My best friend is a single working mum with three daughters.
The girls attend a local school and I was quiet taken back when I discovered last year how much time, effort, stress, shopping miles, money and arguments were invested in getting her first daughter ready for the school formal.
School formals have grown rapidly over the last 10 years to be one of the most important school events of the calendar year.
The youth are driving this phenomenon, with some young girls planning up to a year ahead and spending up to $1000.
00 for their outfits.
The organizer of Formal Expo 2009, Graham Stroud has reported that $170 million is spent annually on school formals in NSW's alone.
What is going on, I ask you.
How can hard working mums and dads keep up with the demands that our youth are creating? The pressure to look great, be accepted, be cool and not make a fool of your self is a big reality for our children...
I remember my school formal very well.
I attended a school on the Gold Coast, and while select privileged girls took to the shops to find the perfect dress.
My mum made my dress in an onion green floral chiffon fabric.
I called it my "celery stick" dress as it had a frill on the hemline that I hated.
May by that is why I want to help others in their pursuit of the perfect dress.
The most important thing I want to get across is that you do not have to spend big dollars to get a big effect.
While many young women and men can afford to choose from the best of our Australian designers and place their purchases on dads credit card.
There are many more who do not have this available to them.
With a bit of careful planning all of our sons and daughters can look a million bucks.
Many on-line formal sites will lead you to a plethora of fashions, some even offer you tips on what style dresses to wear according to your body shape.
This is a great place to start.
But there are many other factors to consider if you want that 'wow' appeal.
When a fashion stylist takes someone shopping they will access the persons body shape, colouring, personal attributes, face shape, scale and personality and find an outfit to reflect all of these things.
The results is an outfit that sings to you because it suits the person so well.
Booking a personal shopping trip with a fashion stylists is one option that will bring you results.
By giving the responsibility to an expert you will find that the indecision and time wasting will be eliminated.
If this is not an option consider an on line consultation be fore you go shopping.
Some stylists and image consultants will offer a style report.
The trick here is to mention that you only want advice for a special event.
By eliminating the need to cover your entire working and social wardrobe, your stylist only needs to develop a single' look'.
A good style report should cover everything you need to find that perfect outfit.
When organizing a look for a formal make sure to check if colour, accessories, face shape, fabric and body shape analysis are included.
If you have these basic covered you will have no problem sifting through the many options for you son or daughter and finding the perfect outfit.