The Vintage American Prom Dress

The 1950's prom dress is one of the most recognisable and coveted vintage dresses out there. It's a style our customers ask for, again and again.  But why was such a fantastical dress designed in the first place?

Debutante balls originated sometime in the 1800's in America. They were a big part of a young persons transition into adulthood and particularly began to grow from the 1930's on-wards. Post-war America, saw a growth in wealth.  People had more expendable money and began spending more on leisure. It's at this stage that the High School Prom really took off. Before this, parties of this type were only for the wealthy, upper classes, debutantes launching into society and grand balls. The High School Prom brought soirees to the gym hall and eventually expanded out into hotels.

It was a way to celebrate and indulge in fashion and fun. The introduction of the Prom Queen meant that the young ladies of the time tried to out-do each other with the most elaborate dress. The bigger the better! 

The shape of the prom dress was influenced by the hugely popular "New Look" style by Dior of the late 40's. It was tightly fitted on top, particularly at the waist with a full circle, voluminous skirt.  

Prom dresses were decorated with masses of tulle, lace, corsages, beads and sequins, sashes, bows, ribbon and every other decoration you could think of as the young ladies tried to best each other in the glamour stakes!

We have a huge collection of original vintage prom dresses from the 1940's to 1960's but we really specialise in the 50's proms. Some are featured at the end of this post. We've also come across similar dresses to those pictured in the real, vintage photographs and fashion advertisements of the day. It's such a treat to see them as they were over 60 years ago. Owning one of these is a real snippet of history! Imagine twirling on the dance floor in something so iconic!

Today, our customers wear their vintage prom dresses for their wedding, as bridesmaids, to the debs, for a milestone birthday party, on the red carpet, as wedding guests and at the races.

Real Life Prom Photos

 

Prom Dress Advertisements and Fashion Photography

We have a dress in the shop that could be a twin of the green one. Pictured further down

So many ruffles!

Dirty Fabulous 1950's Prom Dresses

  

Gendure Magazine - May Issue with In The Deetales

Our frothy and fabulous vintage gowns feature in the May edition of Gendure Magazine.  

Shot by photographer and editor of Gendure, Martin O'Neill. 

We're loving how effortlessly cool blogger Inthedeetales looks in our 1950's ballgown's. Perfect for lounging around your chic city apartment, because who needs an occasion!

The styling by Annethepanfromlidl was HOT!!!

You can see the gorgeous behind the scenes vid here 

Get your hands on a copy now!

Say Hello To Some Of Our New Arrivals!!!

Whoa... It's busy times here at Dirty Fabulous HQ... we've had so many deliveries of stunning American vintage occasion and bridal wear that we're still trying to get pictures taken of them. Believe me, we have so much more to come, but here's a little taste of some of the beauties currently in store.

1950's floral printed wiggle dress €260 size 10

1950s mustard wiggle dress €250 size 10-12

1950's teal dress with rhinestones €310 size 6-8

1950's orange chiffon tea length prom dress €290 size 10

1950's cross-over yellow prom dress €290 size 8

1960's purple berry print dress €270 size 6-8

1950's Brown lace prom dress with pink satin sash...oh so fabulous! €320 size 8

1960s Cornflower blue nylon prom dress with gold beaded waist €310 size 10

1950's lipstick red prom dress €270 size 6

1960's baby blue ruched prom dress €250 size 8

1960's mint green prom with rhinestone neckline €240 size 10

1950's raspberry patterned prom dress with tie front €250 size 6-8

Tulle Perfection!

I'm having a serious case of dress envy here!!! Ali chose a pale robin's egg blue, tulle, 1950's prom dress that had a beautiful blush underlay. When she bought her dress form us it was pretty much ankle length so she had it shortened to tea length and used some of the extra tulle to create a fabulous veil. The results were incredible. The dress was so perfect for Ali's style and she looks like she had great fun wearing it.

Congratulations to Ali and her new hubby. Dirty Fabulous is in awe of your stunning pictures!!!