Long Prom and Spring Formal Dresses

Hooray for prom season. If you haven’t already checked out my picks of short dresses that could be perfect for prom, spring formals, weddings, and the works then be sure to check out that post here. Since most schools do things differently I wanted to be sure I included both long and short dresses for those having trouble shopping. Personally, my high school always wore long dresses to prom and I totally understand the trouble that comes with finding a prom dress you love that more importantly fits.

My junior year my mom insisted that we go shopping for my dress and that I don’t order one online. Well, that was a mistake we didn’t make again senior year. I was pretty particular when it came to what I wanted (read no sequins, glitter, slits, or cut outs) and dress stores are few and far between where I live. I ended up buying a bridesmaid dress in a size 10 (far too large but it would’ve taken 8 weeks for another size to come in) and then we essentially had to get it altered and remade to fit my size 0/2 body. Because of all these alterations my dress ended up being far too expensive and I was free to order a dress online, in the proper size, the following year. Now it isn’t uncommon to need to get dresses altered to some extent, typically in regard to their length so don’t be afraid to have that done!

Now looking back and having multiple sorority formals under my belt and thinking I would rewear my prom dresses I wish I had known about Rent the Runway. I have yet to rewear my prom dresses and while it is great to have them around “just in case” most people pay too much to have them sitting in their closet all this time waiting for an opportunity to rewear them to arise. I’m sure most of you have heard of Rent the Runway before but if not you basically pay an extremely discounted price to rent one of their many designer dresses to wear for your event. So many of my friends swear by Rent the Runway for every sorority function we have and they are always the ones with the coolest dresses. You keep the dress for 4 or 8 days depending on which time frame you choose and then you ship it back. I specifically recommend this if you are planning to wear a long dress since short dresses are easier to wear more frequently. 

Below I am including options from all over the internet of long dresses and I’ve also included some awesome finds from Rent the Runway in case that sounds appealing to you!

And if I were headed to prom in a long dress this year I’d be wearing this one! It’s a spring event so why not wear bright colors! I would discourage getting a black or dark dress since those can be worn to plenty of other occasions so for this event be bold and go colorful!

My favorite places to shop for long dresses includes (click the link to be taken directly to their dress pages): Nordstrom // Bloomingdales (incredible selection) // Asos // Shopbop // J.Crew (my senior prom dress was from there) //

Looking at all of the dresses these various sites have can be overwhelming so my best advice is to narrow your search to cocktail for short dresses and evening for long dresses!