Being the chronic procrastinator that I am, I waited until the day of the Saints & Sinners prom to get my prom dress. But that’s just because I had a reliable store for such a specific fashion request in my back pocket. Jet Rag for all your costume needs.

Here, you get two levels of vintage clothes, but more importantly a long rack of formal dresses. At first, I had figured on having to fork over $40 and up for sequins and taffeta since these are dresses the original owners most likely spent a couple hundred on. But when I started scanning the rack, the dresses actually ranged in price from $10 to $40. And these were some serious formal dresses with substanstial satin.

Ultimately I had imagined a pink dress, preferably something with a full skirt and lots of lace and ruffles, for myself. But unfortunately I couldn’t find such a dress. Instead I tried on an embarrassing array of vivid colored gowns. A moment of panic arose when the zipper on one of the dresses stuck with me still in the dress. I imagined having to leave the dressing room in this embarrassing jewel green ensemble, complete with puffy sleeves, to seek out help. But fortunately, I was able to unstick it myself.

I almost settled on this blue lace number with a ruffled skirt that fell below the knees. That is until I discovered an additional room near the formal dresses rack that contained even more dresses. Perusing the racks there for nearly an hour, I finally found the perfect teal dress ($18). It even matches the teal eye shadow I just bought.

I knew I could count on good ol’ Jet Rag. Also they have a parking lot $1 sale on Sundays where you can dig through the piles of second-hand clothes lying in front of their store under tents. If you’re lucky enough (and determined enough) to find anything, it’ll only cost you a dollar to own.

825 N. La Brea Avenue
Los Angeles, California 90038
(323) 939-0528
Cross Street: Melrose Avenue