The Learning Network: How Do You Feel About Proms?

Robert Wright for The New York TimesDRESS-UP Danielle Gordon, 18, a senior in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, in her prom dress from Notte by Marchesa. Go to related article » Questions about issues in the news for students 13 and older.

Does your school have a prom? Will you be going? If you’re going, what are you wearing, and about how much do you expect to spend? How do you feel about formal school dances in general? Why?

In “The Prom Dress Moves Into the Designer Leagues,” Marisa Meltzer writes:

Last year, as a junior at the Latin School in Chicago, Colby Jordan wore a black silk gown designed by John Galliano with matching Dior heels to prom. “This year I’m switching gears,” she said on the phone from her home recently. “I’m doing a chartreuse Roland Mouret gown with purple snakeskin YSL Tribute sandals.”

As at the Oscars, the school has a tradition of students changing outfits for after-parties, so Ms. Jordan, 18, is also considering a white Herve Leger dress with silver heels by Azzedine Alaïa bought during Paris Fashion Week last March, plus jewelry from a “dear friend,” the New York designer Eddie Borgo, who lent her pieces when she attended the Met Ball earlier this month.

While Ms. Jordan is a rare, jet-set teenager attending such exclusive events, she’s not the only one buying a designer dress, often costing in the mid-three figures or higher, for prom night.

Students: Tell us your feelings about and experiences with formal school dances like proms. Is there a trend toward wearing designer dresses at your school? Do you think there is too much pressure and cost associated with proms, or do you tend to agree with the woman in the article who says that prom is a girl’s “first magical Cinderella-evening moment”?

Students 13 and older are invited to comment below. Please use only your first name. For privacy policy reasons, we will not publish student comments that include a last name.

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