FASHION : Prom Preparations Put Endurance to the Test : The search for the perfect dress and necessary accessories requires true grit. And as any girl will tell you, the guys have it easy.
As high school days draw to a close, there are complex rituals to observe, such as planning a career, applying to colleges and shopping for the prom.
Sometimes the last one seems as daunting as the others; it can take endurance and grit.
More so for girls than for guys, of course. You can talk about equality of the sexes until the ERA is ratified, but you won’t find parity in prom groundwork. Not likely.
To confirm the premise, we tracked a couple through the rigors of grooming for a prom. They were veterans. It was Chris Bae’s second venture, Lacey Lancaster’s fourth. In this case, Lacey, of Ojai, invited Chris, also of Ojai and a first-year student at Santa Barbara City College, to her senior prom at Nordhoff High School.
They were not a trendy pair. Chris rejected the popular tux-and-Converse look; Lacey ignored the latest in prom wardrobe colors. She did, however, start shopping a month ahead. Which was just as well, because complications set in.
Not that the dress was a problem. Lacey decided to hit one store in Thousand Oaks where there was a plethora of gowns under one roof.
She took along her mom, Kathy Lancaster, for dialectic purposes; having another opinion strengthens one’s resolve.
This helped with elimination. When Kathy proposed classic black, Lacey pointed out that she had passed her black phase at a younger age. When her mom suggested a slinky, sequined number, Lacey dismissed it with, “It looks like a mermaid.”
The younger Lancaster was drawn to wine velvet and tried two full-length gowns in the fabric, one with intricately entwined “gnarly” shoulder straps, the other an off-the-shoulder style with ivory lace trim.
The second won out. Lacey brought it to the cashier just an hour after they entered the store.
Then the plot thickened. Although Kathy thought that a plain neckline seemed best, Lacey decided on a single strand pearl choker. But choker designers seem set on double strands.
“If they have more than one strand, I feel like I’m being choked,” Lacey said.
After an hour’s search, there was a compromise on a longer pearl necklace that would need a bar clip in back to bring it up to choker length.
Another day, another trip through four stores ran down the elusive pearl clip. But it cost $45. They passed it up.
Earrings are not as simple as in former times. One needs pearl-and-rhinestone drops for the lobes, and five rhinestone studs for additional ear apertures. Two stores, maybe 20 minutes.
Every gown seems to need its own bra. Four stores finally netted one that was strapless and unenhanced with foam.
Pumps were bought and delivered to the dyers for matching with the dress. The gown was shortened--since the shoes would be taken off as soon as Lacey arrived at the dance (“I’m not a heel kind of person”) the dress would then sweep the floor. A fitting, then back to the shop for a final fitting and to pick up the gown.
Shoeless dancing tends to put runs in nylons, which can be seen through the back slit in a gown. Three pair of pantyhose were bought to get Lacey through the evening.
About this time, after a bit of ambivalence (“I’d better go with him; no, I trust him. . . .”), a trip was made to the tux shop with Chris to ensure that his vest would match the gown.
As the day neared, an hour was spent getting French-cut, airbrushed fingernail extensions--for Lacey, of course.
(“You don’t want them too long, like Dragon Lady nails.”)
On prom day, the boutonniere was picked up; and the hair issue was debated: for one’s usual cascade of waist-length hair, a French twist or curls? By afternoon, the decision for curls had been made; another hour-plus went into the effort.
With commuting, there were about 19 woman-hours involved in the venture.
Meanwhile, Chris had invested an hour and a half.
After advance checking with Lacey, he ordered a white rose corsage in a few minutes. “The guy made it really painless,” he said.
He got a 20-minute haircut and spent a quarter of an hour washing his dad’s Porsche, their transportation for the evening.
And, in one-stop shopping, he rented everything at the tux shop, including shirt and shoes.
Maybe the fit wasn’t quite perfect: The jacket was a tad roomy; the embroidered burgundy vest needed a few safety pins to take it up in back.
It was no big thing. Even Lacey had a safety pin in her ensemble--to shorten the necklace.
They complimented each other on their appearances and were off on what Lacey has described as “the finale”--the last high school dance--moving cautiously down the path toward the car in unfamiliar footwear.
