The rise of the British Prom

PILES of taffeta, ruffles, tiaras, heels and gallons of fake tan are accumulating in teenage bedrooms around the country, and heads are full of notions of stretch limousines and corsages. The UK's school prom season is gearing up for its biggest year yet. A trend that arrived from the US on the back of incredibly successful high-school TV shows such as Glee and Hannah Montana, and teen movies such as High School Musical, it has swiftly become the norm for schools here. Where once an end-ofschool formal dance or ball might have been held, or even a disco in the school hall, now it has become a major event to celebrate either the end of exam season or even, as the trend gets younger, the end of primary school education. For recession-hit families the cost of the event is less welcome, but for many businesses the trend is helping keep them afloat. Last year the Holiday Inn saw a 5,000% increase in the number of proms being booked in its hotels and parents were shelling out an average of £244 per teenager. While this year has a proliferation of prom dresses on sites like Ebay at bargain prices, the prom season is still proving a goldmine for British businesses. "For the first time this year we've sold more men's suits for proms than we do at Christmas,"said Dave Shaw, the marketing manager of men's wear chain Moss Bros. "The prom business is certainly phenomenal now. And because a lot of boys will need a suit anyway as they leave school and start going for interviews or whatever, the sales are doing better than our hire market. There is already a move, however, away this year from the more traditional style of formal suit towards the more modern, straighter shape and coloured suits." But if all the boys need is a sharp suit and a fresh jar of hair gel, the girls need hair, makeup, nails, jewellery and of course, the dress. "It's all about the dream dress,"said Linda Ellison of Prom Frock UK, based in Wigan. "Prom dresses are flying out of our shop,"she said. "We saw the trend coming by chance, as my eldest daughter asked me to get her one and we ordered a few from our suppliers. That was only a few years ago and now we're selling 400 through our shop and 6,500 a year through our stockists. "It's different from the American prom in that they tend to be aged around 18 or 19 for their prom, whereas our girls will be a bit younger, so dresses are less revealing. We have our own twist – not too risque – but still on trend. It's a very vibrant part of the economy up here." "I think this year the market has hit the top – there are signs it's stabilising," she said. "Every school is doing it, so it is nearing saturation point."

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