At my high school it was a combined jr/sr prom and a fresh or soph could go if asked by a jr or sr. Also, there was a lot of competition with the girls in my school to see who would get asked to the all boys Catholic high school prom the next town over. But it was OK to wear the same dress to each event in the same year (so not a horror to show up in the same thing every prom that year) and we typically did not do hotel rooms. We also did a lot of friend dress sharing and Prom was our only "dress up" event of the school year (Homecoming dance was casual). I graduated 1995 in RI though...
Ill even go a step farther and say why are parents letting their teens make these choices to begin with?? Why are parents agreeing to pay this much??
I wouldn't be surprised if many of these parents not only support this blow-out, but encourage it. I remember many a parent who, recalling their prom to be the highlight of their own senior year, pushed their kids to go crazy. It was the parents signing the leases for the shore rentals afterward and I know a bunch of parents who dressed up and went to the shore to party with their kids afterward.
Parents at my high school rented out bungalows on the coast, stocked them with alcohol, and basically let their kids have an unsupervised free-for-all after prom. I majorly side-eyed those parents even as a high school kid.
Is the implication here that someone is hiring a photographer to take the pre-prom photos? Because that is crazy! And then are they sending someone to prom to take photos?
I caught that too and was like, "wha?" Pre-prom photos in my day consisted of parents taking a few posed pics in our front yard.
Yup! I got ready at a friend's house, our dates showed up, her mom took photos, and then her parents let her borrow their new car to drive us. (Her dad made her take off her heels and wear sneakers to drive, it was cute.) Prom included dinner. Our school sponsored a post-prom party with food and raffles and games. My date's bout came out of the flower case at a grocery store. My dress was actually a BM dress, but was less than $150. We paid for photos at prom, but I'm sure the over all cost, including my ticket to prom, was like $250. And I went to a private school.
Post by PinkSquirrel on Apr 24, 2013 9:54:24 GMT -5
We had a Jr and Sr prom at our school and there was a Freshman/Sophomore Semi that for all intents and purposes was a prom. Plus other schools. I loved proms and would go with people who wanted to go with a friend and enjoy themselves rather than try to impress someone. Going to that many meant borrowing dresses and getting cheap ones. I think the only even remotely expensive dress I bought was my Jr prom dress and it was $100.
Post by ChillyMcFreeze on Apr 24, 2013 10:06:26 GMT -5
The rich kids at my school hired a professional photographer. 15 couples would get together at the biggest McMansion in the group for pictures. Better than everyone paying for a photographer, but still. Then they would have a catered dinner ($$$) and arrive in the city trolley ($$$). Oh, and that doesn't even take into account the "white prom" that happened at the country club a week or so before the school prom. And no one ever wore the same dress twice, so.... yeah.
i cannot imagine the gales of laughter that would have emanated from my parents had i suggested we spend even half of that.
my senior prom, i got my dress at nordstrom rack (under $100) and was driven by my date in his white volvo station wagon. dinner was like $25/entree and i thought i was going to have a stroke at that cost, so i drank water. and i wasn't even paying. pictures were taken by my mom and by the awesomely awkward prom photographer who made us assume the "dance" pose because he was bothered by our height difference (i'm 5'5", my date was 6'4"). i don't think there's a fake plaster greek column in my senior prom photo, but i'm pretty sure there is in one of the homecoming photos.
I spent $800 in 1998 on just prom night activities. I still remember it well because I had to earn every red cent myself.
$160 prom tickets for me and my date $100 admission to night club that we stayed at for 30 minutes for two $100 breakfast cruise around Manhattan Harbor for two $400 limo for 12 hours for two $40 Booze
My parents bought my dress and paid for my hair. It was still so obnoxiously expensive and every single couple in our limo was fighting. I had broken up with my date two days beforehand. Our limo got into an accident. I still want my money back. Our actual prom was nice though. It was at the Puck Building in NYC. The decorations were awesome. Our theme song was KC & Jo Jo. Sigh.
Post by EloiseWeenie on Apr 24, 2013 10:26:31 GMT -5
Wow, I can't ever imagine that prices will get that crazy here. That is insane.
I got a dress on sale for like $120 at Nordstroms. In my days, everyone did their own makeup. I did get my hair done, but even then, the place I went to was cheap. Our school only had a Senior prom, so luckily that cuts down on spending- most students only went to 1 prom (only went to more if they were asked by a senior). I went with a group of about 20, and we had 2 or 3 limos. We also went to a really fancy restaurant. None of us paid for the limo/dinner, because my bff's dad paid for everyone. Since he owns a multi billion dollar company, he could definitely swing it- and we all were really appreciative (even though most of our families could afford to pay their part). Photos were done by parents in said bff's front yard. Prom was ok, but definitely not the magical evening movies portray it to be.
I wouldn't be surprised if many of these parents not only support this blow-out, but encourage it. I remember many a parent who, recalling their prom to be the highlight of their own senior year, pushed their kids to go crazy. It was the parents signing the leases for the shore rentals afterward and I know a bunch of parents who dressed up and went to the shore to party with their kids afterward.
Parents at my high school rented out bungalows on the coast, stocked them with alcohol, and basically let their kids have an unsupervised free-for-all after prom. I majorly side-eyed those parents even as a high school kid.
Because even as a 17/18yo, you were smart enough to recognize that those parents were trying to be the cool parents who were "friends" with their kids, or who were trying to relive their own youth.
And I'm guessing that the average amount poorer parents spend on prom is peanuts compared to the average amount poorer Hispanic families spend on quinceaneras.
Or Filipino coming out parties. Those things are practically weddings these days. Actually, the last one I went to the reception was indistinguishable from a wedding.
Post by Velar Fricative on Apr 24, 2013 10:35:47 GMT -5
None of this surprises me for the reasons heyjude mentioned. I can easily see poorer families putting all their eggs in the prom basket.
I don't remember how much we spent. Maybe around $500 total including my hideous David's Bridal dress, the prom ticket (prom was in Manhattan), the limo, and whatever we did over that weekend (went to Rye Playland, a lot of other kids went to Seaside Heights, NJ). No special photography because I didn't have a date.
Is anyone shocked that the biggest prom spenders are lower income households? Is there a correlation between this fact and college attendance? Because if you come from a family where high school is the "big thing" and college isn't part of the equation it makes sense your family would go all out for prom.
I wonder if lower marriage rates among low-income also has to do with it too.
Still, I just cannot wrap my head around spending $1,000+ for my teenager to go to a dance, especially if I didn't even have the money to spare.