“I wanted to know why I can’t get into my prom”

Cidu Bill on May 31st 2008

promdress2.jpg
So… Is she really that stupid, or what? Seriously.Complete article

Filed in Bill Bickel | 27 responses so far

27 Responses to ““I wanted to know why I can’t get into my prom””

  1. Mindy May 31st 2008 at 10:07 pm 1

    I’d like to know what her parents think about this. I wouldn’t let my daughter leave the house in this, nor would she want to.

  2. Singapore Bill May 31st 2008 at 11:04 pm 2

    She wasn’t allowed in because she wasn’t graduating, as she obviously hadn’t learned anything in school.

  3. Arthur Jun 1st 2008 at 12:10 am 3

    If she grew up getting her ideas of “formal wear” by watching the Academy Awards, yes she could easily think that that dress was proper prom wear.

    Re: Singapore Bill’s comment:
    It’s obvious she hadn’t learned when not to argue and when to stop arguing. However, the event was not at the school, so it might not have been obvious that the school dress code applied. And, most high schools don’t teach fashion. It’s more of a case that she didn’t learn enough outside of school, rather than in school.

  4. Lola Jun 1st 2008 at 12:26 am 4

    Hahaha. So what WAS their dress code?

    Way, way, way back in 1971, as a junior, I went to the senior prom. Didn’t go to my own….once was enough. Anyway, one of the girls, captain of the cheerleader squad no less, showed up in a hot pink hot pants outfit with a top almost as skimpy as this one and they let her in. And this was a Catholic school. Needless to say, it was much discussed at the time, and of all the things I’ve forgotten from that time, and there are lots of them, this clearly was not one. Truthfully? She looked good in it and I think the students that disapproved most vociferously were more bothered by the fact that they had neither the physique nor confidence to pull it off themselves or that their dates hadn’t or couldn’t do so.

    Once the lawyers get involved with this (and we all KNOW they will), the fact that she wasn’t allowed the option to go home, change and return will probably tip things in her favor. Well, my guess (based on the dress) is that she wanted attention and by golly she got it.

  5. PeterW Jun 1st 2008 at 01:03 am 5

    Clearly, the fact that she was told she couldn’t go in even if she scrounged up more cover means that the real reason she wasn’t allowed in was because the bouncer was filled with religious fury over her apparel. If she’d offered to do seven rosaries, or prostrate herself eastward in prayer, or meditate upon the wisdom of modesty, she might have been allowed to pass.

    It’s surely not a crime to wear less than a yard of fabric…

  6. Cidu Bill Jun 1st 2008 at 01:07 am 6

    According to the original article, Peter, she was more interested in fighting for her right to wear her dress than she was in entering the prom wearing more appropriate clothing.

    And I’m thinking “prostrating herself eastward in prayer” might have been a bit tricky in that dress.

  7. PeterW Jun 1st 2008 at 01:12 am 7

    Oh, sure. I started skimming after the altercation began, but I was fairly certain she was arrested for kicking up a fuss about it. But I also picked up that she offered to add coverage and was denied.

  8. S.P. Charles Jun 1st 2008 at 01:17 am 8

    I guess the question is which came first, her offer to add clothing or her behavior becoming as unacceptable as her dress. Based on the fact that the school would probably rather have her at the prom appropriately dressed than led away from the prom in handcuffs, I’m guessing the latter.

  9. Keera Jun 1st 2008 at 01:53 am 9

    Now that I’ve read the full article, I’m wondering what the invitation to the prom actually said about clothing. I vaguely remember being informed about what was allowed when I went to my prom, but since I had no intention of baring my belly, I didn’t read too closely. So if it turns out that the dress code wasn’t clearly stated, I can see why Taylor insisted on getting her money back. Proms are costly.

  10. Count Shrimpula Jun 1st 2008 at 02:06 am 10

    Well I think this is one of those stories where there isn’t really a great side to take, since they both made mistakes. She clearly wore a really inappropriate dress, and should have known that. But the school should have also allowed her to change into something less revealing and come in, as she offered to do, or at least given her her money back. Refusing to do either of those things and then having her arrested is such a gross overreaction on their parts that it really makes them look stupid and makes me have more sympathy for the girl in this case, no matter how stupid she was to try to wear that dress to the prom.

    I guess that might also be because I’m 26, so I’m still close enough to the high school experience to remember the kind of small, power-mad, vindictive little weiners that tend to end up as principals/assistant principals/etc. at high schools, and I know what unreasonable jerks they can be when they feel like their power is being challenged and they need to make a statement. And that’s how they come across in this story.

  11. Powers Jun 1st 2008 at 09:02 am 11

    I’m thinking that her request to find something to cover up more was not phrased like “I’m so sorry for my lapse in judgment; if I find something more appropriate to wear, would you please let me in?” but probably more like “All right, fine, I’ll go find a wrap or some junk, will that satisfy you?”

  12. Winter Wallaby Jun 1st 2008 at 09:11 am 12

    The facts in the article make me side much more with th girl. As Count Shrimpula says, both sides made mistakes. But the mistake the girl made seems in line with my expectations for dumb teenagers, and I have higher expectations for the school officials. Of course, it’s really hard to tell how she reacted from just the article alone.

  13. Shah Jun 1st 2008 at 09:21 am 13

    I’m from Texas, and this article leaves out quite a bit of what I heard on my local news and radio. She was told she could go home and change (her idea of additional cover was rearranging what little fabric there was on the dress). In addition, students were required to sign an agreement in which the dress code was stated. The school had a perfect right to tell her to go home and change, but she would not.

    Instead she demanded to be let in wearing what she was already wearing, then demanded a refund, and kicked up such a fuss about the whole thing that they had her escorted out.

    Another article with more detail: http://abcnews.go.com/US/BeautySecrets/story?id=4847506&page=1

  14. Elliott Jun 1st 2008 at 10:01 am 14

    “She shook her head, she was like you are not getting into this prom,” said Taylor…”

    And I’m all “what happened to the language, anyway?”

  15. Dirty Old Man Jun 1st 2008 at 10:10 am 15

    Maybe it’s just me, but I cannot clear my mind of the image of this girl, in this dress, in handcuffs. I’m probably going to dream about it (if I’m lucky).

  16. Amberosia Jun 1st 2008 at 01:01 pm 16

    While the school clearly overreacted, (handcuffs? Was that really necessary?) the majority of the blame lies with the girl. She agreed in writing to abide by a dress code and blatantly broke the rules. The school was well within their rights to ask her to leave. Futhermore, I think her parents share in the blame for letting their underage daughter buy and then walk out of the house in a “dress” that made her look like a cheap hooker.

    As for the comments made here by Dirty Old Man… Yikes.

  17. Cidu Bill Jun 1st 2008 at 01:51 pm 17

    The sense I got from the article was that the handcuffs became necessary when she became seriously disruptive. She wasn’t cuffed because of how she was dressed, but because she was creating a disturbance that was interfering with the enjoyment of the prom for students who arrives wearing actual clothing.

  18. BGneiss Jun 2nd 2008 at 12:03 am 18

    If anyone thinks the dress wasn’t so bad, please go back the article that Bill originally linked to, and the scroll down to the third photo below the video (the first photo of her with the other girl in a gold dress).

    Looking at that dress closer up and from the side - that is a single layer of light-colored silk fabric that is a maximum of three inches wide. You can clearly see her nipple, and - even from this angle and in this small photo - see the bottom of her right breast (and maybe also her left) protruding from under the “top”.

    As if that wasn’t bad enough - since this is a prom, there will be dancing. Even though her breasts aren’t big, those puppies would be out of that dress more than in it, even just in the process of breathing and walking around and lifting her arms to drink or eat. And once she starts to sweat, it’d look like she was wrapped in that yellow-colored saran wrap they used to sell. Puh-leeze, this dress isn’t defensible even if she hadn’t signed anything in advance.

    One last thought - if she’d made that top out of yellow duct tape she might have a decent argument, because it would be totally opaque, no nipplage, and it wouldn’t be sliding all over the place. Maybe she can try that at her Senior Prom. ; )

  19. pepperjackcandy Jun 2nd 2008 at 12:48 am 19

    If she signed a statement that she’d abide by the school dress code at the prom, then wore something that was against the dress code, then the school wins, imho.

    I’m reserving judgment on the outfit until I have one question answered — does that top cover the entire breast, or only part of it?

  20. Bah Humbug Jun 2nd 2008 at 07:25 am 20

    pepper: Part, and mostly it’s the outer and upper part. Doesn’t seem like a great design for dancing in without flashing people the whole time. I can’t imagine spending a whole evening trying to keep my lady-parts covered by just a couple of narrow strips of a single layer of silk (and that description pretty-much includes the “skirt”, ance the silk gets wrinkled from sitting and sweaty from dancing).

  21. Robyn Jun 2nd 2008 at 12:20 pm 21

    Geez, the prom was at a hotel, couldn’t they ahve lent her a fluffy robe ($55 added to your room charge if you take it with you)to wear for the evening?

    Yes, it was short, the top skimpy, but the kicker, in some pix you can see, the top was TRANSPARENT! That would be what would send me over the top if I was a chaperone.

  22. Arthur Jun 2nd 2008 at 03:26 pm 22

    Robyn: With flash photography, some otherwise-opaque materials will seem transparent. That happened to a relative (daughter?) of some politician a few years back. A few sites (including snoples?) explainted it.

  23. Arthur Jun 2nd 2008 at 03:35 pm 23

    Found it at snopes:
    http://www.snopes.com/photos/risque/kerry.asp

  24. Djagir Jun 2nd 2008 at 07:08 pm 24

    I’m not sure what the big deal is–I mean, it’s a perfectly nice gownless evening strap!

  25. Robyn Jun 2nd 2008 at 11:15 pm 25

    Arthur - there’s nothing ‘other-wise opaque’ about material you can see her areoles (look that up in your Funk adn Wagnalls) through.
    She should hold on to the outfit, she can use it whne she gets that all important first part-tie summer job…pole dancing!

  26. Bah Humbug Jun 3rd 2008 at 02:01 am 26

    I nominate Djagir for best post of this thread!

  27. Cidu Bill Jun 3rd 2008 at 02:04 am 27

    Seconded, Bah Humbug!

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