Cool Prom Info Links!

Photo: PrimeTimeDJ

My most popular page The Big List of Prom Themes. Send me pix of your prom!

How to Pick the Right Theme for your School

The History of the Prom

Join the Prom Planning Committee, What You Need to Accomplish

Creative Fundraising Ideas to Make Your Prom Even Better!

Tips on Finding the Perfect Gown

Creative Prom and Formal Fashion for Guys

Free and Low Cost Gowns in your area If you have a service or know of one in your local area send it in!

Tips for a Safe After-Prom Party

Tasty Prom Party Food Ideas

A Very Inspiring Book of One School’s Prom
Explore the Event Fashion site and links for all kinds of tips and inspiration.

Modern Lady, Vintage Style

Thandie Newton has the right idea when it comes to fashion. In a recent news item she says vintage clothes are not only glorious, but a great way to recycle. Thandie is known for her passion in making the world greener. Why buy new things when there are so many lovely fashions in vintage and thrift stores already? Her tastes may be vintage but her ideas are very modern.

Thandie Newton has said she can’t understand why people buy new clothes when there is so much great vintage material out there.
She said that she loves buying secondhand clothes because of the benefits for the environment: “It is grotesque how out of control manufacturing has become, and the excess, the pollution that’s caused by it.”
“Vintage [fashion] is not only glorious and stylish, it’s also the way forward in terms of recycling.”
“Whenever I go into great vintage stores, I wonder why we ever buy new things.” Source: fametastic.co.uk

Remember to check out Thandie in her new film Run Fatboy Run with Simon Pegg.

Coming soon! The Louisville KY, Cinderella Project

Check out this event if you live in the area. Remember if you have an event for the donation of and receiving of low cost or free gowns coming up for formal dances and prom let me know so we can announce it here. Contact the Louisville Chums for the complete details. This is such a wonderful concept, to give and receive, and everybody feels great!

Check out the big list of free and low cost gowns here . If you have or know of others please let me know so I can add you.

Dancing up a storm

Learning these classic dances is a skill you will use in many situations besides prom. Think of how cool you’ll look at a wedding or formal event (maybe even an event at a future job with your boss looking on wondering who to promote..) when everyone else dances in a certain style and all your friends have to sit and watch but you get out there and look cool. This might be something to look into in your neighborhood.

Before long, the sound of “Mambo No. 5″ pulsated through the cafeteria and the room became a blur of twirling skirts and swaying hips. The teenagers, used to hip-hop dancing or not dancing at all, were swept up in swing fever.

Pre-prom panic: Dressed for distress

Pre-prom panic? Aversion to pantyhose? Mom stressing? Think it’s just you? Read this cool article and know you are not alone- and some cool tips too!

When it comes to low necklines and high hems, Sucro said, “Most reputable stores will have prom gowns that are appropriate. This is the time to say, ‘I’m going to let her look more glamorous.’” She reminds mothers that as long as you are paying for the dress, you still have some say in the style, but ultimately, the person wearing the gown should be completely happy with the purchase.

Skinny, klutzy kids always have dreaded the senior prom

This was a pretty cool article about an observant principal and his solution to a Prom for everybody to enjoy..

We have no date. We have no money. We cannot dance. We’ve never worn a tux or a ball gown. We are too fat. We are too skinny. We are too ugly. The list goes on and on encyclopedically. And each day brings it 24 hours nearer, as all around us the excitement rises like an ocean tide in which we will undoubtedly drown, socially obliterated and globally warmed.

Free and Low Cost Gowns

Remember the list is always being updated (click here!) as I find mentions of these services. Plus if you know of one not listed here let me know! I hope this can help people have a great night and not miss out because of costs!

Interesting Prom Mentions in the News 3

Spoto juniors step in to help Chamberlain seniors

A Chamberlain High School teacher was accused of embezzling almost $10,000 from the north Tampa school’s senior class prom fund.

The Spoto junior class realizes the importance of the senior prom. They have decided to forego their junior prom to save money for next year’s senior prom. Spoto opened in August and has no graduating class this year.

Lindsay Landram, a Spoto teacher and the junior-class adviser, called Chamberlain with one question: What can we do to help?

“21 Proms” Book Reading Today in NYC

21 Proms Book Reading at the Tompkins Square Park Branch of the Public Library.

“Teen Authors Read @ The Tompkins Square Branch Library.”
Date: Wednesday, March 7 Time: 6:00 PM

Audience: young adults

Description:
Please join us as we welcome a very special panel of teen authors hosted by David Levithan, including Erin Downing, author of Prom Crashers, Maryrose Wood, author of Why I Let My Hair Grow Out, Justine Larbalestier, author of Magic’s Child, Leslie Margolis, author of Price of Admission, Eireann Corrigan, author of Ordinary Ghosts and authors from the forthcoming anthology, 21 Proms! For ages 12-18.
Get the book 21 Proms here.
Location:
Tompkins Square Branch
331 East 10th Street
(212) 228-4747

Review from Amazon:
“21 PROMS tells the stories of, well, twenty-one proms. Twenty-one fantastic authors contributed to this collection, and each and every one of the stories is fabulous and enjoyable. A few, however, really stick out in my mind after finishing this book.

Film, Quinceañera

Just wanted to remind everybody about a great film,Quinceañera, check it out some weekend and maybe have a Prom Themed Movie Weekend with friends. You could even show these films at an After-Party.

Related Articles

Cool Movies and Books

Top Ideas for a Safe After-Party

Cooking Up Some Prom Party Food

Review from Amazon.com
A Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize-winner, Quinceañera is a small film with a big heart.
The plot unfolds at the leisurely pace of life itself, yet there’s not a wasted moment in the script. The story follows the travails of young Magdalena (Emily Rios), a teen in the Mexican-American, but gentrifying, Los Angeles neighborhood of Echo Park.

Find Wonderful Fashions for Less

You’ll never know what you can find at a thrift or vintage store if you don’t look! Check out this amazing article to see the kind of wonderful fashions you can find, yes even for formal events and Prom! Imagine too the things you can get for everyday at amazing prices. You are also helping charities in many cases too. So if you can’t afford a gown or tuxedo don’t despair just get looking. Department stores are not the only places you can find fashions like these. Why miss a wonderful night because the mall shops are too expensive there are alternatives and as you can see by this article you can find wonderful things. You friends may even be envious you found so much for so little!

Armed with fashion, Spring looks at bargain prices at Salvation Army fashion show
By Patrice Stewart pstewart@decaturdaily.com

Maythion Casteel of Falkville got his first chance as a fashion model Saturday and bought the Brooks Brothers suit he wore for just $6.

To brighten the black suit, he spent another $3 for a purple dress shirt by D’Amante.

This bargain buy and others could have been yours if you moved quickly after the fashion show presented by the Salvation Army’s thrift store in Decatur.

Cooking up some Prom Party Food Ideas

Here are some wonderful ideas for a food for a party, could be pre or after-prom! These will make you hungry just reading them so maybe grab a few carrot sticks! These are recipes that will keep all your guests happy and will even be fun to make. My suggestion is to combine themes for your after-party.. or maybe I’m just hungry! For more treats check this page too!

Cooking up some pre-prom food ideas
By MIKE O’BRIEN
WHATEVER STAFF WRITER, Star-Telegram

Most everyone loves the good food they serve at prom — especially if dinner is included. But whether you want to throw a pre-party, an after-party or even a midnight breakfast after the dance, here are some ways to coordinate your food with your school’s theme:

A Guide To Your Perfect Prom

Check out these great tips on how to make your prom night fun and less stressful. This is a great article from Courier Journal and it’s an interview with Joanna Saltz, executive style editor of Seventeen magazine. She is quite an expert since you can say she literally “wrote the book”. That book is “Seventeen’s Guide to Your Perfect Prom — A Planner & Scrapbook”. Check it out!

“There’s no denying it, the prom is an enormous extravaganza for a high school student.

That’s why Joanna Saltz, executive style editor of Seventeen magazine, decided to write a book about one of the biggest nights of a teen’s life. It’s called “Seventeen’s Guide to Your Perfect Prom — A Planner & Scrapbook” (Hearst Communications, 2007, $14.95).

“Prom is a major milestone in a teenager’s life. … It is such a huge thing for a lot of our readers,” Saltz said. “Part of the mission with this book is to make sure that our readers understand that there is a lot of planning that goes into it, but it doesn’t have to be stressful.”

Great Prom Gown Shopping Tips and Tricks

More great tips and tricks to finding that perfect A-list inspired gown. Read this article about how “Hollywood stars take their fashion cues from the latest runway shows, prom dress manufacturers take some of theirs from the A-listers.”
It’s full of great tips and things to know like these:

Think colors. Bright colors. Slinky and Ball Gown styles

• Popular colors are baby pinks and blues also neon green, fuchsia, oranges, pinks, turquiose, royal blue and sea breeze.

• Some multi-colored gowns will have a layer of pink over a layer of chocolate. Or pink over orange, they are called Creamsicle.
  

Great Advice and Glam Gowns

Check out this article from The Atlanta Journal Constitution on top picks for gorgeous gowns and what’s right for your body type. Seriously pretty pictures too. Click below for their tips!

“Whatever style a girl chooses, the dress always needs a few nips and tucks to make it fit her perfectly,” said Thomas Tolbert, owner of Legends in Roswell. “Don’t be afraid of alterations. They only enhance the dress — and the wearer.”

Get a head start and find a dress shape that’s best for your body type. Check out our picks for dresses and find yourself the belle of the ball.”

Creative Prom and Formal Fashion for Guys

Guys, how will you express yourself at the Prom? It doesn’t have to be boring or uncomfortable, there are fun alternatives and choices you can make to feel like you are expressing yourself just as well as the girls in gowns. Even if you are required to wear certain things like only black tuxes you can express yourself in colorful accessories like a colorful vest or jewelry and cufflinks.

Check out this article where the guys are showing off their school colors.

“Prom will be a chance to display school colors for Carey Fleming, a Clinton High School junior who plans to wear red accessories with his white tuxedo.
He won’t be alone.
“A solid third is either white or ivory,” said Jamie Martin, manager at Tuxedo Junction at Metrocenter mall where Fleming works part time.

Even more Tux advice here in this article “Guys can use accessories to punch up tux”

Here is someone who really went DIY with his fashion and made his own tux.. out of Coke Cans!

How about a Hoodie with a tie printed on it? It looks very cool!

Oh and if you have to wear a tie somewhere it doesn’t need to be boring!

If you really want to go ALL OUT and get crafty like Mr Coke Can did check out Duct Tape Fashions.

Or get even weirder and wilder and do something with Pom Poms, yes Pom Poms! Maybe in a Pom Pom Tuxedo you can take out a girl in a Sock Monkey Gown!

More on Event Fashion here!

How To Pin on a Corsage or Boutonnière

These instructions are for pinning a corsage or boutonnière on someone else. Using a mirror this can also be used to pin a corsage or boutonniere on you.

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How To Make a Corsage

How To Make a Wrist Corsage

Top 3 Ideas for a Safe After-Prom Party

After-Prom events are successful when the school and the community get involved.
The Gannett Newspapers recently assembled a teen panel in Westchester, New York to discuss the problem of “boredom in the ‘burbs”. Here are some of the suggestions the teens made:

Communities should have more teen-friendly businesses. Teens liked pizzerias, diners, and ice cream shops where they were allowed to hang out. Schools or community centers should offer more activities, including “open gym” during the summers so the kids have a place to go. Sports facilities should offer teen hour.

1) School-Sponsored Events

Classrooms could be transformed into fun rooms and can have dancing, food, games and prizes. Parents can stay calm since these events are chaperoned by teachers or parent volunteers.

2) Throw a House Party

Plan a parent-supervised party. Order a pizza or party subs and have fun coming up with creative games or a DVD for your guests. Nervous parents can check with the host parent to be sure that the party will be supervised and there won’t be any alcohol. Tell them to come by and help supervise if they want. See below for more tips on having an after-prom party at home.

3) Community Activities

Get businesses involved with planning an after-prom party. Some might have events planned or maybe they will if you approach them about it. There are few things that the community can provide. See below for ideas about how the community can help out.

When to Start Planning for Prom

Are you already making plans for prom?
It may still be a few months away depending on when it’s scheduled but some of your friends might already be making plans to rent a limo or shopping for a prom dress.

One good reason to get your dress early would be to have the best selection. If you wait and get one from a department store, you run the risk of having a dress that someone else has.

“There’s no such thing as starting too soon,” The Tuxedo Shop owner Sam Oldham said. “A lot of styles and colors can run out if you don’t get them early.”

How To Ask Out a Date

Asking someone out on a date is simpler than expected, but there is no magic formula for a “yes” guaranteed. There are also some realities that you need to face to keep yourself from being hurt. You should be familiar with the person and have a sense that they feel friendly toward you. Don’t avoid them, then suddenly ask, this will more than likely get you a no.

Confidence is one of the most attractive qualities in a person so even if you are feeling scared don’t act like it. Don’t try any goofy games either to try to trick them into a date. These kinds of things might be funny to do once you are dating someone.

Here’s How To Ask: