As the 2025 prom season comes to a close we are able to reflect on the new trends that were set this year, and the record breaking expenses of prom.
As someone who worked at a prom dress store in West Des Moines this winter I noticed that the trends of dresses people were specifically looking for has changed from past years. Girls were looking for more whimsical, fun dresses rather than simple dresses. Bows were very in this year, as well as ruffles. Dresses that have a corset on top with ruffles as the body of the dress became increasingly popular. Dresses like the Sherri Hill 57250 was the most popular dress this season.
Color wise many of the original popular colors like royal blue, red, and green were often requested. Hot pink and black were other colors I saw a lot of. In past years girls would often choose to wear a black dress and pair it with a fun heel, then have their date match the heel color to their tie or bowtie. The bright colored heels were less popular this year, and I noticed more colors like purple, light blue, and light pink.
Forget the front of the dress, the back of the dresses are what matters now. Many designers are opting to incorporate open back dresses more often. Sherri Hill 56316 and styles like it were often requested as they fit well on many different body types. Dress backs with intriguing elements like multiple straps, bows, and lace were chosen over the normal corset or completed backs.
For boys suits that are simple or muted colors became popular. The normal black suits are harder to find, but colors like light grey, tan, navy, and even white were increasingly popular this year. Fun colored shoes to match a tie and dress color have become very popular throughout the last few years. These shoes are lofers style and come in many colors.
As far as expenses go dresses have become increasingly more expensive in the last year. In a survey done by USA Today the average cost of a prom dress is anywhere from $600- $1000
Emily Piepmeier, a senior at ADM, opted to get her dress months before prom to save some money.
“I bought my Prom dress from ZARA in October because it was a “summer collection” dress and was on sale. Originally I was just shopping online but completely fell in love with it and knew I needed the dress for prom. I wasn’t looking for any specific style, my dress shopping tends to be very spontaneous and on the fly, but I knew I wanted a pink colored dress.”
There are many options to saving costs on prom dresses. Many girls opt to buy dresses from non designer stores, thrift dresses from consignment stores, or borrow dresses from girls who have graduated.
Piepmeier says she believes that dresses similar to hers are becoming increasingly popular among high school girls ” I think they are less expensive and more comfortable so a lot of girls are opting for dresses similar to mine. I also think girls are starting to buy dresses that express their style more instead of the trends, which is so fun.”
