From being held in school gymnasiums in the 30’s all the way to Susan Ford’s prom at the White House in the 70’s, there were some leapfrogging developments. (Let’s not confuse organizational leapfrogging with the leap frog game; the latter is not allowed by the Prom etiquette :-)). Since that time, location wise, Proms got to be also organized in hotels and clubs.
From the perspective of the dress code though, there was less progress, it kind of remained stiff, maybe for good reasons: a tuxedo for boys and a long, laced dress for girls brings the graduation line closer to the realm of good manners, courtesy and possibly man- and woman-hood. Thus, not much leapfrogging developments here. But then there are differences in the Prom dress code. For girls, there could be booklets with 21 pages of no, no, no cleavage, below the navel, above the knee respectively, etc. However, colors are welcome for the girls, as well as broideries, laces, chiffons and shantungs. For boys, there are no limitations on how much black they can wear, as briefly described in just one paragraph of the said booklet.
So, what are we going to do with the prom costume in the second decade of this Millennium? Say, we take a leap across the line between serious and fun and look at what the masquerade ball costumes could do for both the Prom and After-Prom. Maybe one for both, add a mask for the latter? For boys, there are a lot of no-blending-in, standing-out prom jackets, even some historic and cosplay coats. For girls, anything from the masquerade mysterious gothic, to jolly fairy, Victorian overcoats would work without breaking the code. And like always in life, the devil is in the details, underneath; like a garter for girls and a tattoo for either girls or boys. One may not be able to show them off at the Prom but hey, there’s life thereafter, at the After-Prom. Thus, whatever you choose could be on all snapchats, facebooks and the likes of the social media. Also, Mrs. Robinson may show up for The Graduate. Too bad Mr. Robinson doesn’t play yet in a movie but he may show up at the After-Prom nevertheless.
Last but not least, remember that there could always be a back-up plan in the trunk of the car. A morph suit perhaps, good to wear for leap, bump or morph dancing; make it for the whole group or pair it up with your date. Make the leapfrogging happen with the dress code. Go the way of the masquerade prom fun costumes, they all come with a life warranty for fun.
