How To Stand Out At the Prom

Leave the juniors’ section at the department store and the local tuxedo rental shop to your classmates. You can always find some sophisticated —or retro—evening wear at consignment stores.

While everyone else does their best to tastefully match their date, outdo them all by combining unusual colors, or by coordinating styles so you both look like you stepped out of the same era.

Ditch the lame wrist corsage in favor of something more dramatic, like flowers woven into your hairstyle or a headband made of fresh flowers. Fellas, get a pocket square.

Challenge convention by arriving at the prom in something other than a cheesy stretch limo.

Make the grandest of entrances by greeting friends and foes alike. Today’s the day to forget about grudges and let bygones be bygones.

Guys, be the first one to request a song for your date. Make it sweet; the other girls will be jealous, and your date will appreciate it.

Don’t make an ass of yourself by getting sloppy drunk. There’s no better way to distinguish yourself from the amateurs.