Apart from sitting my GCSEs two years ago, year 11 came with the added pressure of finding a dress to wear for the prom! I had never really had an opportunity to get so dressed up and the prospect of finding a dress I loved was really quite intimidating. On the internet, I was confronted with big, sparkly dresses which of course are perfect for some girls but definitely not for me- it was at this point that my mum suggested looking at dresses in To Have and To Hold. I’ve lived in Mirfield all my life and I’ve admired the beautiful dresses in Clare’s window so many times as I’ve been walking through town, and the window more than lived up to the dresses inside the shop!
In my first appointment I tried on more dresses than I can remember, some looked far better than others but Clare was great at suggesting styles and ideas, especially as I was sure that something simple was what I was wanting. One style in particular had struck me when I had looked online, and in the end this was the dress I went for.
My mum and I started shopping for dresses about six months before the prom; the dress arrived in plenty of time and the alterations process made sure that it fit like a glove! This was two years ago, and this summer my younger sister also got her prom dress from To Have and To Hold; we have completely different styles but the huge range of dresses meant that this was not a problem!
I’m about to move away to start my degree at Oxford, and I wanted to take my dress with me for formal occasions and balls. I’ve lost weight over the last couple of years so it needed altering again; Clare was more than happy to help so now I’ve fallen in love with my dress all over again and can’t wait to wear it!
Thank you so much for being so brilliant and helping me (and Hannah!) to find a lovely dress!
