Fashion Garments

Two of the most important events in a senior’s high school life are prom and graduation. It’s usually the last school dance of the year and the last one graduating seniors will ever attend.

The prom originated in the late 1890s with the very first “promenade” and it has been a major dance event ever since.

In 2005, teenage girls spent about $4 billion and close to a million prom dresses were sold. There were 35 prom dress designers showing in major retail dress markets in the United States that year.

Today’s research shows that a teenage girl may spend up to $500 on a prom dress in 2009.

Saturday, Bridal Elegance in Ottawa and owner Jan Ferracuti kicked off of the prom dress season with appearances by Johnathan Kayne, one of televisions’ 2006 Project Runway finalists, Cassandra Ferrin from Bolingbrook and Miss Illinois High School America, Miss Illinois Galaxy 2009 Stephanie Daughenbaugh of Peru and Samantha Triani of Romeoville and winner of the Miss Illinois Junior Teen pageant.

“I’m happy to be here to offer help for girls looking for prom dresses,” Ferrin said. “Miss Illinois Junior Teen is a pretty new pageant. When I competed there were about 10 of us. I had a 15-minute interview with five judges and an on-stage walk-on in evening wear. This pageant will only grow more in popularity,” she said “and evening gowns are an important part of the event.”

Bridal Elegance holds more than 5,000 dresses designed by more than 100 designers, including Kayne.Dresses range in size from 0 to 34.

“We’ve been pretty busy in January so far but girls start looking for their prom dresses in December,” Ferracuti told The Times on Saturday. “By mid-May, most of our prom dresses are sold and actually, most girls have finished their prom shopping by April.”

“It’s all about the dress,” she added. “The dress is one of the most important ways to make prom an occasion that every woman will remember years from now. And every woman does remember the night of her prom. It’s a very important event in our lives.

“For the last three years, we’ve been selling what I call a sleeper dress that I originally didn’t think was great but it’s been selling unbelievably well. I can’t tell you why, but this is just the kind of dress that looks fantastic on everyone, no matter what the body type or weight. It’s been our number one selling dress for the last three years. I can’t show you one today because I believe we are all sold out.”

The average cost is anywhere from $300 to $400.

“The prom dress is getting expensive for all different reasons,” Ferracuti said. “But when you consider the fact that teenagers spend $100 for a pair of jeans or gym shoes, the price for a prom dress is not that expensive. And you have to remember that dress is building a memory for her.”

One of the reasons for what some people consider to be an expensive cost are that clients want more individual dresses. Designers are paid to create those new looks for every season. After the dresses are created, they are taken to fashion shows and promoted to bridal and other retail stores. The fact is that none of these dresses are mass- produced and that guarantees a unique look.

“Once a dress is sold, we register it to the girl’s school so that they are guaranteed no one else will be wearing her dress at the prom,” she said. “Of course, that means that we will need to know what school the girl will be attending the prom at.”

Vibrant jewel-tones are the season’s hot colors.

“We’ve sold a lot of prints,” Ferracuti continued. “I’m not talking about animal prints but more of the abstracts. This year’s dresses are long but we have sold a few short ones. But bright citrus colors like orange and green are selling very well. Purple, not the lighter lavender, is another hot color. Jonathan Kayne designed a dress for CoolBook and we placed an order for 36 dresses in a darker purple color. We’re also seeing a lot of that ’40s Hollywood vintage look as well.”

Miss Illinois Galaxy 2009 was at the store on Saturday to offer advice to girls looking for dresses.

“Any girl, whether competing in a pageant or going to prom, should wear a fun dress,” Daughenbaugh said. “Choose something that will make you feel special, help make your prom a night to really remember.”

Accessories can make or break the look of a dress and its wearer.

“If your dress is heavily beaded, you wouldn’t really want to wear a necklace,” Ferracuti said. “Actually, this year’s look doesn’t include necklaces. Big earrings and bracelets are this year’s accessory. If your choice is a beaded dress, we have different colored bead accessories that we can match to your dress choice.”

Shoes are very important to the look of the dress.

“Pageant shoes make the leg look fantastic,” Ferracuti continued. “The Jonathan Kayne Shoe Line has come out with a shoe design company and the shoes are just beautiful. They are perfect for prom.”

Ferracuti said that many mothers and daughters make a day of shopping for a prom dress.

Customers Laini Jones and Cathleen Vegter were spending the day with Vegter’s daughter, high-school senior Ashley, looking for that special prom dress.

“We’re from Morrison, about an hour and 45 minutes away,” said Cathleen. “We’re just making a day of it.”

“It will be kind of sad that this is our last year for doing this. I’m already wondering what we’ll do next year. The next big dress-shopping trip will probably be her wedding day when that happens,” she said with a laugh.

But the day isn’t just for mothers and daughters.

Keith Stoddard from Somonauk was walking down an aisle of citrus colored dresses, trying to keep up with his daughter Heather and her best friend, Christine McGuane.

“I’m just really the designated driver,” he said with a laugh. “Actually, I don’t get to spend as much time as I’d like with Heather so this is kind of a special day. She and Christina wanted to come down here and try on some dresses, so I offered to drive.”

Ferracuti and other associates at the store offered some general words of advice to customers.

“What looks great on a model will not always look good on you. It’s kind of like a hairstyle. Long hair on one person may not look good on someone else.

“Always try to be open to new styles or suggestions,” she continued. “Push the envelope a little and have some fun with your choice.”

But just because Ferracuti and her consultants are experts, that doesn’t mean they will make the choice for the customer.

“We listen to our customers,” she said. “They may ask our opinions and we will give them but really, it’s always, always the customer’s choice. They have to make that final decision based on how the dress makes them feel.”

A few words with Johnathan Kayne

Johnathan Kayne didn’t always want to be a fashion designer. Born in Nashville, Tenn., in 1979, his dream was be a veterinarian. But it didn’t work out that way.

One of his jobs in high school was as a sketch artist for a local boutique and that’s when his dreams changed. He graduated from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City in 2002 and won the Critic’s Choice for evening wear. After graduation, he opened a boutique, creating custom evening wear and ballroom dresses for Nashville’s country music industry.

In 2003 Kayne moved to Norman, Okla., and opened a pageant store. By 2005 his fashion career took off.

“I designed dresses for the five top teens, the first runner up and the winner in the Miss Oklahoma U.S.A. Pageant,” he said. “That was quite an honor.”

In May 2006 Kayne competed on Bravo’s TV show, Project Runway Season 3. As part of his competition he had to design a gown for Miss USA for her competition in the Miss Universe Pageant. He won. Tara Conner wore his dress creation when she won fourth place in the 2006 Miss Universe Pageant.

“I had no idea I could or would be so successful at designing,” he told The Times. “I’m just having so much fun doing what I love.”

Kayne now designs dresses for WOW Prom & Pageant in Atlanta and he has just started a Johnathan Kayne Shoe Line.

While promoting his prom dress and new shoe lines in Ottawa at Bridal Elegance on Saturday, Kayne talked about this year’s prom season fashion.

“The really hot color for the season is dark purple,” he said. “Actually, if you Google it, you’ll find it’s the No. 1 color for this year. But there are other colors that are equally hot like yellows and any citrus color. And of course pink is always in fashion.”

His prom dress advice was short and to the point.

“Whether you choose a long or short dress, make a big splash with your selection. Make sure you feel as good in it as you look. And don’t forget to accessorize.”
source:http://mywebtimes.com/archives/ottawa/display.php?id=395374