Buying a vintage party dress for the prom has never been easier. The only problem would the range of choice. You would need to decide from a classic sweetheart dress with crinolines or you can try the feisty flappers, a graceful chiffon and sequined lacy affairs or even the frilled polka dot with trimmings. The choices are really endless.

However a vintage prom party dress needs to be experimented with as regards the size and fit.  Typically, vintage dresses are 4-6 sizes smaller than modern dresses. In earlier eras women used foundation garments like corsets and girdles to cinch waists and create the shape required. So you will need to adjust for sizing differences.

A dress from the 20s, whether it be a flapper dress or a more formal evening dress would be easier to get in as corsets and girdles weren’t popular in this period. Subsequently Hollywood glamour hit in a big way, and slinky, silky, floor-length dresses became popular---as did corsets, once again, to create the body hugging shapes needed. Long and lean was the look considered the ideal type at the time.

The 40s and 50s dresses, on the other hand, usually are only fitted in the bodice, with full skits. A woman whose hips are larger than her bust will have an easier time finding a 40s or 50s dress that fits than a 30s dress. In the 40s and 50s, the hourglass figure was in vogue giving way to curvy shapes cinched by girdle to wasp the small waist.

These party dresses though are usually made of heavy fabric that did not have any stretch. The closer we get to our current era, the easier it might be to find a good fit because sizing and cuts begin to match up with modern measurements and pliable fabrics.