For top schoolers throughout America, promenade season means heady nights of corsages, limousines, damaged curfews, and gaudy, bedazzled robes—besides, possibly not that final half anymore. The phrases promenade costume as soon as conjured photos of shimmering taffeta and poofy princess skirts and different cringeworthy trend decisions solely teenagers would make. You’ll be able to nonetheless purchase these sorts of clothes, however nowadays, high-school dance flooring are extra refined, stuffed with slinky satin, garden-party florals, and corseted bodices—designs that girls of their 20s, 30s, and past may put on.
Over the previous decade or so, the model divisions amongst age teams have grow to be much more fluid. Social media has flattened the panorama of affect, so individuals of all ages are being fed comparable content material. Retail, in the meantime, has moved away from age-specific manufacturers towards fast-fashion websites and on-line shops with broad attraction. The assimilation is very clear in promenade model. Teenagers will put on nearly any fancy grownup look to the dance, whether or not it’s a comparatively informal costume you may see at an Easter brunch, or a jumpsuit match for the pink carpet. This has spurred an existential disaster in teen trend: What even is a promenade costume anymore?
That query as soon as had a definite reply. Excessive schoolers in earlier many years had specialised journal editions similar to Teen Promenade and Seventeen Promenade, which promised lots of of pages of “fairly clothes” designed only for that evening. Chain shops made for younger individuals, similar to Rue21, and separate junior sections at shops made these types straightforward to buy. Now most of these teen magazines are defunct, most of the chains have declared chapter, and lots of shops have closed. Teenagers have been left to their very own units.
Grace Karle, an 18-year-old senior from Illinois, has tried a number of completely different sartorial approaches. At her first promenade, final yr, she wore a “traditional, Cinderella-looking blue costume”—an archetypal “for teenagers” look. However on reflection, she realized it wasn’t her model. So this yr, she scoured Pinterest for inspiration and finally selected a floral, full-length, ruffled robe with an identical belt and ribbon-tie sleeves. It’s a complicated look, made by a model, V. Chapman, that may be a favourite of bridal events. I’ve mates of their 30s who’ve worn comparable types to summer time weddings. For Karle, this was a part of the attraction. She needed one thing that didn’t scream “promenade” in order that when she was older, she might have a look at photographs and assume, “Oh, that costume is so fairly,” she informed me.
Lots of younger individuals looking for promenade are, like Karle, drawing from a world of influences unbounded by age. On social media, “somebody who’s 17 might observe somebody who’s 35, or somebody who’s 35 might observe a 16-year-old,” Felicia Garay-Stanton, the PR director for Jovani, one of many best-known promenade manufacturers, informed me. The few remaining teen chains, similar to Abercrombie, have adjusted their choices to attract in additional 20- and 30-somethings, trying to compete with on-line shops which have extra expansive picks. Jovani’s choices have blurred the road too, Garay-Stanton informed me. She not too long ago spoke with a girl in her late 30s who was making an attempt on one of many model’s “iconic promenade types” for a black-tie marriage ceremony; it match the occasion’s costume code flawlessly. When you may put on something to promenade, you may put on a promenade costume to something.
This pattern aligns with the dissolving of generational boundaries extra broadly. Some members of Gen Alpha (infamously dubbed the “Sephora tweens”) have been emulating the multistep skin-care routines of influencers double their age. Adults are shopping for stuffed animals, a phenomenon some have labeled “kidulthood.” Strict age-based style distinctions aren’t essentially innate, so it’s maybe unsurprising that the classes we’ve constructed are converging.
In relation to promenade, teen and grownup types have aligned earlier than. Within the fashionable creativeness, promenade is outlined by films and recollections of the ’80s, ’90s, and early aughts: Fairly in Pink’s DIY polka dots, Imply Women’ strapless minidresses, 10 Issues I Hate About You’s understated blue slip. However the dance has developed considerably all through its historical past, as teenagers have modified their minds about whether or not they agree with grownup tastes. Generally promenade is “utterly in sync with trend, after which typically it’s doing its personal factor,” Pamela Roskin, an assistant professor at Parsons College of Design who has studied the promenade costume’s evolution, informed me.
As we speak, no single look defines the dance. The recognition of sheer-paneled bustiers and figure-hugging robes could also be defined by the age-old teenage want to look glamorous and mature. Frilly florals and bows, that are additionally widespread, might present a want to return to innocence and an old school type of femininity. The seems range from area to area, too. In keeping with Garay-Stanton, consumers within the Northeast have a tendency towards easy seems in black or pink, Texans go for wilder colours and sequins, and southerners like girlish ruffles. In lots of Black communities, elaborate customized night robes are the norm; one Mississippi TikToker joked that top schoolers in that state have been dressing for the “Fb Met Gala.” Many women are choosing one thing extra gender-neutral, similar to a jumpsuit or a swimsuit—and, in fact, clothes aren’t just for women.
Some individuals miss promenade trend’s former distinctiveness and are resisting latest indicators of change. Faculties and fogeys have lengthy pushed again on clothes they deem too revealing. And lately, a number of have made headlines for barring women and nonbinary college students from promenade for carrying fits. However there’s additionally a debate taking part in out throughout social media about whether or not a few of the new types are “acceptable” for promenade. Karle noticed the drive of those opinions when she posted a video of her second, less-teenage-looking costume on TikTok. A deluge of commenters informed her the look was too informal for the massive evening. The feedback have been shocking and disappointing to Karle, who adores her costume and mentioned she thinks individuals ought to loosen their expectations.
Many adults really feel wistful once they see a promenade costume that immediately takes them again to their very own particular night—nevertheless awkward and imperfect it might have been. However teenagers don’t exist to gas grownup nostalgia. What ought to a promenade costume be? is “the final word query,” Roskin mentioned. “And each era will get to ask it.” Promenade-dress model is so particular exactly as a result of younger individuals have the facility to find out it for themselves.
