How it works
Enter your prom date. The tool counts the days and lays out every major planning step on an actual date, counted back from your prom. Steps that have already passed are flagged so you know what to do first. You can add the whole timeline to Google Calendar, Apple Calendar or Outlook with one download, or print it.
Your date is saved in this browser and added to the page address, so you can bookmark your timeline or send it to a parent or friend. Nothing you enter is sent to us.
Where the timing comes from
The steps follow our prom planning timeline and when to buy a prom dress pages, which explain the reasoning and sources. The biggest constraints are the dress and alterations. A dress ordered from a designer can take two to three months or more to arrive, and alterations usually need about a month on top of that. That is why the dress steps start so early.
The tool also knows the prom calendar. Most prom shops open for the season in early January, as new inventory arrives from December, so in-store shopping is never scheduled before then. If your prom is in March or early April, the shopping window is shorter, and the tool shows you how to work with it. If prom is only weeks away, it switches to a short plan built around dresses that already exist in your size.
Every school is different. If your prom date is not posted yet, ask the class advisor or check last year's date as a placeholder, then update it here once it is official. When you are ready to try things on, you can browse prom shops by state.