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Prom season is under way in the Tri-Parish area, and businesses that cater to prom-goers needs are booking up faster than the heartbeats of girls waiting to know who will be crowned prom queen.
“We are busy all year long with girls looking for prom dresses,” said Kathy Samanie, a bridal consultant with Wesley Austin in Houma. “Some of them start shopping that early for their dresses.”
At an event where it is considered a huge fashion faux-pas to show up the in exact same dress as someone else, it’s no wonder that girls are purchasing and tucking away dresses, and the staff at Wesley Austin works to ensure that some of the store’s big spenders will never run into another girl decked out in the same prom duds.
“If a customer spends more than $299 on a dress, we track the dress by school to make sure no one else has the same dress in the same color,” Samanie said. “This year, girls are coming in for dresses in white or shades of fuschia, purple, coral and pink. They also want lots of embellishments and beading.”
For those not concerned about showing up in the same dress as another young lady, frocks at the store start out at $99, but those looking to get a nicer dress at a lower price this prom season are in luck.
“Prices on dresses have gone down this year because people are looking for bargains,” Samanie said. “Most people usually spend around $300, but, this year, people are looking to keep it below $300.”
While prices are going down, hemlines on dresses are going up – and staying down – at the same time.
“High-low dresses are the new thing,” she said. “The hemline is high in the front and low in the back. We started seeing the trend last year, but it has hit hard this year. Others want a straight dress with a very little flare at the bottom, and most of the girls are going with strapless dresses this year.”
One prom trend that seems to carry over and even increase from year to year is the prom budget. Last year, teens spent an average of $1,078 on prom, up from $807 from the year before, according to a survey by Visa. With a to-do list of flowers, dinner, limousine service, hair, nails and accessories, it’s easy to see how the tally quickly adds up, but most money in a teen girl’s prom budget likely goes toward a dress.
While girls may be the more extravagant prom spenders, their dates are keeping it simple when it comes to dressing up for the evening.
“Guys are sticking to the basic colors like aqua and teal with their accessories this year,” said Penny Landry, manager at Norman’s Tuxedos in Houma. “Guys always ask for the vests and usually a bowtie, but, this year, it’s a toss-up between the necktie and the bowtie.”
The shop rents more than 500 tuxedos each prom season, and tuxedo prices range from $73 to $106.
“We started booking up after Mardi Gras,” Landry said. “We rent mostly white tuxes – traditional for senior boys – and black tuxes. We also get a lot of requests for dark gray and light gray.”
Specific color requests are also a big part of picking flowers for the big night.
“In the last few years, the biggest trend change has been in color,” said Angela Adams, owner of Blooming Orchid in Houma. “Kids love bright colors, and they want colors like robin’s egg blue, hot pink and fuchsia.”
Adams and her staff put together an estimated 250 boutonnieres, 100 corsages and 250 handheld bouquets each prom season, and the majority of the floral arrangements are made from roses, lilies or orchids.
“The handheld bouquets have become very popular in the last 10 years, and people really like them because you can put them in a vase after the prom,” Adams said.
Boutonnieres at the shop range from $5 to $6.50, and corsages cost anywhere from $20 to $25. Handhelds bouquets range from $35 to $45.
Once the tuxes, gowns and flowers are in place, one of the last expenses for the prom is hiring a limo to get revelers from Point A to B and even destinations beyond dinner and the prom location.
“I was booked for Thibodaux High’s prom,” said Bill Frost, owner of Lucky Limo in Thibodaux. “I took the kids to dinner and drove them around town for about 45 minutes before bringing them to prom. I waited there for them during the prom, drove them around for a little while after that and dropped them off at party.”
Frost, who retired from his full-time job, recently opened the one stretch Lincoln Towncar service shortly before prom season, and he is quickly booking up at rate of about $100 an hour.
“I’m also booked for South Terrebonne’s prom,” Frost said. “The car seats eight, but I prefer to have just six people so they have room to move around in their tuxes and dresses. It’s fun so far, getting the kids to and from prom, and they love riding around in the car.
“That’s what a limo is all about.”
Heather Porche with Blooming Orchid in Houma adds roses to a lily and rose hand bouquet. The bouquets, popular for proms, cost about $35 to $45.
