Prom Preparations Are As Much Fun As The Dance

BRISTOL, Va. – Amy Massengill stepped out of a dressing room last weekend and onto the pedestal in front of a vast mirror.

She twirled around twice, stopped and pivoted. With pointed toe, the 16-year-old displayed a bronzed leg through the thigh-high slit in her gown.

"I look tan in this one," she said.

"I think pink goes with her skin," a store clerk said to Jane Massengill, Amy’s mother.

"I like the length, too, because I don’t want to wear huge heels," Amy said, pausing to gingerly lift the pink satin flowing below to see just how high her heels would need to be.

A few pastel-colored gowns later, Amy stood before the mirror again, commenting on the pros and cons of a different dress; this one shimmering with black sequins and tied with a red sash at the empire waist.

"That looks really good," said the clerk. "But I think the pink one is more your personality."

Forty minutes and $396.90 later, Jane and Amy Massengill walked out of Belmeade’s Formal Wear in the Bristol Mall. The pink, Tony Bowlz gown was wrapped in plastic and slung over the high-school student’s shoulder.

Countdown: 21 days to the Sullivan East High School prom.

Across the country and in the Mountain Empire, high school students are preparing for the rite of passage that comes every spring.

And with the school year waning, the high-school buzz is all about what to wear, who to go with, where to eat before and what to do after the big dance.

It’s no longer just about the dress.

"I’ve done pretty much everything today," said Brittany Slagle, who was at Merle Norman on a recent Saturday morning getting ready for her prom that night at Sullivan Central High School.

"I got my nails done, went tanning, got my eyebrows waxed and am getting a makeover," she said.

The senior was pulling out all the stops for her first prom, she said.

She’d have her hair professionally styled after her makeover, then go home to put on her new dress, new shoes and accessories. Later, she was meeting 17 of her friends for a group photograph before a limo would whisk them off for dinner at the Chop House restaurant in Kingsport and then take them to the prom.

"This is exciting," Brittany said. "This is the first time I’ve gotten to do this."

According to Seventeen magazine, prom season is a $2.7 billion annual industry that has continued to grow over the years. Statistics vary considerably on how much teens spend on average for the much-heralded night – from about $200 to as much as $2,000. But most estimates settle on an average of about $600 per person.

Planning begins many months before the event, most teens agreed, and between the tickets, dress or tux, shoes, accessories, dinner, transportation, corsage or boutonniere and whatever is planned post-prom, the costs can really add up.

Alicia Rose, Kari Able and Whitney Sink, all 16-year-old Central High students, were also at First Impression and Merle Norman on Gate City Highway in Bristol Virginia. The three longtime friends were getting ready together, as well as going to the dance together later that night.

The girls paid for everything themselves, they said.

"We’re super excited. We can’t wait to get there," Alicia said. "... But I’m scared to think it won’t be fun."

After the many months of planning, the expenses and the years of anticipation all leading up to one event, it’s no surprise some might worry whether it’s worth all the effort.

But, Alicia said, "Getting ready is my favorite part."

David Barker, a floral designer at Pippin Florist in Bristol Tennessee, said even corsages have gotten more elaborate over the years.

"A lot of times, they’re more picky than they’d be picking out a major appliance," he said. "... People just don’t want carnations anymore. I don’t know where kids are getting their money, but usually price isn’t an object."

Boutonnieres and corsages range from $15 to $30 at his shop, he said.

"It’s just endless the things you can do," he said.

Barker said some want flowers more exotic than the traditional roses, such as calililys or orchids, and the plain elastic arm band is out. Now, he said, many come in and want bands with rhinestones or beads. And for a time, the shop offered corsages with fiber-optic lights of various colors.

After all the planning and anticipation for the April 5 prom, the three Central High girls had a great time, Alicia said on Friday.

"I think we had more fun getting ready than at the prom," she said. "But we made it fun."

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