What comes to mind when you hear the phrase 'high-school
dance'? Sneakin' beers in the parking lot? Swaying in time
to the ballads of Bryan Adams or REO Speedwagon ? Secretly
despising the popular kids deemed 'royalty'? Of course,
you can't forget the hideous poufy dresses. They're downright
synonymous with prom, Snowball and Homecoming--or at least
they were until recently.
On a crisp fall evening tailor-made for football games,
a WW photographer and I crashed the Parkrose High
School Homecoming game to find out just what princesses
are wearing these days. Our first stop, appropriately enough,
was the drama room, where nine nominated ladies primped
and preened during the first half of the football game.
One glance made it clear that young women now are donning
more beautiful, flattering and clean-lined formal wear than
anyone in yearbook pics of yore.
Megan Barrer, one of three senior candidates vying for
the title of Homecoming Queen, wore a sexy, slim-fitting
black dress with a subtly beaded diagonal seam cutting across
the long skirt, dividing the velvet top from the gauzy bottom
half. Alyson Bradshaw, another senior princess, also chose
a streamlined black number, hers strapless with a shimmery
finish and complemented with pretty rhinestone and silver
sandals. Two princesses wore great-looking two-piece outfits.
Rachel Cramer, the third Queen candidate, matched a pink
beaded tank top with a long white satin skirt that hung
on her hips. For junior Laura Drew, only a sleeveless, sequined
turquoise top with a full black satin skirt would do.
The remaining court members--Lisa Larson, Jodi Kaufman,
Pam Macalanda, Terin Munar and Tiare Packard--also wore
simply beautiful choices, most held up with spaghetti straps.
In fact, these were dresses they might actually wear again,
they told me. And instead of the horrid, JonBenet-style
satin pumps my friends and I had worn, these girls had cute
black platform sandals, fancy flip-flops and strappy heels
from Nordstrom. Instead of hair combs coated with baby's
breath, accessories included rhinestone "tattoos," a glow-stick
ring and--lo and behold!--a chunky silver bracelet from
Tiffany's. There was not a pouf to be seen.
But still I couldn't suppress the image of myself as a
flat-chested teen in a royal blue, strapless bubble dress
at junior prom in 1988. Gravity, combined with the weight
of the satin puff circling my knees, made just keeping the
thing on a huge challenge. Of course, I thought it was the
hippest dress around. You can tell by the giant grin on
my face in all my photos.
But that was before fashion--and teenagers--took over the
world. There wasn't as much attention focused on what stars
were wearing every minute of the day; there was less of
an obsession with celebrity, and we didn't have the voluminous
InStyle magazine/catalog. Designers and marketing
execs were less focused on catering to teens; after all,
we slackers-in-training didn't have as much disposable income
as the baby-boom-echo generation would have to throw around
10 years later. Then again, if Spring 2001 runway looks
are any sign of what's to come, we may see a return to the
days of bloated skirts, ruffles and ridges.
Far from Park Avenue, these Parkrose princesses climbed
into classic convertibles and sleek Porsches at halftime
and circled the football field. As each car approached the
packed stands, cheers and clapping rang out and the ladies
waved to their adoring fans. The results of a vote earlier
in the day were announced. And the winner was...Rachel Cramer,
the tank-topped queen! A newly purchased crown was placed
on her head by last year's queen, who refused to relinquish
her crown. Squealing teenage girls swarmed around their
new leader, raving about how pretty she looked and that
they'd known all along that she'd win because they had voted
for her. Her confident escort, the boy who would be King,
told me he wasn't surprised; he was pretty sure they'd win.
A wave of queasiness washed over me. I was in an episode
of the WB network's Popular. It was all a reminder
that in high school, peer esteem, meaningless titles and
what you wear take on a significance as overblown as those
old dresses themselves--one that won't be reached again
until you encounter office politics. High-school dance fashions
may have changed, but some things never do. I wouldn't do
it over again--even if I could ditch the wretched bubble
dress.
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