How Can You Save Money on Dances?

Every girl wants to feel beautiful, special, and outstanding at their school dance. Sometimes though being beautiful at a dance also means spending more money then you need to. The dress, shoes, accessories, hair, and possibly tanning are adding up too fast. I will admit when it comes to dances I go overboard. This year I decided I needed to save money. I decided to set my budget at $80 or less. I tried researching how much girls spend on high school dances, and I could not come up with a statistic. So I will research, and hopefully get back to you on that.
So my first step in saving money: pick ONE thing to go a little overboard on. I would think either the dress or shoes. I picked the dress from the Dillard's catalog. It was $58, and was my only expensive purchase. Also a good place to find dresses, and save money is TJ Maxx. I've found a lot of really nice dresses, name brand or not, all under $20. I'm sure you have also looked at a dress your friend has worn and loved it. So girls switch dresses, maybe add a bow or two so no one notices. :)
My shoes were not new or my first pick. They were flats, that at the time were not so impressive. So I decided to clean them up by just washing them. They looked ten times better and it shinned them up. I was really happy with the outcome of the shoes. Tip: If you have a dress or shoes that are outdated add your own flair to them. For example, adding sequins, glitter, etc. It saves money and you're most likely the only one with it. :)
Next Accessories, you can go out and purchase some at Claire's, or you can re-use. I decided on using some old earring, and I put them in hot soapy water to make them sparkle. Another good idea is asking relatives to look at their jewelry. Every style makes a come back sometime, so I guarantee that there is something of theirs that will catch your eye. Another good idea is making some jewelry. Find some cool string and beads, or just maybe some random objects that coordinate well with your outfit. Make it a "to do" on your list of things when the girls come over. It will be something you and your friends can enjoy.
Hair is the make or break of the whole wardrobe. Well at least in my case it is. My hair is thick and wavy to the extreme. I usually have a stylist , which is my Aunt, fix my hair and make it amazing. I got the bad news of her being out of town for the dance and freaked!! Then my friend Tayler told me that she had a Cross Country meet and wouldn't have time to get her hair done. We decided on doing our hair together. It saved me $45, and our hair ended up looking really good.
The only other purchase I had was tanning. I'm not saying at all that you have to be tan. I just wanted some color, sun kissed perhaps. There are a lot of things you can do to get a summer glow without spending a fortune. I went to my local Walgreens, and spent $9.99 on L'Oreal Body Expertise Sublime Bronze Tinted Self-Tanning Lotion. It left me streak free, and sun kissed.
So my grand total for my outfit ,plus hair and tanning, was $67.99. I had a lot of fun spending time with my friends getting ready. We helped each other out with all the little steps, and saved a lot of money. You do not have to spend over $100 to feel and look beautiful at your school dance.