Rockville High School Senior Diary: Prom Planning Season

Prom season is still a few months away, but prom planning season is in full swing. The girls are trying on dress after dress, planning where to take pictures, and setting up hair appointments while they guys are frantically trying to find dates for the big night.

As stressful as prom is, I find that the best part of it is finding what to wear. And I know many others will agree.

A prom veteran, Ashley Markunas, will be going to her third prom this year.

“I never really liked proms, but it will be more fun with my friends.” Markunas said. As an underclassman, she went to junior and senior proms with dates, but many of her friends were not with her.

“This year, I will probably go with a my group of friends.” She said.

As for fashion, “I am just looking to go one upgrade from a trash bag.” Markunas joked. “I don’t really know where to shop, but I am thinking about getting a red dress.”

This year, I have found that red is a trending color for prom, as well as navy blue and blush pink. These colors are great to match with tuxes and are flattering on any skin tone. But it’s not just about the color of the dress that goes into one’s decision on buying a dress. It is also about the cut and style.

“I don’t see that we, as young people, need to reveal our cleavage. I think we can put it away for prom because who are we actually dressing for?” Said Amy Matyseck, an English teacher at Rockville High School. “Are we dressing for ourselves, or so that people will look at us?” She added.

Matyseck made it clear on her stance on prom and the price tag that comes with it.

“You don’t need to wear a $300 dress and rent a limo to have a good night.” She said. “It’s not a $300 night!” she emphasized.

As a teacher, she offered that all of the money that teenagers are spending on prom could be used in a better way, such as on books and college. As an adult and friend to me, she offered that that money should be used on “food and fun stuff at college.”

“Ladies, if I had to go to prom today, this is a true fact, the first places I would go are Goodwill and Savers. I would look through the dresses on the rack and I would see if anything would work for me because I think it’s ridiculous that you all pay up to $300 for a prom dress.” She said. “It’s one night.”

But the reality is, is that people will spend much more than $300 for prom because it is the one little taste we get to be elegant young adults who can ride in style. We live in such a penny-pinching world that it is fun to binge on a little bit of fun for a few hours. At least for the girls.

Up until a few day ago, I wasn’t sure what a teenage boy thought of prom. And until now, I thought that they only went to prom because they felt some sort of obligation to ask a girl to prom. If they had it their way, they would spend their Friday nights doing what they normally do; who knows what.

But, as I have come to find out, they actually like prom and many of the senior guys are excited for it.

Rockville High School Senior Kevin Perrone has been “brewing” up some ideas to ask his girlfriend to prom.

“I want to keep it a surprise. Stuff is brewing.” He said.

As for his attire, Kevin likes to think of himself as a very fashion forward guy. He is planning to wear a grey tux to prom this year. He even had insight for the best place to get a tux.

“Tux King is the cheapest bargain, but Zander's is the best quality.” He said.

It was debated whether or not a bow tie or a tie would be best for prom, and surprisingly, many guys said that they would prefer to wear a bow tie over a tie to prom.

Senior’s Dayshawn Johnson and Robert Wiszniak said that they would be donning a bow tie for the special occasion.

Guy’s fashion is still a mystery to me, but I sat down with Chuck Martucci, a teacher at Rockville High School. He gave his input on what guys should and should not wear to prom.

Top hats, canes, and an all white tux were a big ‘no’ for him. “You don’t want to look like an ice cream vendor.” He said. “You also don’t want to look like the characters from Dumb and Dumber.” He added.

“Just look clean. Get a haircut, shower, shave. Don’t look like a slob for prom.” Said Martucci.

Many guys go for the simple black tux and a tie or bow tie to match their date’s dress. But prom isn’t just about the girls dressing up. I believe that a guy should be able to wear something fashion forward and splurge a little bit on his tux because it is his night too.

Patterned tuxes are slowly creeping into style this year. But it is still wise to keep colors and patterns to a moderation.

Perrone said he would much rather prefer a patterned tie over a patterned tux. Johnson also agreed, but he would prefer his tux to be “flashy” as compared to a classic black tuxedo.

But for those who do not have the money to splurge, Martucci reassure me that there is still a way to look formal, without breaking the bank.

“You can wear a nice shirt with a bow tie and a navy blazer.” He said. “Matching is really not hard to do. Just wear something that looks clean and works well together.”

Prom is a very exciting night and I believe that everyone should experience it at least once in their life. You don’t need to spend a lot of money to have a good time and look nice. What is most important is that you go with people who you will enjoy spending time with. Don’t put too much pressure on a few hours and the thought that your hair will stay looking like it did when you came out of the salon, because it won’t.

Dance around with your friends and don’t take the night so seriously, just like Matyseck, who would prefer to spend less than $30 on the night.

“When the expectation are set so high and spend so much money, you will have a worse time than if you lower your expectation and kind of go casual.” She said.

And in the awe-inspiring words of Amy Matyseck - “Mozzarella sticks all around.”

Photo credit: Emily Harrison