We’re accompanying a couple of special girls to their formal this evening. They’ve been excitedly planning this event for the entire school year. They’ve carefully chosen beautiful dresses and stylish accessories. They’ve made the difficult decision about who to invite and worked up the courage to ask them.
I’m reminiscing about my own formal today. I wore a strapless black-shot-purple taffeta number with velvet trim. It had a tulle underskirt for extra poof and a matching black velvet bolero jacket.
I wore faux pearls with an oroton earring clipped on as a pendant. Mum found a Nutrometics consultant who lived up the street to paint my face and I had temporary talons glued to my own modest fingernails.
Amid the questionable fashion choices I made in my preparation for formal, I made one good decision: my choice of partner - a nice boy named Michael who I knew from tennis. He was kind enough to ask me to dance a second time after I was socially awkward enough to knock back his initial invitation.
This awkward head-tilt pose was my standard photo offering from 1990 - 1997.
I squeezed myself back into this dress a few years ago for a hens party which was ‘bad bridesmaid/formal dress themed”. Some girls had to trawl op-shops for something suitably daggy. Not me; my own daggy offering had been carefully preserved by my Mum for all these years.
eliz a buf says
damn, you're just so cute! xoxo
Beth Mantle says
Eeeee! Love your dimples too! Did Michael bring you the corsage? What a sweetie.
Me says
Thankfully, there are no photos available from our matric dance (which is the closest thing to a formal but not nearly as expensive !!!) - love the photo of you. To be honest, I can't even remember what I wore ! Oh, those were the good ole' days !
Have a wonderful week !
Me
Amanda, Cooker and a Looker says
You too me. x
mumabulous says
I could not get a date for the school formal. The try hard Gothic in a school full of surfers (in Sydney's Sutherland Shire) is never swamped by offers. However I would have scratched your eyes out for Michael - provided he had suitable taste in music of course. What a cutie. BTW: You look gorgeous.
Ps: I wore emerald green taffeta and was loved myself stupid in it. No corsage because no date.
Amanda, Cooker and a Looker says
The Goths had the best time at our formal Mumabs. They were all capes, canes and top hats.
Sit Down Mummy says
Super cute formal pic! My dress was classic 90s, and ruined the year after while attending a UQ Engineering Ball, a big split up the side from drunked dancing and a nice big vom stain down the front. I have still kept it however, you know in case my daughter wants to wear it to her wedding 😉
Amanda, Cooker and a Looker says
Bwahaha. I was too young to go to any of the UQ balls - probably why it survived to this day. I'm sure there'll be a bloggy occasion to wear them one day.
Robyna says
Oh I remember that night! My "maid marion" dress was reincarnated a few times at various medieval fairs and has lately got a run when Isaac is invited to princess parties. I have a very cute photo of all the girls that I feel like posting to Facebook - in fact I think I will. It's still somewhat surreal that I ended up marrying Rebecca's date!
Amanda, Cooker and a Looker says
Dis you design that dress Robyna?
Robyna says
With mum's help. Obviously I hit my princess phase about 10 years later than any other girl!
Leigh says
Yes we were quite a pair with my gothic medieval dress ;/ Designed by myself and made by the local dress maker *cringe*
Jessica says
And you looked even more fabulous in that dress second time round 🙂
Amanda, Cooker and a Looker says
Awe thanks Jess. Can you believe they're graduating?
Emily @ Have A Laugh On Me says
Aww bless look at you - you've hardly aged and that infectious smile! I also have suitable horrible formal dresses, some were rather risky I must say looking back, I didn't realise that a reasonably high split up the front would be WAY higher when I sat down! I actually did a post about it ages ago, will fish around and post pics on the FB page. Love a good head tilt 🙂 xx
Amanda, Cooker and a Looker says
I've been guilty of a few generous splits in my time Em. Look forward to the pics. x
Bek Mugridge says
Oh you are soo cute!! Alright I will dig up my really BAD short velvet number eek!! Haha
Amanda, Cooker and a Looker says
Can't wait to see it Bek. x
Jessica says
No I can't believe they are! So proud of both of them. Can not wait for photos
Liv Smith says
Haha! Our formal was awesome and we all looked suitably mid 90's...complete with large curly hair do's. I don't think I ever got over the fact that Justin didn't get me a corsage. Just gave me a centrepiece off one of the tables. Fun times.. 🙂
Amanda, Cooker and a Looker says
He was gorgeously clueless, wasn't he Liv? x
BOYEATSWORLD says
You look fabulous! I was the solo wannabe goth girl. I thought I looked terribly interesting and fabulous in my corseted black velvet but when I showed my son a pic of it to my son he said, and I quote! "you look all skinny and bony like Bitzer Maloney" so I apparently I looked like a malnourished dog. Maybe that explains the lack of a date. LOL
Amanda, Cooker and a Looker says
LOL Aleney! There were corsets aplenty among my friends - I bet you looked gorgeous and I WISH someone would describe me as looking malnourished now? 🙂
Aleney @ BoyEatsWorld says
I think the malnourished days are done for me too. I think I'm more "Hercules Morse as big as a horse" these days 😉
Vanessa says
I was asked to go by a guy but I friend-zoned him and then my girlfriends and I decided to go out to dinner at Stamford Plaza instead of attending the school formal. We did go to the pre-formal meet n greet at the school and shared a limo to the city with other classmates who were going to the formal too.
Amanda Kendle (@amandakendle) says
Love it!!!!! We didn't have a Year 12 ball because at our Year 11 dance one of the girl's partners threw up on the headmistress's shoes. Shame, but it has saved me from having embarrassing photos to show my grandchildren!