To experience prom in your high school life (or in my case, grad ball) is a moment that you shouldn't miss. It's definitely your night to remember as you spend time dancing, eating, and having fun with your friends and batchmates, hence, choosing and finding the perfect prom dress will somehow stress you out.

It's never to early to plan your look. In fact, planning early is actually better than planning and preparing the last minute as it stresses you out. Do remember that you need to get your beauty rest too! So considering this, allow me to be of a little help as I share to you this ultimate guide in choosing and buying your prom dress if you're going to shop online.

Your Ultimate Guide in Choosing and Buying Your Prom Dress Online

1. Know what you want.

As ironic as it sounds, the first thing you should know is to know what you want. And this could be a struggle because you might be overwhelmed with all the available designs out there. Thus, to make it easier, trim it down to: 

Would you like your dress to be long or short?

Would you like it to be body hugging or ball-gown?

Would you like the color to be nude or strikingly bold?

You should at least know one of these details in order for you to have a direction because dresses can be overwhelming especially because there are so many designs and colors to choose from.

If say, for example, you want a body hugging dress, then it would be easier to go towards that direction and it will eventually follow the color choice, the back details, and so on. 

In order to know what you want for your prom dress, you need to have a direction. If you are clueless and don't know where to start, just remember that the key is to have a direction and ask yourself one of the questions mentioned above.

2. Try to know your body type and what style best suits you.

One of the best ways to find your perfect prom dress is to know your body type. This is a bit tricky but with this, you'll know what style and silhouette best suit you. 

You can even take inspirations from celebrities and famous personalities who attend awards nights and other events. 

Illustrations by Diego Sabogal via this article

3. Look for a reliable shop or designer.

If you have a designer, then they can guide you and help make your perfect prom dress as they have an eye of what will suit your body type, what color suits you best, and so on. Just tell them your direction and they will be able to guide you smoothly. But practically speaking, not all of us have the budget to go to a designer. 

So if you're on a budget, don't worry! There are a lot of online shops out there where you can buy cheap prom dresses that still look elegant and sophisticated. Usually, these online shops offer a wide array of choices wherein you can get it customized and you can choose your desired color, length, cut, etc.

4. Check the online shop's reviews and rates.

Shopping online is scary for some because there are a lot of mishaps and scammer stories you've probably heard of. Take it from a professional online shopper (me). You don't need to worry if your order will actually arrive at your door steps or if your prom dress order actually looks like the photo posted on their website. As long as you do the following:

a. Check the shop's ratings. There are websites wherein you can check this such as sitejabber and Trust Pilot.

b. Read the customer reviews on each item. You'll know very well if the dress is true to its sizing and description in the reviews left by the actual users of the product.

c. Go to youtube and search the shop's name there. Usually, people share their experience especially if it's a bad shop, they will warn others. 

d. Read the shop's return policy just in case and make sure it's something that is convenient for you.

e. Lastly, you can look for actual customers / users of the brand on social media through shop tags or hashtags and you can ask them about their shopping experience from the brand. Some will actually reply to you and be ecstatic to share their experience. Do let them know that you are worried about shopping online.

5. Contact the shop's customer service.

If you're still unsure of buying online, you can try and contact different shops' customer service and see which one is the most reliable. This way, you'll know which one will assist you if issues will occur.

There are many online shops and brands right now so be patient in doing your research. 

Speaking of a reliable online brand, do check out Azazei as you can contact them if you have questions before you order or after your items arrived. They understand that ordering online can be stressful enough, hence, they have experienced customer service professionals available via fast response E-mails.

Azazei is a global dress and fashion designing and manufacturing company. They work with hundreds of young and talented designers to create the best dresses and fashions for their customers. Azazei offers great quality plus size dresses. Also, they can custom-make dresses according to one's specific measurements. 

6. Consider the online shop's location and the shipping date.

Since online shopping is very convenient now-a-days with just a click away from purchasing, you need to consider the shop's location. If you will be online shopping from an international shop, consider the shipping date and the customs checking. Make sure to buy your prom dress early like months or even a year before your prom if you will be shopping from an online shop not based in your country as shipping usually takes long (unless you use FEDex. I swear by this courier). You should also consider the time that your package will be held in your country's customs for checking. These factors affect the date of your prom dress' arrival so be patient.

If you will be online shopping from your local shop, then shipping is much faster; thus, this will lessen your worry.

7. Look for a seamstress near you.

While waiting for your prom dress to arrive, you can look for a seamstress near you just in case. This is just for a pre-cautionary measure. In case your prom dress is a bit long on you or it's a bit loose or if there's a small issue that can be fixed immediately, you can just bring it to a seamstress for a faster fixation. This way, you don't have to return it to the shop and wait for a month or two to have it back. 

8. Have it dry cleaned.

Since there is a pandemic going on, it's better to be safe. So have it dry cleaned. Also, since your prom dress will most likely be packaged in a plastic pouch or in a box, it will be folded therefore, it is better to have it dry cleaned and ironed by professionals to remove the creases.

9. Accessorize.

The perfect prom dress won't be complete without accessories and shoes. If you don't want to spend much on accessories and shoes, you can actually base the prom dress that you will buy on what accessories, bag, and shoes you already have. This way, you'll have direction (for tip no. 1) and at the same time, you will spend less.

10. BE CONFIDENT. Practice Self-love. If it makes you happy, then go wear it.

This is prolly the most important tip I can give. Just be confident, love yourself, and believe that you are the most beautiful lady of the night!

The perfect prom dress actually starts from your heart. You'll just know if that dress is for you. If a prom dress makes you happy at first sight, then go get it! If the dress makes you happy, then go wear it! Your confidence and happiness will show no matter what you are wearing. And if you are not happy about your dress, that will show and it will affect your whole night.

[These photos are not from my grad ball / prom but from Ola Bayle 8, a dance sport competition I competed in for the 2nd time and won 1st Runner-Up. To give you an idea, I joined 2 years before for the first time and my partner and I ended up winning 5th Runner Up. To give you an idea, my gown kind of played an important factor because in Ola Bayle 6, I wore a purple gown with a tube top. I wasn't able to solely focus on our dance as I was also thinking of not having a wardrobe malfunction. In Ola Bayle 8, when I had this gown, it was also a tube top but I had it altered to have straps. I was able to focus on our dance. Yes, take it from my own experience.]

Keep in mind that whatever it is that you wish to wear, as long as it makes you happy, as long as it gives you the confidence, as long as you love yourself, and as long as it follows your school's dress code (if you have), then that is the perfect prom dress!

Wear something that is comfy, something that you love, and something that will uplift you and you'll surely be the most beautiful in your prom night!

Enjoy your prom and be stunningly gorgeous!  Have fun choosing and shopping!