TBT: My Homecoming Dress, Part 3

Today is the final installment in my three-part Throwback Thursday series. For the past three weeks, I have tested my styling mettle with the simple question: Could I reinterpret my high school homecoming dresses into modern outfits? It was essential that the homecoming dress’ humble origins be disguised, of course. (See my attempts for my 1997 homecoming dress here and my 1998 dress here.)

Homecoming Dress in 2001: Bebe | Shoes: Steve Madden
Homecoming Dress in 2001: Bebe | Shoes: Steve Madden

This week’s fringed Bebe dress is from my senior year. It was a big night. I was nominated for homecoming queen, so I really stepped up my game  — and at $100, this was easily the most expensive of all my homecoming dresses. (Like Madonna in the Evita-era Oscar race, I did not win the crown — but don’t cry for me, I had crimped hair.)

When I was 17, I fancied the skintight, bodycon bodice of this dress. Obviously, it doesn’t zip up all the way these days — but with some strategic layering, that hardly matters.

Nowadays, the best part of the dress is the fringed hem, a feature that popped up all over the S/S 2015 Milan runways.

homecomingfringe2
Homecoming Dress: Bebe (circa 2000) | Fringe Vest: Vintage | Cropped Sweater: Topshop | Ponyhair Flats: Roger Vivier (Consignment) | Sunglasses: Jimmy Choo (Consignment) | Necklace: Lanvin (Consignment)

I doubled the fringe by layering with a vintage fringed vest. Because all those tassels teeter dangerously toward to flapper costume, I layered the dress and vest with a cropped sweater to give it a more polished, uniform look. (And all the better to disguise the unzipped zipper.) Because I paired the dress with pony hair flats, this outfit transcends its semi-formal origins and could easily be worn for a post-work dinner date.

What do you think of this reinvention? Would you give this style a go?

Homecoming Dress: Bebe (circa 2000) | Fringe Vest: Vintage | Cropped Sweater: Topshop | Ponyhair Flats: Roger Vivier (Consignment) | Necklace: Lanvin (Consignment)