Prom goers and parents all know about the behind-the-scenes stress and drama that come with the territory. You’ve got to hunt for the perfect outfit, spend cash on dinner, manage the photography, and deal with the miscellaneous issues that pop up.
Some mothers and daughters seem to have gotten wise, though, and decided they’re going to worry about one thing less. You see, instead of going out to buy a new prom dress, they’re making use of gowns that are already in the family!
Timeless Elegance
“Wore my mama’s dress to prom,” this young woman tweeted in 2015. Both mother and daughter looked great in this gown that features gold detail along the straps, a plunging neckline, and an ultra dramatic slit up the leg.
We’ll give you a spoiler alert right now: Many of the dresses in this roundup are black, leaving us to suspect that it might be the single most timeless and gorgeous color for formalwear.
1970s Style That Looks So Modern
The 1970s were the era of mod, but that doesn’t mean that every style actually held its own in the following decades (looking at you, men’s flared pantsuits).
That’s not true for this look, though. “Since I was wearing my mom’s senior prom dress from the ’70s, we had to recreate this gem,” this young woman wrote. That strap detail across the chest looks like something you’d see in a store window today!
Wearing Mom’s Dress For Tacky Prom
This young woman’s mother, pictured at left, originally wore this bold pattern to a prom in 1986. Her daughter managed to rock the same item in 2014 by wearing it to her school’s “tacky prom.”
Tacky proms are school dances that mimic the same setup as a prom but trade the formality for a bit of weirdness. Students are encouraged to dress wildly for a night of dancing to goofy throwback tracks from decades past.
Killing It In The Best Way Possible
It looks like this mother was able to gift her daughter with more than just genetics: Confidence, taste, and one of the most amazing prom dresses ever. The pattern, cutout, and belly straps come together for a gown that is the very definition of slay.
(Also, this young woman is lucky to not attend one of the many schools enacting supremely strict dress codes for prom these days. There are so many high schools creating strict standards for young women’s gowns. What gives?)
When All Else Fails, Raid Someone Else’s Closet
“My daughter ordered a pretty gown online for her senior prom this year, and when it arrived, it wasn’t what she had hoped,” wrote this mom on Facebook. “Four days away from prom, she decided to raid my closet while I was at work.”
Her daughter was able to take the dress in for tailoring, turning it something seriously awesome.
“Who knew that my USMC ball dress from 1995 would see the light of day again?” her mom wrote.
A Chic, Black, Floor-Length Hand-Me-Down
This black floor-length gown looked great at mom’s prom as well as her daughter’s. It’s even sleek enough that it could be worn for many other events, too. If you think about it, wearing a vintage dress is a super smart choice. It reduces your prom expenses by hundreds of dollars—some prom goers end up spending the most money on their gown, after all, so this cuts out a major cost.
Same Pose With The Same Man
“Amy and I 2003, Tori and I 2016. Tori has always said she wanted to wear Mom’s dress for her Senior Prom, Mission complete.”
Dad Matt Kostos seems to be the accessory that comes with the dress, and while he’s changed over the years, as has the person wearing it, the dress itself remains timeless and beautiful.
It’s a classic design for a classic mother-daughter duo.
Nineties Style Managed To Survive
This young lady managed to make her mom’s prom dress work again 25 years later. She wore the dress for her 2016 prom, while her mom, pictured at left, originally wore it in 1991.
Not only is black the most timeless of colors, as we’ll prove again in more upcoming photos, but the tea length silhouette is just such a tried and true classic. Both of these girls really brought the glam by wearing this dress.
This Red Satin Gown Was Sewn By Grandmother
Mom tweeted this photo and captioned it “prom 1980-something, prom 2016.” She added that the gown was sewn with love by her own mother, making it all the more sweet and sentimental.
By the way, how lucky are all these ladies that they’re close enough to one another’s dress size across all of their generations?! Imagine how happy you’d be if your mother or grandmother’s dress fit just right for your dance.
Proof That Black Is Best For Formalwear
Proving that black is best, here’s another mother and daughter who both opted for drama with a dark floor-length gown featuring beaded detailing. The mom, pictured at left, wore this dress for her sister-in-law’s wedding. 20 years later, her daughter wore the same classic gown for a friend’s senior prom.
There are a few more dresses on the list that pulled double duty, proving you don’t need to wear your prom dress just once in your life!
Better With White Suit or Black Suit
“I think it’s the most beautiful, but I’m a little biased toward my own family….circa 1987 and 2017”
Thirty years apart, a lot has happened in the fashion world, but this gown seems to be doing the job just as well as it did when it was first worn. We also love the fact that while the tux color has changed, both boyfriends are wearing the same type of rose!
Wedding Dress Turns Into A Perfect Prom Piece
This young woman was able to wear her mother’s red wedding dress for her own prom in a shade of bright red that looked great on each of them.
Did you know that wedding dresses weren’t always white? Queen Victoria seems to have set the standard with her 1840 marriage to Prince Albert. Before that, wedding dresses were typically designed in whatever color was fashionable and stylish at the moment. Red was actually a popular choice.
Turning Up The Volume With A Different Style
Mom, pictured at left, originally wore this black collared gown for prom in 1996. Her daughter, pictured on the right, wore it for her 2016 prom.
Both ladies looked great and each of their unique styles managed to bring out different looks of the gown. Mom wore it in a classic formal style with an updo and corsage, while her daughter gave the look a serious punk edge with her bold hair color and jewelry.
Eternal Color
“Found my prom dress in my mom’s closet. I wore the same dress my mom wore for her prom 2015 | 1990 “
A red dress always makes a statement, and this one – doubly so. Not only did it look stunning back in 1990, it looks positively radiant in 2015!
And in addition to looking great, it has the added value of being passed down from mother to daughter, which makes it that much better.
Glitter All the Way
Aidan Whittemore posted the following photo on Twitter, and captioned it
“Me (2017) In My Mom’s Junior Prom Dress (1996)”
What can we say? Some things are timeless, and glitter is definitely one of them. This sequin dress looked beautiful back in 1996, and, surprisingly enough, it still looks chic and stylish today.
Where do all these mothers keep their prom dresses for all these years, though? The dress still looks in prime condition, but it must have been left in some closet for over 21 years!
Something Blue
“Mom and I shared several dresses, 24 years apart…”
This is a truly classic cut for a prom dress.
It looks like it was taken straight out of the 1950s – the golden age of proms, for those of you who were wondering – and the only thing that allows us to date one picture over the other are the long, Jackie Kennedy style opera gloves the mother is wearing on the right.
Elegant
“Proud to wear my moms prom dress 22 years later”
There really is a sense of pride here – and with good reason. This is an impressive dress with an impressive mother to live up to, and getting to fill those shoes – or that gown, in this case – really does feel like an accomplishment. The matching flowers in both photos are a really nice touch as well. These are some swanky prom outfits!
Thanks Mom!
This daughter wrote “my mom had been saving her old prom dress for all these years just so her future daughter could try it on :)” on Instagram, and all we can say is: smart decision, mom!
That’s some pretty intense planning ahead, especially for a high school senior, but it totally payed off. Your daughter looks amazing in your dress, and the gesture is extremely touching and heart warming.
It must be nice to know your parents were thinking about you since they themselves were practically kids!
A Little Mesh And Beading Goes A Long Way
“1989 is like, super in right now,” this daughter joked when she posted this photo.
“I can hardly find the words,” her mom added in a followup comment. “Yes, this vintage dress came from my closet—right out of 1989, my senior prom!” She explained that it was a last-minute decision made by her daughter. That was definitely a good call on her part, and that transparent mesh and beading look fantastic on both of them.
A Proud Mother
“Who wore it better??? Love that my Baby is wearing my 17year old dress!”
Asking us to pick who wore it better is a really unfair thing to do, Mom!
First, because it’s almost impossible to tell which photo was taken when – but also, because both mother and daughter look amazing in this dress!
It seems this mother has passed down more than just a dress to her daughter; it’s clear the younger of the two is also wearing her mother’s smile.
Pink Memories
“Some may recognize the dress Roxanne wore to prom.. I wore the dress in 1988 to my senior military ball. I am sure we have a few pictures at my mom’s of me in the dress but this is the one I have. We had no alterations to the dress.”
That is one cool prom pic. The pink dress more than stands out on the serious background of the uniformed military school seniors, and mom’s irreverent expression is just perfect!
Beauty and the Beast Style
“My oldest daughter trying on my prom dress a couple of years ago.”
Fashion, they say, is transient. “What looks good today might be embarassing tomorrow,” they say – but we think photos like this prove that that’s not entirely true.
If it were, how would you explain that this decades old dress still looks stunning, even when it passes down a generation?
The answer is clear: some fashions may be transient, but some clothes are truly timeless.
Near the Same Horologe
This mother wrote: “She didnt wear it to prom but I at least got her to try it on and stand in the same spot the morning of her prom day at my parents house….20 years later.”
Some things never change. The old grandfather clock, the blue rug – and how stunning whoever is wearing that dress looks.
The only thing that’s different today is that Michael Jordan isn’t playing for the Chicago Bulls any more!
Chic!
“This vintage prom dress is 23 years old. Glad it got to dance again :).”
There’s something about carrying the mantle and creating a cross-generation tradition that is just really, really touching.
And the dress really does look gorgeous. You may not immediately think “blue” when you say “prom dress,” but this classy cut manages to make this color seem fancy and festive.
Unique Pattern
“Who knew my only daughter would wear MY prom dress 22 years later! She looked absolutely beautiful!”
We’re pretty sure you knew, mom! We mean, you’re the one who kept it all these years, aren’t you?
But seriously – it must make this mother extremely proud, getting to see her daughter grow up into a young woman, and to know your relationship with her is so great that she would want to wear your old prom dress to her own graduation party!
Black is The New Black
“Saved money on prom by going vintage–I wore my momma’s prom dress!!”
Not only did you manage to save money – you look downright fabulous.
We guess black really never goes out of style – and even if this dress did go through what looks like a few alterations, its line and cut are timeless, and, more importantly, imbued with something money just can’t buy: it’s a gift from a mother to her daughter.
Few Alternations
“my mom going to her senior prom 1987 vs. me going to my senior prom 2017 ((same dress just a few changes made))”
Usually, when a dress is passed down, it ends up getting shortened. The fact that this girl managed to lengthen it makes it really unique – but what we really, really love about this photo is her sister photobombing her prom dress selfie!
Siblings are the best!
A New Tradition
Angie Shared her photo wearing mom’s prom dress and wrote: “I think we just started a tradition…” waiting for her own girl to wear the same dress.
If Angie manages to pass this dress on to her future daughter, it really would be an amazing tradition to uphold. And while we can’t know for sure, we’re willing to be that even 30 years down the line, this dress would look just as beautiful as it does today – and as it did back then.
This Pink Gown Made It Through Three Generations
This baby pink ballgown made it through three generations. At top left, it’s pictured in 1962; the top right and bottom left photos are her two daughters wearing it to their school dances. It was last worn in 2013 by her granddaughter.
It looks like the dress has lost a bit of volume over the years—that could be due to long-term storage in a closet, or perhaps the ultra-fluffy petticoat was tailored out to give the wearer some more room to move.
Glitter and Black
“Me at prom on the left in 1990. My daughter in my dress going to her prom in 2014.”
That sounds like one seriously proud mother – and with good reason. Her daughter looks ravishing in her old prom dress – which, we gotta say, in and of itself is quite fierce, striking and rock ‘n’ roll with all of those black sequins.
Striking The Same Pose, Too
Suuuch a Kodak moment. This daughter struck the same pose as her mom while wearing her gown for prom. Her mother actually made the dress in 1987 when she was 17 years old! Red satin with a white lace overlay looks romantic and glamorous.
It’s so awesome to see that these dresses were properly stored and held up over the years. This has a lot in common with the other handmade gown on our list that has been passed down through generations.
Even The Same Haircut
“Sharing as my daughter wore mine just this past sat! My prom 1996, hers 2017”
What a beautiful dress!
It looks like it underwent a slight alteration between mother and daughter, with the side slight gaining a bit of length over the years – but that’s just another way to make the dress belong to both mother and daughter equally. It’s nice that they’ve managed to keep the dress, but also for each one of them to make it her own!
A Princess Dress
“My little sister decided to wear my mom’s prom dress for her prom this year and it’s making me so emotional.”
This dress looks like it was taken straight out of a Disney film! The black and green really evoke thoughts of forests and knights – and we’re very happy to see the gloves weren’t passed over in this case!
It’s a bold choice, but we think it definitely payed off.
Blue Sequins
“My Daughter wore my prom dress 19 years later ..!! 1998/2017”
That is one glittery prom dress, and it definitely makes a statement.
It’s not often that you get the chance to wear something this sparkly, but when you do – you want to be ready. We think this mother did the right thing by mothballing her dress and keeping it ready to be worn, because her her daughter looks absolutely ravishing in it.
Her daughter is rocking it pretty hard, too!
Bold Red
“My wife and I 1997 Prom our daughter 2017 Prom same dress!”
That is one lucky dress, if it went on a date that started a relationship that lasted for over 20 years and managed to survive long enough to be passed down to the result of that relationship!
Not to mention, it looks just as amazing on their daughter as it did in that original 1997 prom night. That is a true family heirloom.
Smile!
“A little tb 🙂 me and my mom our junior prom in the same exact dress ❤️ (that’s my dad with my mom)”
Not only does this daughter look stunning in her mother’s dress – her mom and dad set a pretty high standard for their daughter’s junior prom date!
The fact that they’ve been together for so long, and that this is the dress they went to prom wearing, makes it a pretty special privelege to get to wear it.
Tacky Prom Dress
This daughter posted “Who wore it best 1986 to 2018 edition” on social media – and we are really struggling to decide! Both mother and daughter look absolutely stunning in this timeless black dress – so we think our answer is going to have to be that this family wore it best!
It looks like the dress went through a few alterations over the years, but its classic look remains just as striking as it did a generation ago!
Polka Dot
“Estee went to prom tonight wearing my senior prom dress from 1991! 😍😍😍 She’s 15, I was 18. Beautiful girls, awesome dress!!”
It really is an awesome dress!
They don’t make them like this any more, so seeing Estee with it in her prom must have been a real blast from the past – but she totally manages to pull it off and make it look modern and fresh!
Way to go, Estee!
Homemade Dress
“Wearing our mother’s #seniorprom dress she MADE”
Okay, this really made us pause in admiration.
Not only did this mother look amazing wearing this dress – as does her daughter – but this classy, professional looking gown was actually hand made by a senior in high school!
If that doesn’t impress you, we don’t know what will.
It didn’t just look good for mom’s prom, though; all those years later, it still looks radiant.
A Perfect Fit
“Avery Miner models my mom’s prom dress circa 1973.. it fits perfect!”
Some dresses may not totally stand the test of time – this dress does feel like it was taken from a different era, and probably wouldn’t work in a modern prom setting – but it still looks beautiful in its own way.
The flower patterns and ruffles are very ’70s – but that’s okay, because it was last worn in 1973!
A lot has changed since then, but one thing that hasn’t, apperently, is how well this dress fits members of this family!
Memorial Tribute
“Wore Mom’s prom dress to her Celebration of Life. She always did enjoy theme parties! “
Sometimes, all we have of someone is what they leave behind.
It seems this daughter doesn’t have her mother with her anymore – but she still has her prom dress, and getting to wear a dress she loved can definitely make her feel closer, even though she’s gone.
It’s a beautiful tribute – and a beautiful dress.
Two Generations Back
“I cant begin to tell you how much I love the fact that Lexy wore my mom’s Prom dress from 1957!! Grandma Shirley would have loved this so much!!”
There’s a lot to unpack here, so let’s get to work.
Lexi is clearly the girl in the photo.
The person who posted this photo, it seems, is her mother, and the prom dress belonged to her mother – meaning, Lexi’s grandmother.
Okay, wow. That’s three generations in just one dress!
Gorgeous Joke
“Sometimes a girl just has to get dressed up in her mom’s prom dress. We did it as a joke but I must say that she looks gorgeous (she would in any dress). Actually turned into a pretty sentimental moment. Lisa worked at Kmart and saved money to afford this dress. She looked beautiful too. Just a few years later😉, now Em is rocking it.”
Same Clothes, Different Accessories
“Mom’s Senior Prom 21 Years Ago 😍✨ Me Senior Prom 2 Days Ago 😍✨Yes Same Prom Dress Still Look Fine 😍🤤”
“Fine” doesn’t cut it! Both the girls in these photos look way, way more than “fine!”
They look downright gorgeous.
As for the guys – well… we appreciate a top hat as much as the next person, but we do have to wonder about wearing one to prom. It definitely makes a statement, that’s for sure!
Peplum Comeback
“Dresses always come back in style! This was when peplum was the trend.”
Wow! We haven’t seen anyone wearing peplum in ages, but you know what? This photo proves that’s entirely unjustified. It looks amazing, and we hope that if enough people see it, it just might come back in style.
But even if it doesn’t – you know what? It still looks gorgeous on both mother and daughter here.
Hair Up
“Wearing mom’s 1998 prom dress.”
19 years between uses, and the dress still looks downright amazing.
Some things never go out of style, and this type of dress is definitely one of them.
It seems to fit both mother and daughter perfectly, and its classy cut is sure to receive some admiring looks come prom night.
We just hope the daughter doesn’t party too hard with it, and keeps it in a good enough condition to pass it on to her daughter when the time comes!
Modern Watch
“Who wore it better? Megan wore my prom dress from ’85”
Styles sure have changed over the years – but it’s nice to see buys in both of these photos aren’t afraid to wear pink!
It definitely compliments the dress – and the women wearing it.
One thing that has changed is the watch. Do you think this girl’s children will one day look at this photo and think about how vintage her smartwatch looks?
A princess’s dress
“Revamped my moms old prom dress and wore it to my senior prom”
A little trim here, a little tulle there, and viola! You’ve got a brand new dress – that still manages to carry sentimental value and the tradition that comes with wearing your mother’s old prom dress.
Both women look downright gorgeous in their dresses, and it’s great to see they’ve both managed to put in a little style and personality into their choice of clothing on prom night.
Pink Dress, White Shoes
“In 1987 I thought my mother paid a fortune for my prom dress. But looking back over the last 30 years, I’d say we’ve gotten our money’s worth from it. Now that my daughter has worn my dress to her prom, I am convinced we have.”
It’s nice to be able to invest in something once, and see it giving back again and again.
This altered prom dress really does look stunning on both parent and child – and we love the white sneakers!
Crafty Dress
Some prefer to keep mom’s dress in other ways – “Made a set of accent pillows from my mom’s prom dress.”
You know what? Some dresses did their job as dresses, and need to move on to other things.
The dress was stunning back in the day, but it makes for some pretty great pillow cases today – and probably gets much more use than it ever did as a gown for prom.
Crafty, smart – but still, sentimental!
