Teens across the country have been saving up their pennies (or their parents’ dollars) for prom season, dropping loot on dresses, hair, makeup, limos, and everything else. While the prep and stress can reach bridezilla-level proportions, there are clever folks out here sharing alternatives.
One of them is YouTube sensation Amber Scholl who is known for her budget-friendly DIY videos and tips. She recently shared a video for prom season that’s making huge waves. The 24-year-old fashionista decided to visit a thrift store to find a dress that could be made over into an evening gown.
Amber’s built a rep on how to live a fab lifestyle without spending a ton of money. People love her tutorials that transform basic items into swanky upgrades. You’ll see why in this video.
About a minute in, you can see Amber scanning the racks at Goodwill for the perfect makeover candidate, and she settles on a plain, mini black dress. The cost? $4.
Next, she made a run to L.A.’s fashion district to pay a visit to a local bead and embellishment hotspot with no idea of what she wanted to do. Lots of brides are patrons of the store which carries lots of bling: sequins, beads, crystals, feathers, and more. Amber was inspired to grab a length of feathery fabric and some sparkly black beading for her creation.
Since the beading was already attached to mesh, Amber easily executed her vision for the upper bodice of the dress. If you’re paying attention, you’ll notice she has a tube of crafting wonder glue E6000, which is popular and versatile for working with almost any type of material. That includes leather, fabric, metal and wood.
Though she doesn’t wind up using it for this project, it can give you an idea of how you can rework a couple of fashion pieces for yourself with E6000. File that note away! Amber however is skilled enough to do a basic stitch by hand. It doesn’t take her long to attach the beadwork to the front of the dress and come up with a way to make a neckpiece.
Those feathers though! If you weren’t a fan of feathery embellishments before, once you see what Amber’s done you might just change your mind. After tightening the flared skirt on the dress, she created a longer skirt with the feathered fabric that gets wrapped around the waist. No sewing machine involved!
Click on the video to see how this prom gown turned out. If you didn’t know where the materials came from for this dress and saw the finished product, you might guess it came off a rack like this. Although Amber is past the age of attending high school proms, she was inspired to post this DIY for her younger fans and YouTube subscribers.
They love it, because this vid has become a viral hit! If you’re looking for an inexpensive prom dress idea, know that you can style your own with some DIY wizardry like Amber. Go ahead and hit up your local Goodwill!
What do you think of Amber’s economical creation? What’s your spending limit for prom-related gear? Would you try to DIY a dress like this?