A little mystery, please
Posted by Heather on May 13, 2008
I am only 29 years old, so I know that I’m not wallowing in a fog of nostalgia when I say: Who on Earth lets their daughter out of the house wearing a Prom dress like this? Seriously? The video of the news story is down below, but here’s a picture from Boing Boing just to give you an idea:
Apparently the theme at Prom this year was “Streetwalker”. Or not. Predictably, when Marche Taylor showed up to her high school prom wearing this little scrap, she was denied entrance, then arrested because she started making a big scene. Stay classy, Marche.
Whatever happened to leaving a few things to the imagination? Whatever happened to cultivating an air of mystery? Because if a modest dress = mystery, then this dress = “Chapter 1: The butler did it! In the pantry with the candlestick! THE END.”
One thing I noted while watching the news video is that the girl’s mom and dad are nowhere to be seen. Please tell me they’re at the library, checking out a parenting book.
May 13, 2008 at 11:07 am
Gosh, you wouldn’t want to trample on poor little Marche’s freedom of expression would you?
Love your blog!
May 13, 2008 at 11:46 am
I wouldn’t let my girls out of the house in that outfit, much less attend the prom! That looks more like something you would wear to the pool.
May 13, 2008 at 9:47 pm
Three observations:
1. The photos from Marche’s actual prom night, as shown in the news footage/interview, would indicate that Marche is actually MORE COVERED UP in Heather’s screen shot (and in the interview footage) than she was when arriving for the prom. (The top … um … “strips” were ruched considerably more for prom, thus exposing far more … what’s the phrase, “side-boob”?)
2. In response to Bobbi’s comment, and at the risk of showing MY age (which is older than Heather’s, although not by THAT much) - I wouldn’t even let my daughter wear that dress in my very own BACKYARD POOL, let alone ANYWHERE in public!
3. In what may be considered a statement in Marche’s defense, if UNDERWEAR had been a requirement at my own prom (back when we danced to cavemen banging on logs), well, let’s just say a few girls in my class wouldn’t have made it in the door, either. :o) A girl of any age and generation HAS to avoid the dreaded VPL, right? ;o)
May 13, 2008 at 10:40 pm
I thought it was a swimming suit when I first saw the picture. Oh my!
May 14, 2008 at 12:08 pm
My mom would never have let me wear even a swimsuit that skimpy when I was in high school, let alone a prom dress! (I was chubby, so no worries anyway–I covered up as much as possible.) I’ve seen some of the popular styles of prom dresses lately, and many of them are really risque, at least to my way of thinking. But, I also think miniskirts have gotten ALARMINGLY short in the past few years, so clearly I’m hopelessly old-fashioned.
May 14, 2008 at 3:12 pm
I can practically GUARANTEE you that her parents were not checking out a parenting book. Her parents probably didn’t have the slightest idea about what she was wearing to the prom. And that’s the big problem right there.
May 18, 2008 at 3:56 pm
I just wanted to say hello. I read the blurb about you in Parenting Magazine and wanted to stop by your blog. I’m impressed that you would go on a show, Jeopardy nonetheless, one month after having your baby. I was much more content staying home that first few months. So how much did you make? :)
I also just have to say that this poor girl needs someone to tell her that she looks awful in that dress! She needs parents or someone who cares to help her out. I’m so glad they didn’t let her in the prom…at least there are some kind of standards. Although I’m sure I would be shocked by many of the dresses allowed in the prom.
May 19, 2008 at 12:29 am
I kind of feel bad for her. I never would’ve wore that dress to my high school prom, but there also would’ve been a line of people behind me making sure I never would’ve considered it. Being the nerd-hermit I was, I wasn’t bombarded constantly with images of women wearing next-to-nothing and told that this is how to get attention, to be praised, to be empowered, to be unique. All right, she should’ve known better. But there’s a lot of messed up stuff that adds up to a high school senior believing that’s the way women ought to look on one of the biggest nights of her life so far. As she said, people told her they liked how her dress looks. If that’s the positive feedback she’s getting — maybe some of the only positive feedback she’s getting — why would she believe otherwise?
May 19, 2008 at 7:11 pm
Jamie, you’re right on the money: the girl had to have known that some people consider such a dress inappropriate, but it’s really depressing to think that someone or something kept telling her that she would look great in it.