Prom in Spring

Whether you're going on vacation or want to transition an outfit from the office to a more formal wedding look, we've got some simple steps to help you!

    Buyer & Manager Meaghen Hoops from 25 Central in Northampton shows you how to transform your look from day to night.

With increasing baggage fees, you don't want to pack a ton of outfits. Instead, pack a few key accessories and you can change your look.

    Nora looks like she is going on a shopping trip or heading to the beach in this daytime look. It is a great dress to take on vacation because it packs really well and you can dress it up for evening. There are so many colors on this dress that you can accessorize it with almost anything.
 
    It looks nice when you play up a color that you really like by adding a coordinating accessory. We pulled out the blue and orange in the dress with a headband and a fun pair of sunglasses.  Her bag stores her accessories for later. By adding a lovely silk scarf and some really glitzy jewelry, she'll be ready for a night on the town.

    Gina's outfit is perfect for work because it is conservative, but still modern. Offices can get a little chilly with air conditioning in the summer, which is why we chose a printed lightweight scarf and a blazer.

    She's just going to remove the scarf and blazer, and you'll see that she has some elegant jewelry on to transition to a more formal look. Her dress is really the star of the show in this look. Color is really hot this season, and that green is stunning with her dark hair. We wanted to keep the accessories simple, so a gray pashmina, adds a touch of class and warmth. This look is wedding appropriate and if she really wants to have some fun, we could add this fascinator.

    Both ladies are wearing shoes that can be casual or dressy and a toe-less pantyhose to show off summer pedicures.

    It's really easy to take an outfit from day to night just by changing your accessories. Also, accessories can take clothing you already have to a new level and are a great way to incorporate trends without hurting your wallet.

Women follow fashion trends would love several collections below:

pink prom dresses | special occasion dresses | wedding dresses 2012

Designer David Meister is a rock star when it comes to making short prom dresses under 100 for the everyday woman.
At nearly every store appearance, he's greeted by working women, stay-at-home moms and ladies who lunch who share stories of how wonderful they feel wearing his dresses.
"I love that," Meister said during a recent visit at Saks Fifth Avenue in Houston. "The dress customer is really a Southern customer. I'm so grateful women in the South still love dresses.
An Ohio native, Meister began his career at Danskin, the bodywear company, where he mastered stretch fabrication and uses the technique in his designs today. In 1998, he launched his own label with yellow prom dresses, then with day dresses. Among his celebrity fans are Tina Fey, Diane Lane, Queen Latifah and Sharon Stone.
Meister talks about his love for work, his travels and his love for a dog named Petey:

Q: Why is Texas such a big market for you?
A: Southern women love dresses online. They love getting dressed up, and they change clothes for the event. What they wear to work, they aren't wearing to dinner. Southern women still love dressing for the occasion. They are the best.

Q: How difficult is it to reinvent the dress each season?
A: Actually, it's easier because after you've done it for a while there are certain things you know don't work, women don't like and aren't going to buy. For example, red cocktail dresses used to be important, but look around: You won't see many in stores now. Women don't want red dresses right now.

Q: If red is out, what's the "it" color in dresses?
A: Navy and black are always good. Metallics and neutrals are really big and shades of blue. But the dress customer tends to be a Southern customer, and she loves bright, happy color.

Q: Are cocktail dresses still popular?
A: Everything is cyclical. For a while, women were buying cocktail dresses. Now, gowns are doing better than cocktail dresses because women haven't worn gowns in so long. Women are now buying way more gowns.

Q: What else have you been up to?
A: We launched a signature collection for Bergdorf Goodman at a higher price point for evening based on the red-carpet dressing I've been doing. I'm doing fashion commentating on TV, which I love.

Q: Who is the most exciting celebrity to dress?
A: For the red carpet recently, it's Diane Lane. She's a classically beautiful woman with an amazing body. We've done Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer a lot. But my all-time favorite is Sharon Stone. She's smoking. When she puts on a dress, get out of the way.

Q: We know women love your dresses, but do you ever get complaints from customers?
A: Of course, some of the women in the dressing room are brutal.

Q: What's the worse thing you've heard?
A: One woman said, "This is the ugliest thing. What were you thinking?" I just smiled and said, "I don't know what I was thinking. Clearly I was wrong."

Q: Would you ever design anything other than dresses?
A: Because we're known for fit, swimwear would be great. I'm game for most anything.

Q: You and your partner, talent agent Alan Siegel, have been together for 20 years. What's your secret?
A: I think it's partially getting lucky in meeting the right person. We have a blast together. We have a house in Palm Springs and go out every weekend. We just chill by the pool.

Q: Do you get inspired when you travel?
A: We're going to Belize in May and South Africa in the fall. When you're in a culture you've never been in, that alone will inspire you to think differently.

Q: Would you ever do an affordable line on a shopping network or something similar?
A: I would, but I don't think it's the right time for my brand right now.

Q: Your biography mentions an invisible dog. Is that right?
A: Yes. For 14 years before we got our Havanese named Petey, we had an invisible dog named Petey.

Q: That sounds a little crazy.
A: Don't disparage invisible Petey (Meister laughs). There's a difference between imaginary and invisible. Imaginary means it's in your head. Invisible means he's there, you just can't see him. He was fabulous.

Q: What about the real Petey?
A: He's my buddy. He's the cutest dog in the world. He's one of the best things that happen to us. Even if you have a bad day, all he wants to do is jump up and have his belly rubbed. He gets groomed and gets blueberry facials to help clean his whiskers.

Q: Why blueberry?
A: Blueberries have antioxidants, you know. I love that dog.

It was a lot of hard work but the hours spent trying to collect white prom dresses — then sort them, store them, display them and distribute them, were washed away in a moment, when the first young lady looked in the mirror and smiled from ear-to-ear, proclaiming she had found her perfect prom or graduation dress.

And for Jayne Latam and her committee of fashionistas, the smiles on the faces of about 60 young ladies was reward in itself for the work that went into organizing last year’s sale of new and gently used formal dresses for girls who might otherwise be forced to miss their special night.

That was the driving force behind Latam’s campaign to make prom and grad prom dresses 2012 affordable to those who can’t afford the cost and extravagance associated with prom and Grade 8 graduation.

After hearing of a similar sale in Michigan two years ago, Latam vowed to give local girls a chance dream — a chance to shop for the dress of their dreams on a shoestring budget of only $10. She said every dress, with some retailing at about $700, will be sold for that nominal fee. While Latam said they don’t have any way to ensure all the shoppers are struggling financially, she said they have to rely on the honor system.

And following the overwhelming success of last year’s sale, Latam garnered her troops once again to help make prom affordable for any local girl hoping to dance the night away.

Latam said they have already collected about 300 pink prom dresses for this year’s sale in all styles, lengths, colors and sizes.

Her committee ooohed and awed over the fabulous selection, agreeing that this year’s dresses were fit for any prom queen.

And that, said Latam, is the goal — for them to look and feel beautiful.

She said prom and graduation are two of the most important nights in the life of teenaged girls and she wants every girl to have the opportunity to feel the excitement of shopping for that special dress — without having to worry about the price tag.

There are a few alterations to this year’s sale. Latam said the sale will be held at the Leamington United Mennonite Church, 78 Oak St. E., on May 3 and 4 (from 6 to 9 p.m.) and May 5 (from 9 a.m. to noon). She said the church is much roomier and will better accommodate the crowd expected.

She said Willabee’s has also come on board — offering a $50 discount to prom goers when they purchase a new prom dress there and bring in a donated prom dress.

Hair Café, she said, has also offered to provide hairdos for six lucky winners of their random draw. In addition, Latam said, they will have a selection of prom accessories — shoes, wraps and jewelry.

Any money collected from the sale will be donated back into the community — to the church, the Et Cetera Shoppe and the SECC.