Prom Dress Angst Relieved

With all the web concern these days swirling around teen bullying and sexual harassment issues, social networks have at least made some progress on relieving one great teen angst:  “Is somebody else going to be wearing my dress at the prom?”

 New York-based Fashism.com has come forward with its idea for avoiding that OMG moment.  Prom dates can now post images of their chosen frock in the "Got Dibs" section of the fashion advice blog.

A teenager can lay claim to her perfect gown on the site, which links to users' Facebook accounts.  One of its founders told the Boston Herald she was inspired from personal experience.  She was "absolutely mortified" at her own prom when she arrived to find another girl wearing the same dress.

The site merges with users' high school networks on Facebook to reduce the risk two classmates show up in the same gown.

Don’t Filch My Faviana prom groups have been around for at least a couple of seasons.  But these sites are mostly tagged “private” to keep out dates and other lurkers.  A search finds less formal sites dating back to the social networking stone age of 2007. (Facebook first opened its membership to anyone over 13 in 2006.)

Retailers were quick to make the connection between teen social networks and prom promos. Macy's prom section on its Facebook profile attracted almost 400,000 followers last year, with members posting prom pics and linking with Twitter pages for dress and accessory discounts.