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Prom Prep

Recycling a Prom Dress

By: Tom Sosnowski

You paid a nifty price for your prom dress and now you have this extravagant, memory-filled article of clothing that you're probably will never going to wear again. It may be a difficult decision, but you might as well try to get something for it despite the magical feeling you have toward it. Let's look at the options.

To the Tailor

Depending on the style of the dress, one option is to take it to a local tailor and ask him or her to remake the dress into something more practical that could be worn for more casual events. This sometimes is out of the question depending on the material and style. Also, and more likely, the tailor can use a good part of the dress to create a simple skirt or perhaps a blouse. Either way, you will have functional wardrobe piece.

Return on Investment

Selling your prom dress may sound cold but it could also be the quickest and most practical option. As eBay has become global home to selling everything from an Irish ghost in a bottle to the face of Jesus on a piece of toast, a prom dress would surely be an item quickly snapped up. Ebay and its Pay Pal service assures that transactions take place on the up and up, and bogus buyers and bids are becoming less and less frequent on the site. Browse eBay for similar items and see if you are comfortable with what price you can get for your dress. A quick eBay search while writing this piece turned up 8,567 prom dresses for auction with prices ranging from $24.99 to $200.

If it suits you, just follow the eBay tutorial, which explains everything you need to know and do to set up an auction.

Getting Thrifty

Thrift and consignment shops, many of which are support charities such as the Salvation Army or homeless organizations, are also a good bet. These shops accept near-perfect articles of clothing, so if you're after prom party saw you spill any beverages or drop any greasy finger foods on your dress, they may not accept it. Also, these shops are in the business of making money, so don't expect top dollar for your dress. You might get a better return from eBay, but with a consignment shop you don't run the risk of no one bidding on your dress.

Band Together

While this may seem a little cheesy, getting together with your fellow prom goers and having a post-prom sale of dresses and other items that you deem fit is an option. Instead of each person trying to sell their individual items, lump it all together into one block of inventory and funnel the sales made into one fund. By doing this, if someone has items that don't sell, they won't be left out monetarily.

Perhaps you could do this at school and the school may even help you with space and allow signage. Think of it as prom flea market. Remember there is a whole group of girls that are going to go through the prom experience a year from now. What might really endear you to your school is if you donate a portion of the proceeds to a local charity or perhaps fund some school club or activity. It's that don't sell can be deposited in your local Goodwill bin.

Face it. It is hard to part with some item things you think of as precious. But getting a little return on your prom purchases today beats throwing everything out five years from now when all the nostalgia has worn off and not having anything to show for it.