5 Ways to Find Modest Prom Dresses

Prom season is officially upon us, which means that there’s bound to be an abundance of black polyester ball gowns flying off shelves in stores throughout the country. If you’re looking for modest prom dresses, however, it may not be quite as easy to pull something off the rack. The good news is that because most prom dresses are long, you shouldn’t have much of a problem keeping your legs covered. So essentially, all you need is a dress that covers your top as well as your legs – and with a bit of ingenuity, you should be able to transform nearly any dress into a tasteful and appropriate modest prom dress.

Here are some ways to find modest prom dresses:

1. Add a wide wrap. Tie the wrap by holding the middle of the wrap against your back, and draping the sides forward. Wrap the hanging parts around your arms towards your back, and have a friend (or your mother) tie the wrap in a tight knot under the width of wrap that is covering your back. If you have an extremely wide wrap (think Pashmina style), you can potentially even avoid the knot in the back, though this will surely help keep the wrap in place, even if it’s not entirely necessary.

1. Add a bolero jacket. My wedding gown actually came as two pieces – a strapless gown, and a bolero jacket to wear over it. I imagine that women who aren’t concerned about modesty would remove the jacket during the dancing, but I was thrilled to wear it throughout the wedding. If you’re looking for modest prom dresses that will look good with a bolero jacket, look for styles that are fitted in the middle, so that the jacket will make you look sleek without looking stocky. The easiest solution would be to find a dress that comes with a jacket. But if you can’t, there are other options. Some prom dresses come with shawls, and it’s relatively easy to have a bolero jacket made out of the extra material. Another possibility would be to create a knee-length or tea length gown by cutting off the hem and using that to create a jacket. If you are purchasing an inexpensive dress, you may even be able to buy two just to have enough material.

1. Look online. Searching for modest prom dresses in traditional clothing stores may be extremely frustrating. The world of the internet, however, is an entirely different story. There are dozens of websites that offer modest evening wear – all you need to do is poke around a bit.Check out this beautiful pic fromTotallyModest.com

1. Have your modest prom dress made. You may be surprised at how affordable it is to have a dress made if it’s somewhat simple. You can get inspiration from modest red carpet looks like the one worn by Diane Kruger to the Metropolitan Museum Costume Institute’s Gala in 2010.

1. Go goddess. Goddess dresses are among my favorite style of evening wear, and they make fantastic modest prom dresses. The billowy material drapes modestly and beautifully, and most goddess dress styles can be found with sleeves or easily maneuvered to have sleeves added. What’s great about a goddess dress is that unlike many prom dresses that look as though they were crafted just for a teenage dance, a goddess dress will look great at prom and at other evening events. And, of course, the best part of wearing a goddess dress is that it will definitely make you feel like a goddess…which is a great way to feel on prom night.