Prom is one of the most significantly portrayed events in an adolescent’s life. In current culture, dresses are chosen months in advance, some stores, like Peaches Boutique in Chicago, going so far as to take down what school the buyer goes to so nobody has the same dress as them. Choosing a dress can take anywhere from a few minutes to hours of multiple days picking out the perfect one, a dress that suits personal wants and needs. So why has there been such an uproar recently about what type of dress someone else choses?

Whether or not you choose the traditional full out sparkly dress, a ball gown-esque dress, or a flowy floral dress, choosing should be solely your choice. You should not feel pressured to choose one or the other simply because someone said they didn’t like it.

Clothing is a form of expression that has transformed in so many ways throughout history. In the ancient world men were known to wear skirts, in the regency era women wore empire bodice dresses and men had frilly shirts, in the 50s poodle skirts and leather jackets were the ginchy clothing style. Now, prom dresses trends have started to shift from wear-once sparkly dresses to what has been described as “Easter” dresses, which is generally a floral or satin dress that is less form fitting.

There has also been a spike of guys wearing more patterned suits with exciting materials and designs, so why has nobody said anything negative about those? The double standard shows in situations like these and brings out the true colors of a lot of people.

In the end it truly does not matter what someone wears as long as they are happy and comfortable with it, so whether or not you choose a sparkly dress, a pants suit, a floral dress or anything else, you do you.