pink prom dresses6Proms are big b,15Bridesmaid dre

High school proms are more than just a rite of passage for teens.
For some Nashville-area retailers they're an indispensable staple that can turn red ink into profits in a matter of weeks amid a Christmas-like sales rush featuring corsages rather than mistletoe.
"It's your first boost of income for the year Cocktail dresses, especially when January and February are slow," said Gilda York, owner of Ambassadors Formalwear by Gilda. Most proms are in April and May, and a number of the dances were to be held this weekend in the Nashville area.
High school junior Maggie Reade is attending two proms, and even after finding one gown on sale and the other at a consignment shop, as well as buying pizza from Publix for a cheap after-party, expenses will add up. Her date and parents will chip in to cover the most expensive items, including her dresses and limousine rental.
"I know most people's jaws will drop when they realize I've spent $1,610 just on two nights, but I don't regret spending the money at all," said Reade, a student at Merrol Hyde Magnet School in Hendersonville. "I won't be young forever, and soon I'll have expenses and duties that won't be as much fun as prom."
Limousine companies, florists, beauty shops and even tanning salons get a pronounced lift in sales from proms. They are big business Bridesmaid dresses, after all, with some
$4 billion a year spent on prom-related items in the United States, according to one estimate cited by family economists at North Dakota State University.
Prom attire at local tuxedo rental shops can make up 40 percent of all business for the year, and about one-third of dresses sold at gown shops go for prom season.
In Nashville, marketing campaigns that target promgoers can range from promoting the latest hairstyle trends on Facebook pages to recruiting teens to serve as "prom reps" to hand out coupons for tuxedo rentals and draw in classmates with money to spend.
Each year, York assembles a team of about 90 high school teens to give friends coupons for discounted tuxedo rentals at Ambassadors Formalwear, and she also puts on prom fashion shows at area high schools. The goal is to promote her Rivergate-area store and related prom vendors.
Prom often is the first occasion that prompts teens to shop for formalwear or flowers, and that's the perfect time to start a relationship with young customers so they become repeat buyers, York said.
Economists who have studied teen spending say proms are getting pricier long prom dresses, too, as peer pressure pushes young people to keep pace with their classmates.
"The trend is to spend a lot of money," said Debra Pankow, a family economics specialist at North Dakota State University. She has studied prom spending for several years, with recent surveys showing teens spend an average of $600 for prom.
"It's a huge industry, and there is pressure to buy cheap short prom dresses," Pankow said.
Think wedding without groom
For some girls, prom preparation and expenses can resemble a mini-wedding, said Pankow, who had one daughter spend as much on a prom dress as another daughter paid for a bridal gown.
Pankow doesn't begrudge teens the joys of prom night but encourages families to use the flurry of spending on dresses, tuxes, shoes Designer Prom Dresses, corsages and beauty services such as tanning, hair, makeup and manicures as teachable moments on how to budget.
"It's expensive," said Cara Sanders, 17, a junior at Martin Luther King Academic Magnet School. "But it's fun to get dressed up. You kind of feel like a princess."
The dark-haired, dark-eyed petite teen also is attending two proms and purchased separate dresses to wear to her prom and to her boyfriend's prom at Hillsboro High School.
Everyone will be posting prom photos on Facebook, she said, and she doesn't want to be seen in the same dress at both dances.
For one prom alone, Sanders expects to spend nearly $400 on a gown, shoes, beauty services, prom tickets and her date's boutonniere. It would have been much more had she not found the $378 BCBG gown she plans to wear for $50 brand new on eBay.
It can get competitive, Sanders acknowledged, adding that a lot seems to ride on "who can pay most for this, who works out the most or who shows up with the best tan."
The Bellevue teen plans to pay for much of her prom expenses with baby-sitting and allowance money, and her mother has promised to match that total.
"You have to find a balance between overspending but recognizing this is a special evening and should be fun," said Cindy Sanders, Cara's mom.
"Two proms can get out of control," the mother said. So, they've made some strategic decisions. Cara will wear the pair of shoes that she bought for $75 to both proms.
Also, because Cara's boyfriend is a senior, they'll rent a limousine to drive to his prom, but not for Cara's because she is only a junior. And Cara may try to re-purpose one of her gownsinto something she can wear to sorority rush when it's time for that college whirlwind experience.
Claire Johnson, junior class president at Harpeth Hall, is borrowing a dress for one prom and bought a $300 gown for another.
"A lot of girls are renting dresses," she said, adding that one website rents out $3,000 designer gowns for about $75.
There may be less pressure on guys, but they have big expenses, too, said Alex Thompson, 17, a senior at McGavock High School.
He plans to get a $15 haircut, pay $120 for prom tickets, spend as much as $150 for dinner, split the $1,000-plus cost of a Hummer limo with friends and buy a new pair of $50 Vans sneakers, which he and his friends plan to wear with their tuxes.
As a prom rep for Ambassadors formalwear, he'll get a free tux rental now that he has handed out about 25 Ambassadors coupons to friends, giving them a $50 discount.
"For some of my friends, that'll pay for their prom tickets, and they appreciate it," said Thompson, a football and basketball player, a member of student council and a community volunteer through Ambassadors' Teen Board.
National retailers including Men's Wearhouse and JoS. A. Bank Clothiers, along with locally owned Street Tuxedo grad dresses 2011, also have prom rep programs that can earn teens free tuxedo rentals if they refer enough friends.
Street Tuxedo, which has locations in Green Hills, Cool Springs, Murfreesboro and Lebanon, has been doing its prom rep program about 15 years after a mom suggested her son could get the shop plenty of referrals from his friends cheap guest dresses, said Rachael Street, store manager at the Green Hills store.
"It would be hard to stay profitable without the proms," Street said. "That one month a year helps get us through the rest of the year."
It can be hard to compete against big-budget advertising by national menswear retailers, so Street Tuxedo donates the use of tuxes to prom fashion shows and homecoming courts and attends prom fairs at area schools to get its name out there.
Roughly one-third of the gowns sold at the White Room formalwear shops in Lebanon and Murfreesboro are prom dresses, said co-owner Melanie Long.
As an extra service, each girl who selects her gown from the 700 dresses in stock at each store is entered into a log so that other teens won't buy the same dress for the same event.
"That service is what we offer that you can't get at a department store," Long said. "We try to make it an experience for them and have consultants for each girl to find a gown that works for her and her budget."
The average price of a prom gown is about $350.
Arrive in style
At First Impression Limousine Service, the six-week prom season can end up accounting for 20 percent of business for the year, supplementing the year-round corporate customers that the company handles, driver Roger Collier said.
"Kids want to show up in something different," Collier said, adding that the stretch Hummer and PT Cruiser limousines are the most popular models for prom season today.
Already, about 80 percent of Nashville-area limo companies are completely booked this prom season, said Matt Yorke, president of the Tennessee Livery Association and an owner and executive vice president at Signature Transportation Services.
Limousine companies generally don't have to do any special marketing to get the attention of the prom crowd, Yorke said. "We're guaranteed to be booked up on prom weekends," he said.
Often, parents are the ones who will make reservations to make sure their children have a safe ride on prom night, said Diane Nesbitt, owner of Matchless Transportation. About a fourth of her overall business is prom-related.
Other businesses also benefit
Florists, beauty shops and tanning salons don't depend as much on prom business, but they do see a noticeable bump in traffic.
For instance, A Moment's Peace Salon and Spa in Cool Springs has 30 prom-related appointments Saturday for hair styling and makeup before that evening's prom at Ravenwood High School in Brentwood, general manager Danielle Lafaye said.
"We set out strawberries and chocolate and make it enjoyable for them, so they feel like princesses," Lafaye said.
Overall ball gown dresses, prom-related sales, which also include manicures and spray-tanning services, account for about 10 percent of the company's business, Lafaye said. But on prom days, it can be 50 percent of all customer traffic.
It's important enough that Lafaye requires all hairstylists she hires to know how to do the prom-popular up-do.
The latest beauty trends for this prom season �� including feather extensions and glittery nail polish �� are featured on the Facebook page of Head to Toe Salon and Spa in Goodlettsville.
"We'll also put our prom packages on there," salon manager Lynn Goings said.
Moss' Florist and Garden Center in Mt. Juliet gives out 10 percent student discount cards as one marketing strategy.
"There's increased competition pink prom dresses," said owner and store manager Hale Moss, pointing out that the Kroger and Publix grocery stores in his area now sell corsages and boutonnieres.
"The thing about prom business is that we're meeting kids for the first time," Moss said. "They are your future customers, and we hope they'll be back for Mother's Day and their weddings. We know they have lots of other places that they could buy their flowers."
Topics related articles:
2011 Prom Dresses
Long Prom Dresses
2011 prom gowns
Plus size prom dresses
Designer Prom Dresses
prom Dresses
Prom Dresses 2011
Cheap Prom Dresses
Short Prom Dresses


http://www.davidveescorner.com/photo...e.php?pos=-302

http://www.climaxevent.com/##############/d....php?pos=-3691

http://www.davidveescorner.com/photo...e.php?pos=-300

http://smiley.addyouraddys.com/displayimage.php?pid=2171&message_id=06bb73680e6af a68ded9e6a48c5ef15b&message_icon=info#cpgMessageBl ock

http://cheryl.bijou-bleu.org/photos/displayimage.php?pid=3911&message_id=cf76c6106485e e6cd3b4b12e05e32486&message_icon=info#cpgMessageBl ock