Prom is every high school’s in-house red carpet event and the teens take it very seriously. After all, prom is the most special time in a teen’s life apart from getting their driver’s license! So when it comes to picking an outfit for the big night, teens go all out. The outfit selection process is powered by their urge to look different from the rest and sometimes they unleash their own creativity to get the extra edge. But sometimes their creative streak takes them to the crazy aisle of prom dresses. That’s probably where these cringe inducing dresses came from!
The Prom Yearly
That’s the name of the magazine where you’ll find all gossip about the upcoming prom. But this year the magazine isn’t available for students to buy because one girl bought it all and made her prom dress out of it! Jokes aside, this girl’s creative juices were flowing when she heard prom was coming up. A little artistic liberty is allowed but isn’t she exploiting it by looking like a walking newsstand? We hope nobody was trying to read between her lines at prom!
The Dorito Dress
We can hear this picture! The crackling sound of a wrapper isn’t the most pleasant for the ears but we bear with it to dive straight into a bag of our favorite chips. In this case, the chips are already gone and we have a bunch of wrappers hanging on a girl! Was the theme of the prom recycling because why else would she look so proud wearing used wrappers on her big night? We are sad her date isn’t following her footsteps but at least one of them is environmentally conscious!
A Dress From Trash
Putting together an outfit from fabric scraps pulled out of an old dresser in the attic is a great way to save money and showcase creativity. We love it when teens go frugal with their prom dresses but this one girl has taken it just too far. Imagine going to prom, the most happening night in the life of a teenager, dressed as a trash can. We are horrified at the reactions this one might have received. It is beyond us what made this girl wear a dress made out of garbage bags!
Pompoms For Prom
Teens love pompoms no matter where they live. But do they love them enough to have their prom outfits covered in small pompoms? What we are seeing here is nothing less than a monstrosity but it could have been worse. The boy’s pants could also be puked on with pompoms! This couple was either making a practical joke or lost a bet and this was the punishment. We hope it was the latter because who wants to throw away their Metgala moment for a silly joke that nobody understands?
Color Blocking Fiasco
Color blocking is a style statement and it is not surprising that teens want to jump on this bandwagon for their big day. But anyone who has tried out this fashion, knows that it is an easy thing to mess up. This girl, unfortunately learnt it the hard way. We could have accepted the yellow and pink dress but the green ruffles at the hem have no business being there. The whole matchy-matchy of accessories makes it even worse. The guy is also not helping with his yellow and pink stripes to match his date’s dress!
Duck-Ting The Logos
High school kids with a creative flair can make any parent proud but we are not sure that was the feeling their parents had when they saw them in their prom outfits. Making clothes out of duct tape might not have been the best idea. Taking a good look at it we are realizing that there is a bigger culprit than the base they used. Is it just us or everyone can see the Mercedes logo scrawled all over the outfits? They are probably just reminding themselves where they want to be!
Perfect Prom Weather
You are the rainbow to my lightning! That’s the phrase this guy used while asking her to be his prom date. Looks like they took this romantic line way too literally! Was the theme of their prom based on different seasons or what? Outfits made from duct tape are already questionable and tossing the whole weather reporting angle into it complete with an umbrella has taken it too far. While we are at it, we’d like to point out that even their shoes are following the theme. That must be one strict prom dress code!
Camo Gone Bright
Did this couple think that their outfit will camouflage them at the prom? Those orange accents were probably their attempt to compensate that and stand out. Someone should have told them that this was a mistake! The half smile on the guy might be an indication that he did not expect the sketches to turn out like this. The outfit with full effect won’t let them fly under the radar. Well if they wanted to be an eye sore at the prom, they definitely succeeded!
Supporting The Sporty
This guy plays basketball for his school and the girl is a cheerleader. There can be no other explanation for this couple’s prom outfits! Seems like they started off well with a proper suit and dress but sometime during the construction, their sportsman spirit rose and they couldn’t silence it! The result was this- part of their outfits made from basketball jerseys. They wore what felt true to their interests but cartwheeling into prom wearing that wouldn’t get them any applause.
A Cover-Up Story
We could have gotten over the guy’s baggy suit thinking he is catching up on the ‘oversized” trend. But what even is going on with his date’s outfit? There is no clarity if she is going to her prom or a fancy pool party. It just looks like she draped a cover-up over her swimsuit, put on some heels and arrived in style. The only reason we think she may be headed to a prom is because of the corsage on her wrist, which by the way is more covering than her dress!
Nerds At Prom
Now that’s what we call a very nerdy attempt at the duct tape prom dress! Don’t get us wrong, we absolutely adore anime characters and these two featuring on a black prom dress are perfect. But why bring anime to a night of glamour at high school? Perhaps the couple was introverted and carrying a conversation starter on their outfits seemed like a good idea to them. But matching the colors to the T is what made this look over the top. The only good thing about this prom photo is that it can double as their awkward yearbook picture!
A Thorny Mermaid
This young woman had the idea of standing out in a crowd of young people enjoying their prom night. We would have supported her quest had she not taken “standing out” so literally! At least with those spikes jutting out from her outfit, she won’t have to worry about guys getting too close to her! The outfit is confusing and so is her intention behind this mess of a dress. But one thing is clear- she derived her inspiration from the Statue of Liberty and The Little Mermaid!
At The Wrong Event
We are confused if the girl is dressed up for her high school prom or a nursery poem recital. A primary school kid would swoon over the cartoon faces covering the dress but they surely don’t belong on a prom dress. The huge red bow sitting on the bodice also seals the fate of this dress. Perhaps her date saw her in that dress and changed route, at least that will explain why she looks so unhappy!
Winning At Sticking Together
Those are some well made duct tape garments, no doubt about that! Of course their outfits are awesome because they bagged the second prize at the “Stuck at Prom” national contest! This contest encourages high schoolers to go to prom wearing outfits that are purely made of duct tape for a chance to win $10,000. For this couple it wasn’t just about the money as the girl said, “We also did it because it was fun to make”. We love their enthusiasm but the idea of wearing tape outfits to a fashionable event doesn’t sit right with us. But that prize money can change everything!
Prom Police Box
Had this been a normal prom dress, she would have killed it but that would have been too mainstream. This girl needed an edge over the other girls at prom. But her idea of turning her dress into a police box is not the most appropriate considering the “Pull to open” scrawled on her mid section! We wonder how her mom didn’t let out a gasp when she walked out in this dress. The only good thing is she can later photoshop this to look like a princess dress!
Gum Wrappers All The Way
It’s silver, shiny and eco-friendly, what else would one want from a prom dress? Class! That’s the one thing missing in this dress though! The girl went through the trouble of collecting gum wrappers to stitch them together into this masterpiece. We are in awe of her creativity no doubt, but did she really have to do this to that one dress that could have given her a red carpet moment? BTW, how did she wrap the chewed up gum?
Clashing Patterns At Prom
This could almost be cute and that’s what pains us. This might have been a decent attempt at making a dress from duct tape had they not gone overboard. The choice of colors isn’t bad but what’s with all the pattern clashing? Checkered with polka dots with animal print, we aren’t sure if that makes one cohesive dress or pattern ideas for three different outfits! The busyness of the dress is almost making us clench our teeth with repulsion. And is the guy really wearing checkered boots?
Pikachu At Prom
Whether you imagined yourself as a Pokémon trainer or not, you were secretly collecting Pikachu merchandize deep in your closet. There can’t be a person who didn’t trip over and fell in love with the cutesy yellow Pokémon. With that said, we still don’t think one needs to advertise their love for Pikachu on their prom. Firstly, why would you want to glamorize a childhood favorite anime character? Secondly, no matter how well you thing you are pulling off the look, you will still hurt the nerd community with this stunt!
Zebra At Prom
A hot pink dress with a zebra printed train looks straight out of a fashion magazine of the future. We bet some designer will capitalize on this dress idea pretty soon. But if this dress is so fashion forward then why is it on this list? It is the front of the dress that scares us. The girl has half of her dress missing! After a long hard look at the picture you’ll realize that this was not accidental, the missing front was intentional. Now that’s a design we won’t be ready for, at least for the next 200 years!
Covered In Balloons
Someone re-imagined prom as a kid’s birthday party and came up with this crossover dress! What are the main elements of the two widely different events? Balloons are a big thing in a birthday party and you need a strikingly different dress for a prom. You bring these two together and bam, you get what this girl is wearing! That is definitely a statement, a rather inflated one at that. We just hope nobody at her prom was walking around in a spiked jacket!
Prom Pop Art
Using pop art to make full outfits is a skill not many possess so full points for creativity and visual appeal. But why would you wear such an outfit for that one time you can feel like a Hollywood star? If this was an exhibition of art, they’d have won hands down. But walking into prom with your date is nothing less than red carpet and who is willing to throw away their moment of ultimate glamour for this vibrant vision? At least they can get normal prom photos too if they simply stand facing each other!
Pooh For Prom
No points for guessing whose idea it was to bring Winnie the Pooh to this prom gala. The wide smile of the girl and the grim expressions on the guy make it clear! Things you have to do for the girl you like! Don’t get us wrong, we love Pooh and his paunch but prom is probably not the best time to showcase your favorite Disney character. We are wondering if she used a kid’s bedspread to make a dress because why else would a fabric feature this cartoon so heavily!
You Can’t See Us
Can someone be so camouflaged that they stick right out? The answer is this couple who pulled this stunt only to stand out amid a crowd of prom goers. The good thing is they achieved their goal and the bad thing is- everything else about the outfit! They would have looked the part had prom been organized at a deer sanctuary. The whole “twinning is winning” brought it to another level of cringe because what’s worse than one camo outfit? Two!
Patriotic Prom
Some teens want to stand out from the crowd at their prom and that’s a great idea. But how they choose to do it is a whole different ball game. Like this pair over here who wanted all eyes on them and they ensured that with this patriotic outfit! Not only are their prom outfits a nod to the American flag, they are also made from duct tape. Being both patriotic and frugal is a cocktail of traits that one doesn’t showcase on the big high school night of glamour. At least they had fun, hopefully!
The Denim Fever
Looks like two high school kids tried to recreate the most memorable red carpet look from the 2001 American Music Awards. They may be channeling Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake’s energy but sadly, it fell flat. It’s not just how heavily they loaded themselves with the denim but also how the dark wash denim is throwing this look farther away from Justin and Britney’s. That wide legged denim pants on the guy are also not doing them any favors. Let’s just say denim on denim is not for everyone!
Cake Topper Piñata
Which high school had it in their prom dress code “the bigger the better”! What other explanation can one give for this tent like dress? Perhaps she was hiding another date under there and was waiting for the right moment to switch her partner! On the positive side, we like how she matched her heels to her date’s blazer but that doesn’t make it less cringey! From the guy’s baggy pleather pants to her piñata cake topper dress, there is so much going on with their outfits. The good thing is at least they are not boring!
Sponge Bob Dress Needs To Be Banned
Can someone explain what the appeal of these duct tape dresses is? Apart from looking ill-fitting, they give the impression of a costume more than a prom outfit. With this couple here, it is an even bigger mess with all the geometric patterns going on. Did his lapel really had to be so ornate? The only thing going for this couple is their color coordination but seeing their bizarre idea for the outfits, we aren’t sure this one little thing can save them from major embarrassment at the prom.
A Hot Pink Mess
In kid sizes, this would have been the best selling dress at any store. The big eyes and long eyelashes looking up from the waist would be a cute concept for a little girl but someone going to their prom, this is a laughing riot! It is already funny from the waist up but then to certify this as the worst prom dress, someone decided to add layers of tassels on it. The girl wearing it probably had second thoughts about her choice. Look at the way she’s avoiding the camera and looking for cover!
The Trap Dress
Having a giant graffiti on the back of your dress is definitely a bold choice. Not many of us can actually walk outside our home wearing a dress like that let alone going to our prom! Kudos to this girl for attempting this stunt. Our best guess is that she bought a white dress for the big night and since she didn’t want to alarm her date with a “bridal outfit” she made a joke out of it. We bet halfway through her graffiti she realized it was a bad idea but it was too late!
A Rainbow Affair
Different people have different thoughts about matching couple outfits. While it looks cute when you are young, it may be a bit too much once you are in college. These high schoolers might have actually pulled it off had they not gone ham on the rainbow palette. From the shoes to the bag to the jewelry, everything is rainbow! This didn’t stop there, even the guy is playing this rainbow game to the T. We don’t know if their high school was ready for this rainbow intrusion but we most definitely weren’t!
Scarily Scandalous Swan
We wish we could say that this was a dress in making but alas, this is the final product delivered to this girl one day before her prom! Can you believe she spent $300 on this mess of a dress? We still can’t wrap our heads around the fact that someone used the beautiful swan as an inspiration and still came up with the ugliest design! How could a professional designer make this monstrosity that left little to the imagination? Thankfully the girl was able to get a friend’s old prom dress tailored in time.
A Dress To Monopolize
Prom is a night of fashion and dancing but what if you are not interested in either? You’d miss it but not if you want to dedicate a chapter in your daily journal to the prom experience. This girl has the perfect solution, bring your own kind of fun to the party! Why dance the night away in high heels when you can play monopoly? She was so proud of her idea that she made herself a dress out of monopoly money. That pretty much explains why she’s posing for her prom photos without her date!
Two-In-One Prom Dress
She is a strong independent woman who needs no man to take her to prom! We are living for her confidence and that enchanting smile but perhaps she took it too far. We hope she didn’t spend too much because that isn’t an outfit you want to be caught dead in. We can’t get over how much effort was put into this two-in-one outfit. The widely different halves sewn together as one must have taken extra creativity. She surely turned heads at her prom but we can’t stop imagining how she danced with herself playing both the roles!
Chaotic Colorful Circus
They started dressing for prom and then halfway through it decided- “Forget it! We’d much rather go to a circus!” That is the only possible explanation of whatever they have on. There are patterns that clash with each other and then there are more colors than you will find in a painting kit! What’s up with the random stripes of color? The fact that the girl felt the need to wear matching socks to ‘complete’ the look makes the whole thing even more bizarre!
Carpet Cut Outs
With the amount of clothing present on her body, it will be generous to call this a full outfit! We would certainly like to know which school’s prom dress code matches this horror. The exposed midriff, the low cut top and the short length together are a sin against prom! The fabric they saved from her ‘dress’ was probably used to make the blue carpet in the background! The guy is trying to balance it out with his full suit topped with swanky sunglasses and whatever he has on his head- a scarf? A hood? Unclear!
The Love For Candy
Who didn’t like candy in their teen years? That’s pretty much how we all survived high school! But why this girl chose to pay homage to candy at her prom is beyond us. She was probably collecting candy wrappers as a hobby. Looking at her impressive collection she was struck with the thought of using it to make the ultimate dress. It is not creating a dress like this that is giving us the hibbie jibbies but the fact that she decided to wear it to prom with all matching accessories!
Alice In Wonderland
If your prom date is dressing as Alice in wonderland, you will obviously follow suite and dress up as the Mad Hatter. Looks like we’ve nailed this couple’s outfit inspiration! Going to a special gala in themed outfits that match sounds like a pro move until your theme is borrowed from children’s story book. This pair definitely wants to live in their fantasy world, what other high schooler would dress up in such a colorful outfit made from duct tape?
A Dress To Pop
What’s with girls wanting to dress up like they are going to a recycle themed kid’s gala instead of their prom? We bet at least one person asked this girl if she accidentally wore the packaging her prom dress came in! We get the creativity here, she reused bubble wrap from her Amazon packages to make a dress. This would have been awesome if it was for a fashion show put up to raise money for the environment. But nobody wants to dance with a packaging roll on the most glamorous night of their life!
A Rushed Effort
This seems like a case of an incomplete dress. The girl underestimated how much time she will need to get a dress made for her prom. The seamstress tried hard but could only make the bottom of the dress. The final result is a patchwork of some sort on the top because this can’t be intentional, right? We hope that the crisscross front with sections missing from the bodice was the lack of time and not the lack of design skills! Though the sparkly belt hitting right under the bust is having us believe she meant to do this!
The Twilight Saga
Someone wanted to start a controversy at prom! Looks like the battle between Edward and Jacob never really came to an end. Can one truly choose between the two handsome men? Of course not! Perhaps that’s the reason this woman donned the perfect prom dress with the beautiful vampire on one side and the hot werewolf on the other. We would never know if she won hearts with this outfit or divided the other girls in two groups but it would have been a happening prom for sure!
Hypnotic Prom Outfits
This couple decided to go with the trusted duct tape for their prom outfits. While the colors they chose are not tacky and over the top, the pattern they created surely is! We don’t think anybody will be able to look at them without their head buzzing! Adding red accents for a pop of color is pretty smart but a cane, seriously? Plus, the guy is wearing a top hat coordinated with the rest of the look! That’s how you know someone is trying too hard!
Stripes And Flowers
If someone was trying to understand what this outfit is, just give up! The guy looks like a ringmaster who somehow has all the color drained from his striped suit. And what on earth is the girl trying to look like? Her dress is crossing the line even for duct tape dresses! Those giant 3D flowers are probably a tribute to every color in the universe. Everything aside, what is going on with her hair? The only positive thing to say is that her green top matches the guy’s bow tie!
Devil Wears P-Red-A
This couple was probably dressing up for a normal prom when all of a sudden, someone told them it was Halloween themed! Good thing they were wearing coordinated red outfits. All they had to do was put on some devil ears and voila, that’s a devil couple right there. The outfits were awesome to begin with and we would have been okay with the devil ears too but the guy went overboard. He literally splashed red paint on his face and is now seriously making it look like it’s the spooky season instead of prom!
The Camo Boys
The beautiful girls dressed in similar outfits are ready to head to their prom, with each other. They are probably each other’s date because we don’t see any guys in the picture. Wait, did we just overlook two tall boys? That’s impossible because they are dressed in camo outfits, head to toe! If they were trying to blend in, they have failed miserably. Perhaps the girls made they wear camo suits so that people can’t miss the two couples making an entry!
Inspired From Cotton Candy
Nobody stands a chance when two girls arrive at the prom looking like cotton candy! What even is going on here? Those are two beautiful girls but somehow decided to dress up for their biggest night in the tackiest outfits they could get their hands on! Everything about these dresses is wrong. The extra shiny fabric, the mix match of pink and blue and the ruffles on the hem, nothing about the dresses is pretty. The shiny silver jewelry is the cherry on the cake!
Highlight Of The Prom
Prom is every high school student’s mini Met Gala where they dress up in their formal best to enjoy a night of dancing and glamour. So it is strange that one pair decided to hit the party wearing matching t-shirts. But they still wanted to stand out in their own way. Their outfits are an ode to every color you can find in a pack of highlighters! Looks like these two are big on word play and are about to be the ‘highlight’ of their prom!
The Crochet Princess
Let’s start with the good things here. The boy is dressed in a classic black tux and looking very smart. His date to the prom is a beautiful girl and we guess the positives pretty much end here! It looks like this girl wanted to make her own prom dress but she didn’t know much about it. So instead she took a different approach and chose crochet. She made little patches and in the end just somehow stuck them all together to make a dress!
Taking Tutu To The Prom
This girl looks so happy to be attending her prom that she probably doesn’t even mind her dress! There are so many questions we need answered about this dress but let’s start with the most obvious one. Did she take inspiration from the kid’s section at the mall? The colorful tutu would look awesome on a little girl’s unicorn themed birthday party but not at the prom! The rhinestone studded bodice is not helping and the flower appliqués matching the hot pink color of her shoes are a whole different problem. Let’s just say, she tried!
Ready For Taco Making
Prom is one of the most important nights in the life of a teen. They go all out in picking out an outfit to enjoy the gala. This girl decided to make her own dress but with a strange twist. Instead of using fabric, she collected hot sauce packets from Taco Bell and made her prom dress out of them. While the idea is unique, we aren’t sure if it is the right choice for a prom dress. She could instead be attracting customers outside Taco Bell!
A Lavender Catfish
Choosing a dress for prom is very important to teens and while most would head to the nearest boutique, some order their dresses online. There is a certain level of risk involved in this decision but the big discount online overshadows it. This girl chose a beautiful lavender gown for her prom and ordered it online. But when her package arrived, it looked nothing like the pictures. She was brutally catfished by a dress! We hope she had enough time to buy another dress, offline this time!
