Prepping for prom: Local services booking up fast

With 15 high schools in the Tri-parish area, it’s safe to say that shopping for prom is on the minds of many local teens.

“Central and South Lafourche High School proms are both on same weekend, May 5, and we are completely rented out that weekend and have been probably since before January,” said Gary Picou, owner of Foxy Limousine Service in Houma. “The next school to book us out is usually South Terrebonne. I don’t know why, but that’s what the way it happens every year.”

The service rents out cars and SUV limousines, party buses, passenger vans and even regular-sized sedans and SUVs.

“Our party buses have become very popular because you can fit more people in them, but we’ve also got the stretched Lincoln Navigators, Cadillac Escalades and Chrysler 300s,” Picou said.

According to Picou, one thing that may have lead to the service’s fast booking is the fact that many local proms occur on the same evenings.

“Not everyone will be able to get a limo, and there will be more people on the road driving themselves,” Picou said. “If kids are looking to rent a limo, I urge parents to do background work when looking for a driver. Kids are our biggest assets, and you want to make sure that someone responsible will be driving them around. When you hire us, you hire a professional.”

Foxy’s, which has 18 vehicles to rent, services mainly Louisiana, but they have traveled as far as Texas and Florida to chauffer customers around.

“This weekend, we are taking our newest party bus, which seats 35 passengers, to Jackson, Miss. for the Wesson High School prom,” Picou said. “The prom season is quite extensive for us. Everything is priced individually around the length of time of the trip, which vehicle we are using and the location we are traveling to.”

According to Marissa Rosenblum, senior fashion editor at Seventeen Magazine, the average teenage girl will spend about $680 on prom this year, just on the dress, shoes, accessories, manicure and pedicure. Not included in that estimate are other usual prom expenditures like tanning, teeth bleaching, flowers, photographs, tickets and transportation.

“Girls usually spend $200 to $500 on a dress, but I think a lot of girls will be spending less than $500 on a dress because of the expense,” Rosenblum said. “We have a few $600 dresses featured in our magazine.”

As far as accessories, Rosenblum recommended shops like Forever 21, where accessories can be picked up for about $10, but when it comes to shoes, the amount of money spent takes a huge leap.

“Girls will spend between $60 to $120 on shoes,” Rosenblum said. “Those with short dresses will probably spend more on shoes than someone with a longer dress because girls with longer dresses usually go with more neutral shoes.”

Rosenblum also said that many girls were forgoing salon manicures for do-it-yourself kits.

“The self nail kits are becoming very popular because they are fun to do at home,” Rosenblum said. “If you are going to go the salon route, I recommend the gel manicure. It cost little more than a regular manicure, but it doesn’t chip as easily. You can get it done a few days before since you may be very busy prom day, and it will be one less thing to worry about.”

Other at-home kits Rosenblum recommended when prepping for prom were bronzer or self-tanning kits and teeth whitening strips.

Above all, the one item that takes spending precedence over pretty much everything associated with prom is the girl’s dress.

“Bright colors are in this year – reds and yellows – and lots of white, too,” said Pat Chauvin, owner of Pat’s of Chauvin in Chauvin. “Shorter dresses for prom are catching on in other parts of the country, but down here, girls still want long dresses with puffy or straight bottoms, and halter tops. Animal prints like zebra are also becoming very popular.”

According to Chauvin, she is also selling gowns with lots of embellishments and beading. Dress prices at the shop run on average from $100 to $300.

“Saturdays are packed in here during prom season, with girls coming from Houma, Thibodaux and Morgan City,” Chavin said. “I am very pleased with my customers. Most know what they want or what they are looking for. We have what people want and we give them service.”

The store features 5,000 square feet of space and about 700 dresses ranging from sizes 0 to 24 in stock.

“Prom is a high school girl’s time to shine,” Chauvin said.

One local senior who picked up her dress at Chauvin’s was Sacha Thomas, a senior at Central Lafourche High School

“My dress is white with green detailing and rhinestones,” Thomas said. “It’s a one shoulder dress with a mermaid style bottom.”

Thomas and her date, Cody Simons from Thibodaux High School, are splitting the tab on a limo with four other couples, and they will be dinning at Outback for the big night.

“I haven’t booked a hair appointment yet because my usual person will be out of town, but I will be having it styled,” Thomas said. “I still need to order my flowers, green to match my dress, and I’ll either go to Dillard’s to have my makeup done or do it myself.”

With $320 spent on her dress, $25 on shoes, $60 on the limo, $12 on tickets, and another estimated $60 on a manicure and pedicure, $ 20 to $30 on a hairstyle and her accessories, Thomas is on track to spend more than $550 when the rest of her expenditures are tallied up. Thomas has a tanning bed at her home, so she will be cutting costs in that area.

Another local girl, Vandebilt junior Shakira Harding, is spending considerably less by borrowing a dress from a friend when she attends Terrebonne High School’s prom with a friend.

“I borrowed the dress, and I’ve already got the shoes and accessories,” Harding said. “We will most likely be eating dinner somewhere, and I may get my hair and nails done too.”

Harding also said that she and her date might also go in on a limousine with friends.

When it comes to prom, dresses aren’t the only places where these girls and other Tri-parish prom-goers will find kicking colors and shine.

“Brighter colors like lime green, orange and hot pink, something that will stand out, make a memory, are very popular flower colors for prom,” said Denise Bourg, of House of Flowers in Houma. “Most girls are looking for a color that will compliment the dress and accessories, and roses and orchids are our most popular flowers. Seniors are also usually looking for white flowers”

According to Bourg, who said that most of her orders are for wristlets and handheld bouquets, it’s not just about the flowers anymore.

“Girls are wanting pretty bands or even keepsake bracelets to put flowers on,” she said. “Embellishments and glitter spray are also very popular. Feathers are a big trend in our trade books, but we are waiting for the trend to make its way here. Lots of our customers bring in photographs from online to show us their vision of what they want their flowers to look like.”

During prom season, Bourg estimates that her shop produces about 150 girl’s flower arrangements and about the same number of boutonnières for the guys. Simple wristlets, bouquets and corsages average about $10 to 30, but can run up to $50 to $60, depending on the flowers. The more simple arrangements take about 20 minutes to put together while more intricate ones can take up to an hour.

“I made a $100 prom corsage once, but customers don’t go to crazy with flowers for the prom,” Bourg said.

Bourg employs five workers and does not hire extra help during prom season.

“We start the back work, like the bracelets, as soon as we get the order and put the flowers on the day before, depending on the flower. We do both fresh and silk flowers,” she said. “I haven’t received any orders yet, but it won’t be long. I usually call the schools to find out when their proms are, and I’ll be doing that soon.”

One business that is just about booked for the prom season is Solutions Salon in Thibodaux.

“I don’t think we have very many openings left,” said owner Lee Boquet. “We’ve gotten lots of request for up-dos that are loose or messy. Customers are coming in with red carpet photos or Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood and Eva Longoria.”

Boquet has two stylists who prepare about 10 styles per prom, and costs for a style run about $35 to $45 and with extensions, $55 to $65.

“Girls who have dyed hair usually come in about a week before the prom to have their color redone or touched up,” Boquet added.

Randy Boudreaux, an employee at House of Flowers in Houma, works on a floral arrangement. According the shop’s owner, Denise Bourg, the store produces about 150 girl’s flower arrangements and about the same number of boutonnières for the guys during prom season. Boudreaux has worked at the shop for more than 20 years and started there when he was in high school.

CLAUDETTE OLIVIER | TRI-PARISH TIMES