<p><a href="http://ionlyweardresses.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/top3.jpg"><img title="Top" style="border-top-width: 0px; display: block; border-left-width: 0px; float: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border-right-width: 0px" height="347" alt="Top" src="http://ionlyweardresses.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/top_thumb2.jpg" width="500" border="0" /></a></p>  <p>That’s a shot of my prom dress – I love this picture – you can see the beautiful flowers in my hair that my date’s mother went to the flower district to get and my little brother Rehan, looks so young.</p>  <p>I am fascinated by the changing landscape of high-school and with it, the changing landscape of the high-school prom.&#160; The Boy makes the argument that since most of the population continues towards college instead of a factory job or the military as used to be the case, that romanticizing high-school and high-school rituals seems silly.&#160; I agree with him but we both also agree that a dress changes everything.</p>  <p><a href="http://ionlyweardresses.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/13prom_ca0popup4.jpg"><img title="13prom_CA0-popup" style="border-top-width: 0px; display: block; border-left-width: 0px; float: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border-right-width: 0px" height="650" alt="13prom_CA0-popup" src="http://ionlyweardresses.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/13prom_ca0popup4_thumb.jpg" width="500" border="0" /></a></p>  <p>{Photograph by Yana Paskova for The New York Times}</p>  <p>The New York Times saw a new <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/13/fashion/13prom.html">trend</a> and jumped on it like a pack of hungry wolves.&#160; Apparently, young girls are using facebook and using groups called <em>Don’t Steal My Prom Dress 2010</em> and posting pictures of their dresses – to prevent another student from buying the same one.&#160; When I first read the article, I immediately thought – wow, that’s hella creative.&#160; The lovely senior, Collete Dong, had her dress actively filched by another girl – a junior to boot!&#160;&#160;&#160; I thought Collete’s reaction was classy – and she won, since she got her picture in the Times.</p>  <p>My only disagreement with the reasoning behind this concept was the idea that you couldn’t look “original and pretty,” if someone else were wearing your dress.&#160; It’s true – it’s no fun if another girl has your dress, but when I was in high-school four girls came in a <em>Titanic </em>themed dress (Kate Winslet’s famous red and black number).&#160; They each wore different shoes, did creative things with their hair and one I believe, made her date dress up in a nautical theme, which I thought was super.&#160; I don’t think it’s the end of the world if someone shows up in the same dress because it’s too be expected if you are shopping at a normal store and not having your mother or a designer sew you a dress.&#160; I wore a Jessica McClintock ballgown bought at Macy’s – I knew there was a great chance someone else had the same idea.&#160; I was lucky, by the time I graduated, the trend was moving away from ball-gowns to the long slim dresses and straightened long hair that are the norm now.&#160; Since I wanted the full ball gown look, I was one of only two other people who wore ball gowns, wore full length gloves, and got up-dos.&#160; No one stole my dress.</p>  <p>If such a group existed, I would probably not have used it.&#160; I love dresses – I love the thrill of seeing the bride appear at the church doors, and I remember warmly the different dresses my classmates wore at prom.&#160; However, this is now the state of the {prom} dress.&#160; I can’t imagine what my daughter will want and can’t wait to see it one day!</p>