Let me preface this column by saying I’ve never been a girly girl. With two older brothers, I easily took on that tomboy role and never minded getting dirty, throwing on a baseball cap or wearing their old flannel shirts.
I always had dresses in the closet for church and special occasions, but I never cared about labels. Most of the labels would have probably said, “Made by Mom” as she made a lot of my clothes throughout the years. She also introduced me to rummage sales early in life and I still enjoy thrift store shopping.
Anyway, so when a news report stated the average family in our country spends $900 on prom, my eyebrows shot up, the word “holy” escaped my lips and I turned to Scott and repeated “$900 on prom? That’s a few car payments for me!”
Of course, being the sharer that I am, I took to my Facebook page and repeated what I just had heard and said, “What on earth, people! It’s a high school dance. I think my wedding cost less that that!” Seriously, my dress only cost $99 off the clearance rack.
After reading several comments including that yes, this seemed like an average amount to spend to “not in this household,” I was left wondering what are we teaching our youth? One friend stated that parents have turned prom into a competition. He said, “None of us has to engage.”
Yes, I realize it’s been many years since I went to prom, but thriftiness helped me find an end-of-the-year super clearance dress for $20 that I wore to two proms and a spring concert my junior year. I spent around $100 my senior year and wore that dress to three proms and a concert.
Out of curiosity, I checked out a website the other day just to see what was out there. I didn’t go to any boutiques or specialty shops, I went to a store you typically find anchoring a mall. From my quick look, the most expensive dress was regularly $250. Of course this time of year, I saw some on sale for $60. No, these dresses were not blinged out, but they were elegant, fun and attractive.
After reminiscing about proms and hearing all the extras girls do for one night (tanning, teeth whitening, hair appointments, manicures, pedicures), I was beginning to feel sorry for my high school dates! I had a neighbor fix my hair once, but realized it just wasn’t me; I didn’t tan; didn’t get my nails done; wore church shoes; yet I had fun.
My senior prom was pretty memorable because my date didn’t make it to the grand march because he was performing in a play in a neighboring town. But did I stand on the sidelines for the first dance? Nope. I grabbed my Dad (who taught me how to two-step as a child by standing on his boots) and danced with him. My date and a two other couples did chip in and met a limo in Fargo. We visited Taco John’s drive through and ordered Churros for our drive around town.
I find it refreshing to hear about the girls who are not consumed by the details of their hair, found a beautiful inexpensive dress, want to wear tennis shoes or flip flops instead of heels, and parents who would rather put money into the After Prom Party than the prom itself.
My folks always asked me when I wanted to buy something, “How long would you have to work to pay for that?” So let’s do the math. Considering minimum wage is $7.25, someone who spends $900 for one night has to work over 124 hours just to earn that amount, but wait! There’s taxes so you really have to work even more hours to pay for the average night of prom.
As another friend pointed out, “Get ready and be grateful for your boy. Flowers, tux and dinner.” Believe me. If my son chooses to go to prom, I’ll be checking to see how much it’ll cost to buy a tux or a nice suit.