It’s the end of May, and that means one thing: prom season has officially begun. (Surely, those unlucky enough to live directly opposite a high school—as I was for two very loud years in Austin— are already aware of this.) For some, the mere thought of prom conjures John Hughes-esque memories of lacy dresses, blooming corsages, proud parents, and worshipful dates; for others (ahem, hello), prom was a concept best avoided entirely. Personally, I deeply vibed with the notion put forth in the Ilana Glazer-Michelle Buteau buddy comedy Babes that prom simply happens too early in life; after all, what is there to celebrate about high school?
I’m not ashamed to say I spent my prom night exactly the way I spent every other Saturday night of senior year: parked on my mom’s couch, eating takeout and watching Jeopardy and Chelsea Lately with my best friend before going to sleep at a reasonable hour. Though I was trying desperately to read as “too cool for prom” (and convincing absolutely nobody; again, I was a regular Jeopardy viewer), my heart still thrills at a good prom story, particularly when it comes courtesy of my colleagues.
Below, find eight Vogue staffers’ recollections of prom—and, of course, the photos they’ve saved and been generous enough to share here for posterity.
Mark Guiducci, creative editorial director
“Circa 2004, I went to Winter Formal with a girl friend (not a girlfriend) and another couple. We split a limousine and a plastic flask of Smirnoff and, it being the San Diegan suburbs, enjoyed a wintry mix of clear skies and 60-degree weather. Everyone in our quartet understood clearly that there was really just one couple our party: the other boy and me. Bless those girls.
It’s ironic that the only person I still know from our Winter Formal quartet is actually the other boy’s date: a girl named Emily who went to a different high school and whom I met that night, with unforgettable chestnut eyes. We all lost touch, but almost a decade later I remember seeing those same exquisite eyes in a music video, then a David Fincher movie, and then on a Marc Jacobs runway. Today, she’s better known as EmRata, but will always be Emily to me.”
Irene Kim, production and editorial coordinator, Vogue Runway
Photo: Courtesy of Irene Kim
