Creative teen fashions her prom dress using Van Gogh’s Starry Night as inspiration.

Prom is one of the highlights of high school.

For young ladies it’s all about the dress. When I was a teenage girl, I fantasized about having the prettiest dress at the prom. This is true for most girls.

But, what if a young woman can’t find the dress that truly flatters her personality?

Make one!

That’s exactly what Arizona teen, Julia Reidhead, did this spring. Julia could not find the dress of her dreams, so she resolved to make her own.

Since Julia is an artist, she decided to recreate her favorite piece of art using a secondhand wedding dress as the canvas. She pencil sketched Van Gogh’s Starry Night on the dress, then proceeded to use acrylic paints to fabricate her own masterpiece.

Julia’s is a story of creativity and reuse.

More than that, Julia’s vision turned out to be immensely inspirational. Julia wore her self-expression on her whole dress. She got a lot of attention from her peers on prom night—constantly being questioned and photographed.

Julia broke out of the cookie cutter mold that plagues many teenagers. I asked Julia for helpful hints to encourage other teens to be authentically themselves.

“My advice is: do what you love and what makes you happy. When you achieve this then the sky’s the limit. Also, not everything has been discovered—always try something that is out of your comfort zone.”

Since her big night at prom, Julia has been commissioned to paint ties and skirts. Her innovative prom dress has stirred up a lot of interest. Julia may even open her own Etsy store.

As could be expected, Julia’s story has received a lot of press—she is incredible.

“The most surprising publicity is the attention I am getting. It’s good and amazing. It has opened many doors for me.”

The beautiful images of Julia’s prom dress remind me of an old favorite song of mine—Vincent by Don McLean.

Julia Reidhead enjoys the music of a different generation.

“For music I listen to a wide variety of music. But, it wasn’t until after the dress that I heard the song Vincient.”

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Editor: Travis May

Photos: Courtesy of the author