Woman Speechless After Learning Truth About Prom Dress: 'I Had No Idea'

For most students, prom is an exciting time and a great excuse to get dressed up, do your hair and makeup and feel your best.

Many girls will spend the lead-up to the big day scouring the internet and stores in search of the perfect dress, sometimes spending thousands of dollars for an item that will be worn once in an effort to be best dressed.

On the other side of prom culture, you'll often find girls wearing dresses and gowns they have borrowed from family and friends for the occasion, like Stephanie Dovale, who made an incredible discovery about her borrowed dress over a decade later.

Dovale, an art educator from Miami, Florida, shared a video on TikTok after she found out some exciting information about the dress she'd borrowed from a friend of her mom for her 8th grade dance.

Twelve years later, she was searching for sequined maxi dresses when she spotted a familiar dress, only to be shocked to see it listed online as a vintage item worth $4,500.

Dovale, whose mother first introduced her to fashion, explained the story behind how she came to wear the Bob Mackie gown:

"My mom, dad, and I are first-generation Cuban immigrants. We are not wealthy or rich by any means, and yet my mom has always found a way or connection to be able to dress my sister and I to look like a million bucks," she told Newsweek.

"At the time of the event, my mom was working at a general hospital as a nurse's assistant and had befriended another employee, a Salvadorian woman, who she describes as petite, elegant, sweet, and extremely humble.

"According to my mom, she was married to a very wealthy man who would shower her with gifts and indulge in her extravagant tastes for designer items. She had a whole collection of designer dresses, shoes, bags, and accessories and kept them in great condition for her own daughter to possibly borrow in the future, and she suggested I wear one of her beautiful gold dresses to the 8th grade prom."

Dovale wore the designer dress to her dance, unaware of its value or the significance of the name on the label.

"Neither my mom nor I realized it was a designer. I don't even think my mom's friend even mentioned that it was. We just had a good eye for what looked good and what didn't," she said.

"I came to find out it was a vintage Bob Mackie by pure coincidence. I was searching for sequined halter maxi dresses online when I clicked a link and began to scroll. I had to double-take when I recognized the color and silhouette of a dress that looked really familiar.

"I franticly opened up Facebook to compare and make sure. Sure enough, it was the exact dress. I freaked out when I made the connection. I had only become familiar with Bob Mackie recently when I learned he was one of Cher's main designers and was behind Miley Cyrus' dress for her Grammys performance this year."

Fashion lovers may also recognize the dress as one worn by Fran Drescher in the 1991 sitcom Princesses.

While Dovale had to return the dress after prom, her mom's friend didn't let her leave empty-handed.

"I don't have the dress anymore because it was lent to me only for that night. My mom's friend did, however, let me keep another one of her dresses from the 90's," she said.

What Do the Comments Say?

Viewers of the video on TikTok, which gained over 390,000 likes and 48,000 likes since being shared on March 6, couldn't believe that she wore the dress unaware of its worth and craftsmanship.

One TikTok user said, "Girl what! I gasped so loud tell me you have it still?"

A second person commented, "I would use that as my fun fact for every icebreaker for the rest of my life."

"Big flex! Great dress, very cool Mom," another commenter said.