Scour your local vintage shops and you may find a prom dress that’s one-of-a-kind and a whole lot cheaper than department store dresses. (Admit it: wouldn’t it be rad to show up to the big dance in a vintage 80′s prom dress, or a strapless A-line dress from the 60′s?) If the thought of vintage shops makes you nervous, these tips for buying vintage can help you out.

Raid Some Closets

Why spend money on a prom dress when someone you know might have a perfectly good one gathering dust somewhere? Raid the closets of your older sister, your college-aged friends, your cousins – even your mom, your aunts and your grandma if you want to score something vintage. If you find a dress they’re willing to part with but it doesn’t quite fit, save money by letting it out or taking it in yourself.

Don’t Be Afraid to Discount Shop

Pretty sure you want to wear a brand-new dress, but don’t want to spend all your college savings on it?  You can find a super-hot prom dress at Forever 21 or H&M for under $30, and JCPenney has some stylin’ prom picks this season for under $100.

Make Your Own Prom Dress

You can score an awesome prom dress for cheap if you channel your inner Project Runway contestant and sew one yourself. These free dress patterns aren’t too hard to follow.

Don’t know how to sew? Make a prom dress out of duct tape. Yes, seriously. Wouldn’t you love to show up to prom looking like this?

Get a Free Prom Dress

If your family’s in a rough spot financially, you might qualify to get a donated dress. Visit DonateMyDress.org to find out where to pick one up. These aren’t slim pickings, either – girls from all over the country, including celebrities, donate their old prom dresses. You can potentially land your dream prom dress for free.

Buy a Simple Prom Dress & Accessorize

You don’t need a $500 prom dress to feel like a princess. Instead, think about getting an affordable, simple dress and accessorize it with a statement necklace and some statement earrings. This simple, chic black lace party dress is only $12.49 at Target and looks hot with the right jewelry and heels.

Consider using an online source such as www.prettyquinceanera.com for quinceanea dresses, which offers a wide range of designs, fonts, and even image upload. The sites often offer specials such as free shipping and buy one/get one offers. The quinceanera girl can put her special, creative mark on invitations, perhaps using her picture or a cartoon image of her entire court. Many of these websites ofter items such as printed pens and balloons, too, which can be used as party favors.
Dance
# After the main quinceanera ceremony comes the celebration. According to traditional quinceanera history, the very first dance belongs to the quinceanera girl and her father. These days, quinceanera families are bending the rules. Now it’s up to you to decide what kind of dancing you would like at your celebration. Should it start off with the court dancing together? Or a special dance with the quinceanera girl and her extended family? Does the quinceanera girl have a special favorite song? You get to decide. Also, considering that music can be a large portion of the expenses for the evening, look at local listings such as yellowpages.com or craigslist.com to locate musicians and DJs.
Gifts
# A quinceanera is a time of receiving and giving gifts. If you are attending a quinceanera, consider choosing a gift that will show the quinceanera girl just how much you care for her. Truly creative and thoughtful gifts are always more well-received than quickly storebought ones.

If she loves animals, consider buying tickets to the zoo—for you and her to go together. If she is a fan of a certain actor, purchase a few of his or her DVDs and include a note that you’d love to watch them together. The quinceanera girl also gives gifts to her court. Fun gift baskets filled with items from the dollar store can be made up to match the celebration’s theme. She can also design inexpensive T-shirts online with the court’s names, pictures, etc.