Date Party Dread: What to wear and keep around for themed parties

Date parties, swaps, and themed parties are held almost weekly.

However, sometimes you don’t know the theme until three days before, two days before, or last minute! How do you find a last minute theme fit?

A swap box!

A swap box is a plastic bin you hide in the back of your closet full of accessories so you don’t stress over overnight shipping a fit. My swap box has saved my life so many times. What do I keep in it?

Devil horns, angel halo, fishnets (rainbow, black, white), a variety of stockings and sunglasses of different styles. Gemstones and body glitter, neon fanny packs, and always a cowboy hat or animal ears. I also keep fashion tape, a hot glue gun, and safety pins within it. These accessories are amazing and come into handy consistently. As school goes on, your box tends to fill up and you can borrow from your friends. 

However, those are the basics! Those accessories will help you tackle themes such as space cowboy, rave or glow, devil and angels, etc. I tend to head over to spirit halloween as soon as they open just to stock up on random accessories. 

For niche themes, amazon is a safe bet. You can find different ideas from pinterests and previous social posts, then start searching up items. Dollskill and Princess Polly have also saved me quite a few times with their overnight shipping option. 

When you have a theme you kinda have to DIY, such as toga, you head over to michaels craft store. This is when you bring out your glue gun, buy a white shirt and gold ribbon. 

Cocktails, formals, semis, otherwise known as college prom! 

Always have at least one formal dress, and semi formal around at all times. Black tends to work best, as some have color rules. While most boys know they have to tell you asap, others absolutely do not. Keeping at least a few varieties of these dresses, with a couple pairs of heels, around allows you to take that last minute trip to Nola!

For shopping, Windsor, DSW, Princess Polly, ASOS, Lulus, and Lucy in the Sky tend to be big hits. Effies, Classy threads and the boutiques in the mall are local stores you can try out, but there aren’t a ton of options. Hence, keeping a few dresses around is useful.

Now for common themes, you can expect to see:

• Talladega/country themes
• glow/rave
• space/space cowboy
• Toga
• Jersey shore
• devils/angels 
• Jarty (all denim) 
• Holiday themes (tacky Christmas, Halloween, Beach/Spring break)
• Ski lodge
• Decade-themed (the 70s, 80s, 90s/y2k) 
• Cops and prisoners
  Darty Gras / Mardi Gras

Most themed outfits can easily be done with a few accessories, and normal clothes you keep around. For more inspiration, check out our Pinterest!