7 Iconic Outsider Prom Looks
By Leeann Duggan
PHOTO COURTESY OF UNIVERSAL STUDIOS.
Even for the most socially astute, the prom is a minefield of awkwardness, crummy buffet food, and slow-dance handsiness from the dude who swore you were going as friends. For those of us who’ve never posted up in the A-group, add a whole other layer of anxiety: the mortal terror of voluntarily attending a party with all the kids who make your life hell like it’s their job.
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Here, we pay tribute to our favorite cinematic outsiders who sucked it up, DIYed a dress (or rented a tux), and showed up to sway to “Forever Young.” Click ahead for our seven favorite nerd girls, artsy chicks from the wrong side of the tracks, and telekinetic freaks — and the iconic outfits they wore to the big dance.
PHOTO COURTESY OF MIRAMAX LION’S GATE.
She’s All That
In which Laney Boggs, who is a nerd because she likes art and has an after-school job, receives the world’s least dramatic makeover, thus leading every hapless geek girl to believe that a pair of Acuvues is all that stands between her and popularity. Laney’s prom look was not only an icon of late-‘90s minimalism, it was also surprisingly perfect for doing the monkey to “The Rockafeller Skank.”
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PHOTO COURTESY OF UNIVERSAL STUDIOS.
Romy And Michele’s High School Reunion
Fact: Few among us are woman enough to embody both Madonna’s Boy Toy and Blond Ambition phases. That’s why you need a super-solid best friend. She’s the yin to your yang, the Janis to your Damian, the only one who understands that the best — nay, only — way to stick it to the A-group is with barefoot choreography to “Time After Time.”
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PHOTO COURTESY OF MGM.
Carrie
Oh man, you haven’t seen Carrie? It’s about this girl who’s going through a tough time because her mom’s kinda strict, but totally means well. And then, Carrie gets her ladytimes in gym class, which is mortifying! Luckily, Carrie’s friends all pull together to help her out with supplies. Then, a guy with dreamy hair asks Carrie to the prom, and Carrie sews herself a pretty dress, which her mom really likes. Carrie gets crowned prom queen and is so happy she came, and then she and her friends go get Denny’s. I think.
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PHOTO COURTESY OF PARAMOUNT PICTURES.
The Virgin Suicides
No, it’s not actually a prom, but a homecoming dance the poor, doomed Lisbon sisters attend in their matching sexless maxi-dresses (that may or may not have inspired Tom Ford’s latest collection). But, since — 20-year-old spoiler alert! — not all of the sisters make it to prom season, this dance will have to do.
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Lux, as she always does, manages to transcend the tragic Holly Hobbieness of it all, drinks every 14-year-old’s liquer of choice, peach schnapps, makes out with hunky Trip Fontaine, and is voted homecoming queen. It’s all so perfect you can almost forgive the 10cc and Styx songs.
PHOTO COURTESY OF UNIVERSAL STUDIOS.
Mean Girls
At a Spring Fling filled with daring style statements, including Cady’s Mathletes jacket-tiara combo, and Regina George working her back brace, Janis and Damian’s matching eggplant tuxes truly take the cake — and will go great with the tattered pieces of Cady’s crown, probably.
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PHOTO COURTESY OF UNIVERSAL STUDIOS.
Pretty In Pink
Along with Carrie, Andie Walsh’s dress is another watershed moment in DIY prom fashion. Combining a vintage dress from her record store bestie and a sad thrift-store find from her dad (Note to self: Don’t let Harry Dean Stanton buy your prom dress), Andie made the two into something greater than the sum of their parts — and gave the resulting gown a cutout shoulder Rosie Assoulin would love. Let’s pretend that after this, Andie did not leave Duckie for a corny rich boy who wasn’t even half as hot as Steff.
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PHOTO COURTESY OF UNIVERSAL STUDIOS.
Napoleon Dynamite
When was Napoleon Dynamite set? At what point in history did bolo ties and moon boots exist peaceably with '70s-grandpa three-piece suits and '80s-tastic puffy-sleeve gowns? In what faraway paradise are kids this bizarrely dressed not laughed out of school? If high school was as weirdly accepting as this, how would therapists purchase summer homes?
