Sometimes the solution to our problems is hanging right in our closets!
Eleven years ago, Lexi Donelson of Ponca City, Oklahoma attended prom with her boyfriend, Dewey Donelson. The high school sweethearts later got married and now have three children together. Recently, their 5-year-old daughter, Sterling, asked for a new dress to wear to the upcoming father-daughter dance, and the old blue prom dress popped into Lexi’s mind.
Lexi has always loved the dress, and has even found occasions to wear it again in the past decade. Sterling always called it her “Elsa dress,” and she loved it too. With new dresses costing an arm and a leg, the stay-at-home mom decided frugality was key, so she called her mother for help altering it. It took about two hours for Lexi and her mother to shorten the gown and tighten the bodice to fit Sterling.
“When I first told Sterling, before it was altered, ‘This is going to be your dress now,’ she was really confused,” Lexi said. “But she was so excited once we started cutting and sewing.”
The proof is in the pudding. Just look at how adorable the dress looks on Sterling!
“She tried it on, and she didn’t want to take it off,” the mom gushed.
Now, the “Elsa dress” belongs to Sterling, and she couldn’t be happier about it! Lexi wouldn’t let her wear it around the house until after the daddy-daughter dance, so it was extra-special on the big night. Dewey got up early that day and bought her flowers, then posed for sweet photos that the family will cherish forever.
The story of altering the old prom dress for Sterling struck a big chord with Lexi’s TikTok audience. Her video about the father-daughter dance outfit has been viewed over 2 million times!
Now that the dance is over, Sterling gets to wear the dress anytime she wants. Lexi says she’s already worn it so much, the straps are falling off! Never fear, though: Lexi has already put aside a second prom gown she wore in high school in case her daughter needs a dress for her own prom.
This is the absolute best way to recycle, don’t you think? We love that Sterling borrowed the dress and the “date” from her mom. What a sweet memory for all involved.
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