the spotlight this coming prom season.