It’s all about the dress when a girl is asked to prom.
Gowns embellished with beading and mirrored tiles will sparkle at Saturday’s Iola prom as camera flashes are fired by family members and friends.
Long, colorful gowns with trains have been popular this prom season, said Lori Stottlemire, owner of Allen County Cleaners.
“Our prom dress business has doubled from last year,” Stottlemire said.
The cleaners has pressed, detailed and altered more than 30 dresses and expects more before Saturday.
With the popularity of trains on the dresses, most of the alterations have been the addition of bustles to the skirts.
“Once the grand march is over the girls want to pick their dresses up off the floor so they can dance. A bustle is a quick fix to the dress so the girl won’t catch her heel,” on the skirt’s hem, Stottlemire said.
The bustles that are being added to the dresses are through a series of strings that can draw the train up or through a button and hook.
For the young ladies who want to preserve their prom dress, Stottlemire will clean the dresses and pack them in a preservation box.
“The prom is filled with memories and one special memory is the gown,” Stottlemire said.
The grand march for the Iola High School junior-senior prom, “Mystere du Masque,” begins at 7 p.m. Saturday in the Iola High School gymnasium. The dance begins at 8 o’clock.
Preserving prom memories
