Promtacular!

State Fair O’Hara

Posted on July 21, 2010 by promtacular! in 1980s Prom, 1990s Prom, Aquanet!, Backdrop FAIL, Bizarre Backdrops, Lace Disgrace, Oh Bows, On The Plantation, Pairing With White, Prom or Costume?, Shine On!, perms | No Comments

Year: Totally Doesn’t Matter.

You know. Once you get past the onslaught of this photo’s amazing Promtacular! explosions, it offers you a secret gift. I almost missed it myself until I tilted my screen just so. Oh, it’s magnificent. But let’s address the obvious first, shall we?

Her dress. Her shiny, lacy, pink Scarlett-O’Hara-meets-State-Fair dress. I don’t even– what IS that material? It is reflecting the camera flash, and not even in a satin-shiny kind of way. More like in a cellophane-shiny kind of way. Which is just utterly amazing. It’s like she wanted to look like cotton candy that she brought back from the State Fair wrapped in cellophane.

And not just cotton candy wrapped in cellophane. Cotton candy covered in a fancy, fancy napkin, wrapped in cellophane. At the State Fair.

Complete with State Fair Hair!

Because, as a gift to me from the Prom Gods, her hair is higher than her face is long. No, no. This is not me being funny. This is actually true. Get out your ruler. Measure from the bottom of her chin to the top of her head. Now measure where her bangs start to the top of her head-cascade. IS THAT NOT IMPRESSIVE?

Oh, and while I’m all-caps-ing at you, may I also ask: WHERE IN GOD’S NAME IS THIS PHOTO TAKEN?

Was their prom in “the study” on the set of the board game Clue?

Was their prom in the office of the University President?

Perhaps their prom was in the Captain’s Quarters of the Titanic?

I just…what?

It makes me feel bad for them — happy as they are — because there isn’t a single tacky streamer or fake flower or floating flower vase or Mardi Gras mask anywhere in sight. You know what there is, though? I’m certain that just off to the side, there’s a globe. And a model ship in a glass case.

Prom in the Hall of Records.

THE SECRET GIFT

Did you guess it? Do you know what it is?

This girl’s date at first looks cute and sweet and a little dorky (entirely the fault of the era-acceptable glasses), until you look closer at his hair line. Not the one along his forehead. The one along the line of OHMYGOD HIS HAIR IS AS HIGH AS HERS!!!

How does that even happen? It’s a Promtacular! miracle!

All That Shimmers

Posted on June 29, 2010 by promtacular! in 1980s Prom, Pairing With White, Say No To Canes, Shine On! | 2 Comments

Year: 1988

We’ve actually seen Anita on Promtacular! before, when she was pictured with a dog in pink satin. And I couldn’t make this stuff up if I tried.

But here is Anita in all her prom-going glory, unhindered by a dog in formalwear.

Her dress is soooooo shiny. And green. And dark. And paired with black (velvet?) gloves. As though going to a Christmas Ball. Except she’s not going to a Christmas Ball, she’s going to prom. Which we can verify by the iridescent silver and pink balloon trellis. That’s the sort of thing only found at proms, made even prom-ier by the silver curtain behind the trellis.

So. Definitely prom. Anita is perhaps simply partial to winter colors. And fabrics. And accessories.

You know, though? If this WERE a Christmas Ball, I think Anita’s date would’ve fit right in. I mean, all that white! It’s so…white! Like um, snow! Yes. Very Jack Frost-esque. (Jack Frost would use a cane, right? For all his holiday tap-dancing routines?) (I don’t know, work with me here.)

I’m not sure where the pink in his boutonniere comes from. It matches the balloons, at least.

Not the most cohesive-looking couple. And yet they both do a heckuva job at reflecting light.

Emily & The “OH NOES, BOWS!” Series: Part 3 of 5

Posted on June 24, 2010 by promtacular! in 1990s Prom, Blame the Photographer, Oh Bows, Pairing With White | 2 Comments

Year: 1991

Emily writes: “Homecoming dance. I apparently still love floral prints… And I DEEPLY regret that you cannot see my PERMED hair in this photo.

This was the “make a serious pose” photo, and instead of looking serious, I just look royally pissed. Maybe what set me off was my date’s attire: plaid jacket (also maybe his dad’s?), too-long pants, and RUNNING SHOES.”

This two-tiered floral dress is so similar to Emily’s 1989 jr. high graduation dress, it’s kind of a wonder she bothered to buy it. I’m just disappointed she’s not wearing a white blazer. Although the dark shoes + white corsage add a certain something. Frankly, I can’t believe she missed an opportunity to wear white shoes, since they’d have matched her date’s so well.

Boy, don’t they look happy!

Bow tally: You can’t see it, but you know it’s in her hair. There’s no way it’s anything but a bow up there. That makes 5 bows in 3 dresses.

Emily & The “OH NOES, BOWS!” Series: Part 1 of 5

Posted on June 23, 2010 by promtacular! in 1980s Prom, Oh Bows, Pairing With White, perms | 2 Comments

Preface: I’ve known Emily since we were born. I think that is important to keep in mind as you consider her teenage formalwear decisions. Because, as her friend, I fully supported all of them.

Which says a lot about both of us.

* * * * * * * * * * * *
Year: 1989

Emily writes: “So… these are from my 8th grade “formal.”

This full-body shot is probably my favorite. You really can’t go wrong with a floral print that doesn’t fit quite right, a white jacket with 3/4 length sleeves (and really poofy sleeves), white bow peeking out from behind my 1989 hair, and white flats. Yes, FLATS. Even then, I knew myself well enough to know that heels would have been a disaster.”

As you will soon learn, Emily never met a formal dance she didn’t pair with a bow. Or 17. Let’s keep count, shall we?

Figure #2:

Emily writes: “Thissf half-bodied shot is included to show a) the bangs. I VERY purposely styled them that way. It’s only a shame you can’t see the huge WHITE BOW in the back… And also, b) how obviously uncomfortable I was with the whole shebang (attending the dance with an actual, real-live, breathing member of the opposite sex? The fact that I’m wearing white shoes? The hair? Not sure… but SOMETHING had me feeling pretty self-conscious). Note how I’m not even TOUCHING my date… Good times.”

Figure #3:

Emily writes: “Just for fun, this photo was taken when we returned HOME from the dance, looking positively drenched (even my dress seems deflated). No, we didn’t lose any Dunk-the-Dancer contests, nor did we sneak off and find the YMCA pool, and we certainly – I can assure you – did not get this way through any less-than-upstanding means. No… Instead, we simply did what the dance called for: we danced. And I mean, we DANCED – danced SO DAMN HARD, we sweated ourselves to death, and returned home looking like we’d taken a spin through the sprinkler system. Sweat is so sexy. So is the strap drooping off my shoulder, my mangled hair, and the crumpled white coat I’m clinging to. If nothing else, all of the DANCING clearly made us feel more comfortable with one another, because this time, I’m actually touching my date.”

Bow tally: One giant hair bow. But I suspect that’s only because we can’t see the back of the dress. I would be surprised if there wasn’t at least one hanging out there.

Prom In The Charmin Forest

Posted on June 21, 2010 by promtacular! in 1960s Prom, Backdrop FAIL, Pairing With White, Shine On! | 3 Comments

Year: 1962

We’ve had far too few images from the 50s and early 60s here, which is why I’m pleased to be kicking off this week with Sue’s prom photo.

There’s nothing especially “!” about the attire featured here. Nothing about Sue’s dress or accouterments makes you wonder what she was thinking (see: any and every dress from the 80s). She looks impeccably put together, and her handsome date looks proper (if ever so slightly formal). But then, formals really were formal once, and I’m certain his militant stance — he could break into a salute at any moment — was merely his version of looking polite.

I am still a little unsure about when and wherefore bouquets were used in place of corsages. I find that very confusing because it makes Sue look more like a bridesmaid than a prom-goer.

Mostly, though, this is a lovely snapshot of a lovely couple, who doesn’t have to explain away any magenta and black lace or glitter or perms.

I’m not sure why there’s crumpled-up toilet paper stuck into the (indoor) tree(?) in the background, but I’m sure it has some sort of cultural relevance I’m just not understanding. Handy for blotting one’s lipstick, though!