Tartan Prom dresses for young ladies

[Irish Jack O'Brian]

Edit: double post. Moderator?

[Irish Jack O'Brian]

No, Alan, I was not looking at the dress as being anything like a kilt (after all, it is more than just a skirt, and it is not pleated).
I was taken aback at the general inappropriateness of pinning the bottom of the rather short skirt, so rendering it almost indecent.
Regards,
Mike

If I'm not mistaken, this dress design, from the corset ties in the front to the pull-up at the bottom, is an example of a major designer trying to employ some of the techniques of the "steampunk" aesthetic. It is an attempt to mainstream an alternative fashion/literary/crafts movement idea, to wit, Steampunk:Neo-Victoriana with an attitude, into "normal" culture.

If one googles "steampunk fashion" there should be plenty to investigate. And I imagine this dress will seem quite tame next to the more outlandish steamy outfits. This photostream has some examples.

As for inappropriate and indecent, Honi Soit Qui Mal y Pense.

Cordially,
Jack

[Alan H]

No, Alan, I was not looking at the dress as being anything like a kilt (after all, it is more than just a skirt, and it is not pleated).
I was taken aback at the general inappropriateness of pinning the bottom of the rather short skirt, so rendering it almost indecent.
Regards,
Mike

LOL...you and me, Mike. I was kind of shocked when I saw how short the "little black dresses" were that the girls in Bellingham and Colorado were wearing. That's a LOT of leg! Of course the girls are all 18, don't have a care or a wrinkle to show for it and mostly look great, but still.

But Mike, that's what the girls are wearing these days. Is OK, I'm comfortable being a shockable old fuddy-duddy.

[Mike_Oettle]

Alan H wrote: “But Mike, that's what the girls are wearing these days. Is OK, I'm comfortable being a shockable old fuddy-duddy.”

Yes, I know only too well they are!
My daughter has several tattoos, including an enormous one across her back that can be seen when she wears one of those items with a “flesh belt” across the midriff.
She has some strange ideas about what is appropriate and what is not. I hope she learns a thing or two when she gets married next month.
Regards,
Mike

[lethearen]

Who dictates what's "appropriate"? Remember, it used to be scandalous for a woman to show so much as an ankle!

While I do find long dresses to be much more elegant (especially in a formal setting), I appreciate the fact that times change. Whether it's for better or worse is subjective. Whether it's music, fashion, technology, what have you... the new generation will borrow from ours and evolve into their own norm. And when they get our age, they'll complain about their kids being inappropriate

[Mike_Oettle]

Well, Lethearen, since you ask, how long should a skirt be?
It is because I am bored by short skirts that I find longer skirts attractive.
And when girls experiment with wearing their skirts shorter, sooner or later the exposure could be indecent.
You have probably seen pictures circulating on the internet of young female celebs who neglected to put on underwear, and were snapped bending down in micro-miniskirts.
Since I am a naturist, I have no problem with nudity per se. But accidental exposure of this kind (assuming it is accidental in the first place) is indecent, and there is no call for it.
Regards,
Mike

[lethearen]

Actually, Mike, I am probably more in your camp than my previous post made it sound. A long dress, done well, can be very alluring and still classy at the same time. And certain events... such as a prom probably should teeter more towards classy. It's a coming-of-age ceremony where all these children are announcing that they are truly adults. For me, this particular instance is less about decency and more about tradition.

I was just challenging whether our notions of propriety (my own as much as yours) are a completely relevant metric to gauge the youth on.

As for how long it should be? Well for a prom I'd be quite happy if they were elegant floor length gowns, but I grudgingly acknowledge those are probably of a bygone age. I probably wouldn't readily approve of my daughter, had I one, wearing a dress to prom that fell higher than a couple inches above her knee. Any son, however, had best be wearing his kilt no shorter than to the top of his knees

Outside of a prom in most settings, I think the "fingertip rule" instituted at some schools is conservative enough. Basically if the young lady holds her hands at her side and her fingertips touch the flesh of her legs, it's too short.

In other situations, such as clubs, shorter skirts may be appropriate. How short? Well, that probably depends on whether it's my 18 yo daughter or someone else's! But in any case, if there's a good chance that someone might inadvertanly discover the colour of her undies, it's probably too short!

[Cygnus]

Since this is a forum dedicated to Highland dress, I decided to see what an authority on the subject had to say on the matter:

"...no woman has legs which are improved by a skirt length above the knee."
C.R. MacKinnon, Scottish Tartans and Highland Dress, Pg. 104

While I don't necessarily agree with Mr. MacKinnon's assessment of women's legs, I do prefer my ladies clad in something a bit longer and classier.

[artificer]

"...no woman has legs which are improved by a skirt length above the knee."
C.R. MacKinnon, Scottish Tartans and Highland Dress, Pg. 104

clearly in the "ankle" camp

I'm assuming our Mr. MacKinnon didn't get out much.

I say it all depends on the woman, AND the skirt.

[Alan H]

Thi sis probably the guy who wrote that quote about "trollopy" kilts being too long. Does he have a clue what the word "trollop"means?

Guys, we can sit here all day long and debate skirt length. The truth of the matter is that we are old fogies, and that the 17-18-19 year old girls will wear what they bluidy well want, no matter what we think. There may be lively discussion in the house if that particular young lady is your daughter, but aside from that, you have no say in it. Your 40-year old wife, no matter how lovely she is, is not going to the high school prom. This thread is really not about our old fogie opinion regarding skirt length.

IN MY LIMITED EXPERIENCE ...meaning the sample size I outlined above, girls are going to wear very short dresses to Prom, nowadays. I'm sure that there are lots of proms where they don't do that as well. But if you want to make a contribution to the thread, then find some pictures of dresses that are appropriate (In your opinion) for a prom, and post them here.

And then, if you want an education, go ask your daughter and her high school girlfriends to critique what we put up in here. I bet any money that most of the girls will be horrified.