Blog 2
It’s the big one, your school formal!
It’s not often that young girls really get to glam up, so it’s only natural to be super-excited about your formal.
With that though can come pressure and anxiety. The pressure to impress your peers, to have stunning photos you’ll look back on for years, or to look amazing for your date.
Not to worry though, our ultimate guide won’t only have you finding the perfect dress, but we’ll give you some tips on dealing with any stress that comes with it.
Whether you’re looking for a classic, elegant look or something more fun and playful, this guide will help you choose the perfect outfit for your school formal or ball in 2023.
Understanding the Event
Before you start browsing websites to buy or hire your outfit, it’s important to look at some of the details of your event and set some basic parameters to help plan out what you’re really looking for.
Dress Code
Make sure you find out if there’s a dress code for your school formal. This will normally be laid out in the invitation or advised by your school.
Whilst rules are sometimes made to be broken, you’ll want to know if a particular style of outfit is going to land you in any trouble, or simply leave you feeling out of place. Consider you’ll probably have professional photos taken alongside a bunch of your friends. You don’t want to look back at those and wonder “what was I thinking!?”.
Venue and Weather
The type of venue hosting the formal will determine the level of formality for your outfit. If it’s in a grand ballroom, you’ll be wanting a more formal, elegant dress. At the other extreme, an outdoor beach or park setting might call for a lighter, more casual outfit.
It’s impossible to predict the weather in advance but you’ll have a fair idea of what it’ll be from what month your school formal is in. It can be a long night and it’s all about having fun, so you want to make sure you’re comfortable.
Think about whether you’ll need sleeves or the option of a jacket. If it’s in summer and outdoors, you might want something shorter and pay attention to the type and thickness of the fabric. You don’t want to be showing off sweat patches on your dress!
Choosing the Perfect Dress
To most girls, this will be the most important part of getting prepared for their school formal.
Our biggest advice is to get onto things EARLY, as we know first-hand of so many girls who just couldn’t get their hands on their “dream dress” because they left it too late. It sounds crazy, but we have quite a few girls booking their school formal dresses as much as 10 months out from the event!
These are the most important things to consider when narrowing down your dress options and ultimately selecting “the one”.
Your Body Shape
For some, this might be your first time really dressing up and wearing this style of clothing. You need to know that how a dress looks on an influencer, friend, or other pics you’ve found online, doesn’t mean it’ll work for you.
Different dresses and features of the dress flatter different body types & shapes. No matter what yours is, you’ll always be able to find something that flatters you and highlights your best features.
First, work out which body type you are, then work out what kinds of styles suit that body type best. Rather than explain all that here, just jump straight to our guide to dressing for your body type.
Complementing Your Skin Undertone
Choosing a dress that compliments your skin undertone is key to enhancing your overall look and ensuring you feel confident on your big night. To find the perfect colour for your dress, you first need to determine your skin’s undertone.
For a detailed guide, read our blog post: How to Choose a Dress that Complements Your Skin Tone. We summarise choosing the right dress colour below.
Cool Undertone: Opt for colours like deep blues, emerald green, bright purples, and icy pastels. Bold shades of red, such as ruby or burgundy, can also work well. Steer clear of warm tones like mustard yellow and orange, as they may clash with your skin tone.
Warm Undertone: Go for earthy tones like mustard yellow, burnt orange, warm browns, and olive green are great choices. You can also try rich shades of red, such as coral or rust. Avoid cool-toned colours like icy pastels and deep blues, as they can make your skin look washed out.
Neutral Undertone: If this is you, you have the advantage of being able to wear a wide range of colours. Feel free to experiment with a variety of shades. However, be cautious with colours that are too bright or intense, as they can overwhelm your natural complexion.
Popular Dress Styles for 2023
This year, formal-goers are taking some inspiration from the past and giving it a modern twist.
Jasmine Stewart, owner of rental business (and ATD partner) Dressed By Jaz, says formal styles in 2023 “involve modern silhouettes, such as structured corset shapes”. This a great way to add a vintage vibe to your look while still keeping it current.
Jasmine’s also seeing popularity in contemporary spins on the staple slip dress. “Silky slip dresses are as popular as ever, but in 2023 designers are adding cut-outs and unique pattern designers, and most students are loving it.”, says Jasmine.