Perfect prom clothes often costs girls time and parents money

It's an enchanted evening that most girls dream about for years, but the cost of attending a high school prom these days is nothing to bat your eyes at.

Students in area schools say their attire alone for the formal event can be as much as $500, and then there's eating out, photographs and souvenirs to consider.

For girls, the spending often begins months before the big night with a search for the perfect dress, followed by the perfect shoes, jewelry, handbag, makeup, nails, hairstyle, tan ... and the list goes on.

The prom season in local high schools kicks off Saturday with Scott City's big event at the University Center Ballroom at Southeast Missouri State University. Central High School's prom is scheduled for May 3 at the A.C. Brase Arena Building, and Jackson High School's will be May 10, also at the Arena Building.

Good knight

This year's theme for Scott City's prom is "A Knight to Remember," and junior Loren Groves says she has every intention of playing the part of Cinderella at the ball.

"This is my special night," Groves said. "No one ever sees me in a dress, and I'm very excited about it."

Groves and her mother, Jeannie, began looking for her prom dress in January. After months of trying on dresses in formal-wear stores across Missouri, they finally found what they were looking for on the Internet -- at a cost of $320.

And the rest followed: $70 for jewelry, $40 for a skirt hoop, $30 for hair, $20 for tanning, $15 for nails and $15 for her date's boutonniere, bringing the grand total to around $510.

From what local students say, that amount is about the average spent each year, and most of the time it's parents footing the bill.

"Loren only gets to be a princess three times in her life, two proms and her wedding day," Jeannie Groves said. " I think it's worth it."

Her daughter's prom preparations have been a much different experience than how Jeannie Groves remembers her own prom at Chaffee High School in the 1970s.

"It was so much simpler then," she said. "Most of our dresses were inexpensive or our mothers made them. The focus wasn't on material things like dresses and jewelry. It was just about having a good time."

Central High School seniors Molly Reynolds and Amber Seabaugh were still searching for their perfect dresses Thursday when they stopped by Precious Memories formal-wear shop in Jackson.

The girls scoured the rows of bright, sequined dresses for half an hour, trying on the ones they liked. The quest was a successful one for Seabaugh, who walked out of a dressing room in a strapless, navy-and-white dress with rhinestones to "oohs" and "ahs" from her friend and store employees.

"I've been looking for a dress since November," Seabaugh said. "I've been so picky because I want everything to be just right. So I'm excited I finally found one. I love it."

Tuxedo search

The pursuit of prom wear was not as thrilling for Central seniors Brad Jones, Nathan Bragg and Salman Khan.

Finding safety in numbers, the three boys hesitantly entered Precious Memories Thursday to pick out tuxedos.

"It was a little intimidating coming in here," said Bragg, glancing around at the rows of frilly dresses that filled the shop. "But I think it's much easier for guys to pick out what to wear to prom than girls. Generally, society puts more emphasis on how women look."

Scott City seniors and prom queen candidates Megan Russel and Amanda O'Brien said they weren't putting as much effort into this year's prom as they did during the past two years.

"We decided to go together instead of taking dates," Russel said. "Who needs guys? We just want to have fun, relax and not worry about whether our dates are having a good time."

To cut the cost of attending, the girls both borrowed dresses and are wearing clear shoes they purchased their sophomore year when they went to their first prom.

"Prom is special because we get to get all dolled up," O'Brien said. "But it's a little sad, because it's one of the last things our class gets to do together."

cclark@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 128