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Back in the day, my prom dresses were pretty gross.

I'm gonna be real here and totally embarrass myself. Old photos incoming…

I am the translucent brace-face in the hot teal/purple mess.

And how about this creative getup? I got those old lady shoes at the thrift store and spray painted them gold. The dress is vintage, which is always a nice try, but I think it would seriously worry Tim Gunn. What is it doing to my butt? And are those pantyhose??

Hey, at least I thought I looked good then. Kind of like my dad's blue velour leisure suit he had when he was that age. We know better now.

I started looking through prom dresses today with bridesmaids in mind — a lot of the best prom dresses also make good bridesmaid dresses, and many brides are even choosing to wear prom dresses in their weddings now for the fun colors and details. The more I look, the more I love–I really wish I had known about some of these styles back when I was blowing off homecoming to play Team Fortress Classic with a basement full of pimpled, t-shirt wearing nerds (who were my best friends. love you guys!).

Not all of the gowns I found were that good… I hate how sexy prom has become… I mean, it's definitely cool to wear something special and feel like you look your best, but I have seen some whack dresses in the last few years. Open back, cut up to there, really crappy fabric, even bra tops… what's up with that? Gross.

Anyway, I've made a bunch of new corsages for the upcoming prom season, and I've handpicked some cute matching dresses. Here we go.

This dark grey dress from Urban Outfitters has a cute, subtle musical instrument print (can you make out the tiny guitars?), and this black and yellow polka-dot dress by Terani would be gorgeous on a tall girl.

This vintage black and white dress is from Unique Vintage, and the long gown by Jovani in similar colors would be great for a girl who wanted something more formal. (I own the gown and I love it!)

I love this yellow Juicy Couture dress, and Jovani polka-dot gown… no one ever wears yellow to prom. Why not? That short dress would be so cute with colored tights, cute heels and a glittery clutch purse.

This short blue dress is really whimsical, and the long gown from Nordstrom would be great for someone who likes a classy, elegant look.

Finally, this short party dress by Betsey Johnson is gorgeous. It looks like a little frosted cupcake and would be perfect for a girl like me with short legs. And I keep coming back to this stunning plaid gown by Jovani–it's just so unique.

What was your prom experience like? What did your dress look like?