Preparing for Prom

3 Steps to a Stress-free Evening

By Sue Marquette Poremba

For teenagers,prom nightis the social event to mark the end of childhood. For mothers, it can be a preview to what a wedding will be like, as well as a walk down memory lane. "Just as there is not a single version of what an adolescent is, there is neither a single image of what a prom is," writes Amy Best in her book, Prom Night: Youth, Schools and Popular Culture (Routledge, 2000).

However, there is one prom universal: it's expensive. There is a dress to buy or a tux to rent, flowers, pictures, pre-prom dinner and post-prom activities, prom tickets, transportation, hair styling, plus whatever other incidentals teens deem necessary for a perfect night.

Before prom season kicks into high gear (usually right after Christmas) parents and teenagers should decide who will be responsible for prom expenses and what the prom budget should be. When sitting down for this talk, it would behoove parents to put aside memories of their own prom nights.

Today, proms are marketed like weddings, and newsstands are filled with magazines displaying prom "must-have" and "must-do" ideas. Best, who is an assistant professor of sociology at San Jose State University, says that along with increases in cost, there have been shifts in prom courtships and the way kids look at prom night, with the emphasis on fun over romance things that must be taken into consideration when planning for prom.

One thing that has not changed is the importance of the prom gown. For most girls, it is vital to find the perfect dress. Rarely is the perfect dress found in the first store they visit. In fact, most girls will haunt dozens of stores and try on dozens of dresses, both locally and out of town.

When shopping for the dress, a spending limit should be determined before going into the store. Sales clerks will ask your price range up front but will inevitably encourage your daughter to try on a dress a little more expensive than you want to spend. Those dresses will make your daughter look like a princess, but so will the ones in your price range. Conversely, don't set the price limit too low. In that case, your daughter may have trouble finding something she likes.

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