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?

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.
  

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 Pick a Prom Theme

Your prom theme is very important. It will be remembered for years to come by your classmates.

Here are some tips to help you decide:

Think about the type of prom you want to have, and see if your school has developed the guidelines for the prom colors, decorations etc. so you don’t make a lot of plans and then have to change them. Some themes are central where the students dress in theme with the decorations, or it can be specified as a theme to be appreciated as the backdrop alone. Whatever theme you choose make sure it fits the personality and customs of your student body. Don’t have a Disco Fever Night at your school if you know that no one listens to that genre for example.

Creative Fundraising Ideas can also Make a Difference

Your school may have a budget for special events already, but if not, or your class wants something extra special, fundraising ideas can be creative and fun.

In this sweet news item, the Teddy Bear was part of a contest to raise money for a prom in a school in England. The Teddy obviously went on to make others happy. That’s the fun part of fundraising projects, you raise money, and make others happy along the way. Get creative, work hard and every dollar does something good. Photo, Ian Narin

Inexpensive and Stylish

If you are creative, inexpensive options can be just as pretty as higher priced fashions and accessories. Here is a big list of places you can start looking in your city. It can be a fun afternoon out on the weekend with friends wandering the thrift and vintage stores to see what might be tucked in these shops. Plus there are online vintage sources to browse through.

“CosmoGIRL Magazine fashion director Tara McBratney suggests finding a simple slip dress to pair with a “cool, wild shoe and a sequined brooch in a bright color,” for example.
Think you have the matching earrings, bracelet, necklace and bag to look like a glamour queen? Do as the stars do. Pick one focal point and make it memorable like actress Scarlett Johansson did at the Oscars with her diamond star tiara. If you have a big dress with lots of detail or sequins, you don’t need a glitzy necklace or a sparkly purse, only a long pair of nice earrings, McBratney said.”

Vintage and thrift stores are also great sources for alternative or themed fashion. If your prom is going to have a 1950’s theme for example, then you just might find a genuine poodle skirt from the 1950’s. You can’t get more authentic than that! Have fun searching for vintage gowns and party dresses and keep an eye out for fashions you can add to your everyday wardrobe. Many of these shops benefit charities so you could very well be helping your community while helping yourself and that’s a cool thing. Vintage gown photo by Dan Henry

Have a Prom Fashion Show

Have you ever thought of having a Prom Fashion Show? It is a lot of work but can be very beneficial to your class and to local businesses. It might be fun to model fashions while your friends either model with you or watch as local businesses show off what they sell. A lot of people may not even know what shops are in their own cities so this is helpful knowing what’s available in their neighborhood. Photo, semca.org

Seeing new fashions up close can save you a lot of time and money when trying to pick out the right thing to wear. Something might look pretty in a magazine, but in person you may not like it as much, or you may like it even more.

This can also be a great preparation for the Prom Planning Committee. You can find out who works hard and can be depended on and you’ll have a solid start to knowing who will do the best job when it comes to the actual Prom. Fun and hard work can mix and produce something your fellow classmates will love.

New Helpful Prom and Party Pages

Free and Low Cost Gowns for Prom. Don’t let finances keep you from having a wonderful night like everyone else- there are places that help people get formal fashion for free! Photo, Fairy Tale Closet VA
The Big List of Prom Theme Ideas
Still growing! Hopefully will help you come up with a great Prom or Party Theme!

Prom Planning Committee, Why Join? What Needs To Happen?

Why would you consider joining the Prom planning committee? It’s an incredible opportunity to create a night your fellow classmates will remember for the rest of their lives. If that isn’t enough, think of the satisfaction of knowing you were one of the people who made it happen. All those smiles and stories that will be told for years to come, will be because of you and the others who made it happen! Photo, perfectproms.com

You will also learn how to work well with a diverse group of people and these skills will benefit you in many other settings such as college and future jobs. Even if you will be self-employed one day you will always need to know how to pull together a group of people to accomplish a goal, so why not start learning those skills now? Plus, it’s so much fun.

Book, “Wonderland: The Story of a Prom”

Seems like Racine Wisconsin (location of the film “The World’s Best Prom”) is not the only town that knows how to throw a Prom!

“Pennsbury High School outside Philadelphia takes its senior prom seriously. No, seriously. Hordes of people in the 73,000-strong local community come out to see the outlandish parade (fire trucks, stretch Hummers) carrying some 1,200 attendants to the school’s red carpet. The 2003 prom is the all-stops-out climax of Michael Bamberger’s deeply affecting Wonderland” EW.com”

Sometimes dreams really do come true. Check out this book about the year in the life of a high school that has at its center the preparations for their Prom. Among the stories of the lives of some of the students and teachers they have a collective dream to have John Mayer play their event. This book brought them the attention they needed for the next year’s Prom to have a memorable ending. Photo, smilez0724

“It was great to get back to the simplicity of just showing up somewhere and playing,” he says. “But the best part is realizing that not a single drop of that moment is going to be lost on these kids. It will be written on their brains for the rest of their lives. It was really exciting. I’m thinking I should start doing six proms a night.” John Mayer

Costa says that even after Mayer made his exit, the students were buzzing for hours. “People came up to me the entire night and hugged me or gave me high-fives,” he says. “The girls were crying and the guys were ecstatic. This stuff just doesn’t happen. It’s too movie-like. For those few moments, it was perfect.”
From Rolling Stone’s coverage of the event.

smilez0724’s photos of that special Prom night and John Mayer.

Purchase the book on Amazon.com

Related Links:

EW.com’s article on the event.

San Francisco Chronicle’s detailed review and article on the book.

Rolling Stone’s article about the event.

People.com’s story on John Mayer’s Prom performance.

Gregg Latterman on VH1 reveals that John Mayer did not even go to his own Prom.

Yahoo Music’s mention of the Mayer Prom appearance.

Pennsbury High School’s Website

Going alone or in a group.. Why not?

There are benefits to going solo to your prom or dance. No reason to miss out on all the fun, food and music just because you don’t have one specific person you want to go with or don’t have a boyfriend or girlfriend yet. There will be other people there alone so why should you be the only one to miss out? Photo credit, CosomoGirl

Check out this article on Teenwire.com:

“Going stag doesn’t necessarily mean that no one asked you to prom,” Sam adds. “A lot of people I know are choosing to go dateless so that they can hang out with their friends and not feel pressured to couple-up with someone they barely know.”