Haily Marker travels to Windsor to shop for her prom dress this year. Excited, she parks her car and strolls into the store to shop away with a budget of 200 dollars. After taking a look around, Haily picks out a few dresses to be helped with in the fitting rooms. Finally, finding the sparkly, elegant dress she loves, she glances at the price tag. Taken back with shock, Haily reads, ‘500 dollars’ Seriously? It was cute but not 500 dollars cute.
“Prom” is a shortened term for “promenade,” referring to a formal dance. Prom this year at MCHS is on April 25, and attending students are greatly looking forward to it. Paired with the excitement though, comes an expense.
“Even though I have spent a lot this year,” senior Haily Marker says, “I’m still excited for the night.”
For girls attending, as if prom tickets didn’t already cost 100 dollars, the prom dress market size was valued at USD 14.81 billion in 2024. The market is projected to grow from USD 15.54 billion in 2025 to USD 22.56 billion by 2032 according to Fortune Business Insights.
However, on average, any girl will spend about 400–1000 dollars and possibly even more, on their big night with all the abovementioned costs, including prom tickets, their dress, heels, nails, hair, jewelry, accessories and other beauty products.
“Between both my sister and I,” junior Layla Duebel says, “we’ve already spent around 2000 dollars.”
If you’re going with a partner, along with those costs come “Promposals” and bouquets, then boutonnieres and corsages.
“Already, I’ve spent around 300-400 dollars,” junior Devin Elbert says, “It’s a whole lot of money for only one night.”
There are many ways to save money for prom by maybe re-wearing a pair of old dress shoes or even doing your hair and makeup yourself. For girls, another good option would be looking at discount dresses.
“I bought my dress at the Gipper outlet this year, which definitely helped me save a couple dollars,” sophomore Ella Synek says. “It looks just like one I would buy at full price from Gipper Prom.”
Even though prom is a very special night in every high schoolers experience, the prices tend to be outrageous. Every prom season expenses rise, and while it may be worth the price now, it might not be in the future years to come. This could also prevent students from even being able to afford to go at all.
“I hope for the amount we’ve all spent that this is worth it,” Duebel says. “I guess we’ll find out.”
No matter how you prom, the formal dance is all about fun and celebrating your last few years of high school. While you should have a good night, you should be smart about your spending.
After her nail appointment, Haily and her friends get ready for the night. She does her makeup and hair. Then puts on her dress, heels and accessories. Despite her stress, she knows she must go into this night with an optimistic attitude. Let’s make this worth it.