Students Say Yes to the Prom Dress

Spring has sprung, which means that prom season is right around the corner. To commemorate the occasion, Bloomingdale's at the  hosted the “White Hot Prom Event” on Saturday.

Teenage girls from surrounding high schools competed in a fun spirited fashion show to see what the latest trends had to offer. To support the theme, mini white cupcakes were served by NY CupCakery and Cactus Salon offered up free white manicures.

Also present at the event was the Copiague chapter of PROUDgirls, which describes itself as  “an organization for young women ages 13-18 that aims to promote positive thinking through positive action.” High school senior Lauren Marottca explained how her school was taking part. “We are setting up a boutique in the library with donated dresses for girls who can’t afford a dress to pick one out for the prom.” So far they had at least a dozen dresses and were confident they would soon reach their goal of 25. Dress donations can still be made by dropping off a gently worn prom dress at the Roosevelt Field Bloomingdale’s location before April 3.

The fashion show consisted of nine teams with about three girls on each team each representing a Long Island high school. Participating were Northport, Plsainview-JFK, East Islip, St. Dominic, Cold Spring Harbor, West Islip, West Babylon, Lindenhurst, and Whitman. The teams were each given a color palate and trend to choose their dresses by and were lent accessories to match.

The dresses ranged from short to long with an array of colors. Alexandra Karcev, the public relations manager of Bloomingdale's on Long Island, weighed in on this year’s look. “There are five key trends this year for prom: black & white, neutrals, pretty in prints, vivid color, and white. Last year the trend was floral prints and pastels. Every year we host a prom event at all of our locations - we alter the theme and the event parameters each year so the event is a bit different every year.” The teams were judged on dress choice as well as audience votes counted per school.

When asking the girls what their favorite part of the event was, Northport High school senior Alyssa Clemente said: “Getting dressed up. We got our makeup done too by Chanel so that was fun.”

Alyssa’s mother, Jennifer Clemente, commented about the event and the fashions, “I loved it and the neutral colors. It really gets them ready for the season.”

Looking forward to prom, Alexandra Kariyannis said her school, Plainview-JFK, was going for “red carpet looks with long black, or red dresses.” Her aunt Roxana Kariyannis enjoyed the event adding that she “hoped to see creative dresses” and something new for this year.

High school junior Nyasha Jackson has a definite prom style in mind nothing short of a diva. “I want the Lady Gaga look with poofy sleeves and that shoots out at the waist in cream or white.”

As for colors for this season Whitman High School seniors Anna Robinson was going with navy, Cara Totorice planned on gold, and Kaitlin Shepherd black and white. 

The winning team of the evening was St. Dominic. Seniors Amanda Exler, Brittney Vixama, and Malijha Headley won a $50 gift certificate to Bloomingdale’s, a certificate for a mini spa day from Cactus Salon as well as free limo service by Ultimate Class Limousine Service. All the girls received a goody bag filled with Lancôme makeup products and salon services from Cactus Salon as well as 20% off their Bloomingdale’s shopping spree for the day.

St. Dominic senior Amanda Exler said that this event was “a great experience. Being a high school senior and going away to school next year I was excited to do this with two of my friends.”