Prom...Growing Up...$$$

I mentioned in my last post how my Mommy and I were taking my sister shopping for a prom dress this past weekend. We only went to one store and the 2nd dress she tried on was THE ONE! We had been to several stores before and she said she liked some of the dresses. Well with this one, her face lit up, she was dancing around, posing, and carrying on. We knew it was it and it fit perfectly. The only alteration Mommy and I will have to do is take off maybe 2" from the hem. That's it! She was so cute and so grateful. Mommy said as soon as she got home, that my sister updated her myspace page to say she had found her dream dress. I will post pictures after her prom....
It made me think back to my first prom....that was 10 years ago and I remember how excited I was. I remember spending (ok, my Mommy spending) about $300 the first time I went. The second time it was maybe half that. I found my dress at a thrift store and I remember the shoes being on sale. Senior year I spent upwards of $600 on the dress, shoes, hair, nails, etc. To me it was worth it because I had worked my little after school job saving money and that's what I chose to spend it on. I am also proud to say that I still have the dress from my senior year and yes it still fits!
My DH just shakes his head at how much dresses cost. He says prom wasn't a huge expense for guys because you could rent a tux for $100 and you got a haircut anyway so that was nothing new. I got to thinking about our kids and if/when they will go to prom. I am sure I will lobbying to make my daughter's dress but is spending several hundred dollars for one night of dancing too much? I never really thought about it growing up but of course it's a little different when you look back on it.