Prom is not just the event of the year – it’s a celebration many teenage girls dream about from the first moment they step into the halls of high school.
One Nanaimo group is opening up its closet to make sure every graduate feels fit for the formal.
Prom Closet, a non-profit group, and its volunteers are hosting a two-day boutique this March to help graduates who are challenged to afford gowns find the perfect prom ensemble.
Its storage locker is already a rainbow of more than 200 dresses from cotton-candy pink to ruby red, in size 00 to 24, and glimmering with beads and rhinestones.
There are necklaces, shawls and clutches, and even a few bow ties for guys, who can also use Prom Closet to find suits and tuxedos. Everything is free for graduates, who are allowed to keep what they find.
It’s the second year for the organization, which opened to help take the stress out of prom and ensure graduates who want to go to the event feel like they can.
New dresses can cost between $300 to $800 and some teenagers, without help, just wouldn’t go to prom.
Last year, Prom Closet helped 26 girls find lightly used gowns and six guys get tuxedos and suits. It’s now seeing inquiries from Port Alberni and the Cowichan Valley.
“The dresses are so expensive and so out of reach that it just feels that we are levelling the playing field a little bit,” said Prom Closet coordinator Joan Hiemstra, who’d like to see more people take advantage of the program. “That’s one of the reasons we’re reaching out beyond Nanaimo. With such a big inventory we can easily help a half-dozen kids outside of Nanaimo as well.”
The boutique runs March 11-12 and will see personal advisors like The Bride’s Closet owner Fern Descoteau guide graduates into choosing the right prom outfit.
Descoteau can even make minor alterations on the spot.
She sees a real need for this kind of program. There are kids experiencing tough circumstances.
“It really helps with the kids’ self-esteem because they can go to prom and they can be dressed just like everybody else in a beautiful dress and they can just enjoy that rite of passage of graduating with the advantages they wouldn’t normally have,” she said.
Prom Closet takes referrals from counsellors, teachers and youth workers, but students can also sign up directly by e-mailing promcloset.nanaimo@gmail.com. Donations are welcome, including men’s suits and tuxedos, bow ties and suspenders, and can be dropped off at The Bride’s Closet, White Bridal Boutique, Nanaimo Youth Services Association, John Barsby Secondary School or Nanaimo Christian School.
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