Prom Rewind, Savannah College of Art and Design, March 2009

“Because prom is often one’s first defining fashion moment, our fashion students thought it would be fun to ask today’s style makers to look back and critique their prom look. Surprisingly–or perhaps not–our poll reported many top fashionistas to be self-proclaimed ‘fashion don’ts’ in high school,” said Anthony Miller, chair of the SCAD fashion department. Here’s what they said:

Paul DiMeo Designer, “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition”

“I have very fond memories of my prom. Led Zeppelin was the music of choice and “Stairway to Heaven” was our prom song. But it was 1976; you can just imagine the fashions…I wore a tux with tails. The tux was beige with chocolate brown velvet lapels and cuffs. The shirt was cream with ruffles and the ruffles had brown piping, the bow tie was chocolate brown velvet and my shoes were brown patent leather. I looked good! My date wore a cream halter long dress with chocolate brown accents. I gave her a yellow orchid corsage for her wrist. During the prom I needed to use the restroom. I had forgotten about the tails. Need less to say the tails went into the toilet… and you can imagine the rest. I ended up cutting the tails off the tux. Went back to my date and we continued to dance the night away. How did I return the tux? Well, the next day my grandma stitched the tails back on the tux and when I return it I was able to fool them. They did not notice. If I could “rewind,” what would I do differently? Being that is was 1976 I would wear the same tux minus the tails!”