Closet Encounters of the Third Kind I made a bargain with my mom—if I ever wore the dress again, she'd pay me back me for the fabric. It took nearly 12 years but, I found the perfect occasion to wear my late-Victorian prom dress again: Halloween. Now that I was free to change the color, I dyed it a dark green. With the aid of fake blood, an axe and spooky make-up, I donned the dress to become Lizzie Borden—a Sunday school teacher from Fall River, Massachusetts, who was accused in 1892 of killing her father and stepmother. I credit the dress for helping a lot of people at the Greenwich Village Halloween parade to correctly guess who I was. I wore the dress again last Halloween to the same parade but this time as a vampire. My Mom never repaid me the fabric costs but I'm too happy to care. After all, money isn't everything. She helped me create a dress unique enough to "wow" people at prom and twice more on the streets of New York City!

You-nique Prom

By Jennifer Goddard, staff writer

High school was a fashion show for me; every day presented a new opportunity to concoct an outfit like none other. So the idea of buying a prom dress from a department store was out of the question. The answer was obvious: I'd have to design my own.

The Drawing Board

Without the benefit of research or dressmaking experience, the dress inspiration was based in practicality:

• A pale redhead in tan South Florida, I didn't like to show too much skin so the legs, arms, and chest had to be covered.
• I'm very feminine, so the shape of the dress had to be flattering with womanly accents.
• In nerve-wracking situations, my armpits tend to work overtime so the pits had to be covered.

Using pencil, crayons, and a sketch book, my imagination took these practical needs into account. I worked for 30 minutes to create what ultimately looked like a late Victorian dress. With a cape, high collar, bow, lots of buttons and lace, my dress was destined to be the only one of its kind—this side of 1905.

Making the Dress

Once I finished the sketch, I showed it to my Mom. Although she wasn't surprised that I'd designed my own prom dress, she wasn't convinced that I'd ever wear it again and didn't like the color I'd picked (dark purple).

It was important to me that the dress be unique and not store-bought, so I let her choose the dress color (green). I also suggested that we split the costs to make it: I'd pay for the fabric if she'd pay the dressmaker. She agreed and we headed to the fabric store.

I spent $90 on fabric (lace and satin), $20 on buttons, and $10 on muslin (a cheap fabric the dressmaker would need to make a mock-up of the dress). My mom paid the dressmaker (and included two fittings—one with the muslin mock-up and one with the actual dress). We had enough fabric left over for my mom to make me a purse and matching tie for my date (who wore a 20th-century tux).

I went to prom knowing that I was more likely to grow another head than see someone wearing the same dress!