Her Mom Gave Her A Hard Time About Her Prom Dress, So She Decided To Trade It In For Something Her Mom Would Loathe Even More
by Matthew Gilligan
Some parents, especially mothers, should probably just zip their lips when it comes to how their kids dress…
Because it’s a fact of life that teenagers are gonna rebel even more when their parents give them a hard time about fashion.
It’s a fact!
And this young woman shared how she put her mom in her place after she wasn’t too fond of her prom dress.
Take a look!
Mom shamed me for my dress; I got revenge.
“This happened ten years ago, but I still think about it from time to time. The plot might not be that crazy, but at the time it was a real victory for me.
Background: I (then newly 18F) went shopping for a dress for my senior prom with my best friend.
We decided to get the same dress in different colors to match (I now recognize this as cringey, but we were eighteen).
It was a one-shoulder mermaid-style dress.
I showed my mom the dress when I got home without actually putting it on, and I don’t remember her having any sort of reaction, positive or negative.
The skirt needed to be hemmed, so my mom said she would take me to her friend who does tailoring.
Uh oh…
We went to the tailoring appointment a few days later, and on the way home, I could tell she was angry.
She told me that she was ashamed to be seen with me in the dress and that I had shamed her in front of her friend.
I was totally blindsided, because I hadn’t thought of the dress as in any way scandalous, and my mom is not usually overly conservative.
(The dress was figure-hugging, but there were no cut-outs, and it was absolutely a typical prom dress, not something that would draw special attention).
She didn’t forbid me from wearing it or even /offer/ to get me something else; she just acted disappointed, and I felt like there was nothing I could do about it.
I cried for a little while, but then came up with a plan.
She had an idea.
Revenge: I put the dress on Facebook marketplace and sold it a few days later without my parents’ knowledge.
(I did the exchange in a shopping center parking lot near my house; I didn’t give a stranger my parents’ address without telling them, don’t worry).
I got about 2/3 of my money back. I told my best friend about my plan, and she understood even though it ruined our plans to match.
The weekend before the prom, I had my boyfriend drive me to a mall where there was a pop-up tuxedo rental shop, and I rented a women’s tuxedo and bought cheap shoes to go with it.
I had a driver’s license to use for ID even though I didn’t have a car.
I brought my stuff home and stashed it in my closet.
The day of the prom, and I had my boyfriend and some friends over at my house to get ready.
I hid myself from my mom while getting ready, and when everyone walked out into the yard where my mom was waiting to take pictures, I walked out last in my tux.
She was NOT into this.
The look on her face was incredible.
She is rather homophobic and generally critical of gender non-conforming clothing, so I knew she wouldn’t approve.
She clearly didn’t want to say anything in front of my friends, though.
She pulled me aside before we left, and I told her something like “I know you didn’t approve of my dress, so I decided to wear something a little more modest.”
I told her I’d sold the dress and gave her some money to cover the alterations (even though I think she’d gotten them free from her friend) and then turned around and walked out.
We have never talked about this incident (my boyfriend’s dad drove me home and my parents were already asleep when I got there, so there was no awkward ride back), but I think my mom treated me with more respect ever after.”
Reddit users weighed in.
This person shared their thoughts.
Another individual shared a story.
This Reddit user weighed in.
Another person asked a question…
And this reader was bummed out…
That’s how it’s done!
Petty revenge!
If you thought that was an interesting story, check out what happened when a family gave their in-laws a free place to stay in exchange for babysitting, but things changed when they don’t hold up their end of the bargain.
Sign up to get our BEST stories of the week straight to your inbox.