Over the months leading up to prom, anxiety stirs within high school juniors and seniors. Girls struggle to find the perfect, unique prom dress, taking action to guarantee no one else will wear their dress. Boys summon the courage to ask a girl to prom in a way that will upstage their friends’ “prom-posals.” And everyone hopes desperately for clear, sunny weather to take gorgeous pictures in.
Prom wasn’t always characterized by expensive dresses that rival the outfits of Academy Award winners and fancy ballrooms typically used for weddings. Historians trace the origins of prom back to the 19th century, when universities held small-scale, coed parties, and girls picked a nice dress from their closet rather than purchasing new attire. During the 1930s and 1940s, high schools started to hold proms in their school gymnasiums, and by the 1950s, schools expanded to hold the proms in slightly fancier venues. But it wasn’t until the 1980s swung around when girls began to search high and low for expensive designer dresses, and proms started to mimic mini-weddings.
Today, preparations for prom begin several months in advance, with girls buying their dresses as early as January. Between the dress or tuxedo, hairstyle, makeup, dinner, flowers, photographer, and, of course, the tickets for the actual event, many parents are whipping out their checkbooks and dishing out upwards of $1000 for prom night. According to US News, families in the Northeast spent an average of $1,104 on prom in 2014, while families in Canada only spent $723. Is it truly necessary to spend this much money on a simple high school dance?
Sarah Venetianer ’15 asserts, “Although I think prom is great, I think that spending over $1000 is too much. It IS just one day and although it is fun to get dressed up and get your hair done, $1000 is too much.”
While prom has undoubtedly grown more expensive and Hollywood-esque throughout the years, it’s fully possible for families to spend less money and still make prom a magical night to remember. Start with the dress: Girls don’t have to purchase a $500 designer dress to look like a runway model. Many people are interested in selling their prom dresses from previous years, and lots of websites and stores sell gorgeous dresses for $100 or under.
Instead of spending a ton of money on prom, consider using it toward other things. As Sanjana Prasad ’16 states, “There are so many more enriching and meaningful experiences you could instead spend your money on. Spending over $1000 on prom is a tremendous waste of money.”
The problem could be that society is simply putting too much emphasis on prom.
Both society and media have put unnecessary emphasis on prom, with film depictions portraying the event as more and more elaborate. My 91-year-old grandma, Gladys Mulvihill, recalls, “I simply borrowed a dress and did my own hair and nails. The tickets were probably only fifteen dollars. Even though I didn’t spend much money, I still remember the fun memories of the night.”
Clearly, you don’t have to spend a large amount of money to enjoy the night and make lasting memories.
annie z • Feb 27, 2015 at 12:45 pm
love how this is finally being mentioned. Even though prom is an important night, i dont fee like $1000 should be spent on it just to look good. it should be about what you do instead of what you wear
Luke • Feb 27, 2015 at 12:38 pm
While I have not run into the same financial problems prepping for my first three proms, I do think 1000 is utterly ridiculous!
tony zheng • Feb 26, 2015 at 11:56 am
i completely agree with you on this stance. We spend way too much on prom nowadays and should not overly indulge on unnecessary items like prom dresses. Instead, we could spend the money on more important things.
Emily Y. • Feb 26, 2015 at 8:43 am
I completely agree with you on this stance. We spend way too much on prom nowadays and should not overly indulge on unnecessary items like prom dresses. Instead, we could spend the money on more important things.