I have very little information about this; I atteented the “senior prom” on May 6, 1967, for Redondo Union High School in Redondo Beach, CA. I had no date (story of my life) and stayed on my for the opening ceremonies. Hardly memorable. 
But now, I’d like some answers about contemporary proms:
- Do girls wear outfits that look like what their mothers wore under the prom gown? (ref. humorist Jan King in Killer Bras)
- Is the music, or the equivalent, played at overpowering volume, with lyrics which, like the alleged prom outfits, are designed to whet the kids’ sexual appetites? (King again)
- Is it reality or folklore that, when the prom is over, the kids head for the nearest isolated spot to park and lose their virginity? (I got this one from my high-school government teacher, some two months before the 1967 Coed Ball)
The dreadful mental picture I get about modern proms suggests I was right not to socialize or have children who would be going to those proms.
Excuse me–stayed ONLY for the opening ceremonies. :o
Yes to all of those.
Prom is big business, right up there with weddings.
A senior girl who works with us as part of her HS curriculum did this for her prom last week (and she’s not the daughter of the local orthodontist, just a “normal” kid:
Ordered her dress from Canada (rather than Paris? I dunno) and half the fabric was missing – the part around her midriff.
Hair and nails done, as well as several tanning sessions so she wouldn’t look fishy-white
Professional photographer to take before and after pictures
Flew to Minneapolis in a chartered plane for breakfast after the prom
I don’t think she had any virginity to lose, but if you want, I’ll ask her.
So far, I’m vindicated. Not that the notion of businesses pulling down the bucks for proms helps matters any.
I inadvertantly got sucked into the prom phenomenon - I had a foreign-exchange student boyfriend, and I felt obligated to show him a good, old-fashioned American prom. I spent:
- $215 on the dress - alterations included
- $15 on the boutineer
- $100 on undergarments - special bra, new undies, pantyhose (the bar was $60 alone)
- $35 on shoes that I have never worn again
- $10 on gas - my friends and I saved money by going in our yucky cars. It’s really fun to show up at the hotel and give a 1984 Ford to the valet
- $100 on tickets
- $50 on dinner afterward.
Can you imagine? I honestly do not know WHAT I was thinking, except that I wanted it to be wonderful, and it was. I am SO glad we did not spend $250 on a limo!!
My advice: have a cookout instead. Much more fun and less expensive. You can even make your guests dress up too.
P.s. The music was not that sexual - everyone was on the dance floor the entire night and the most risque song was “My name is” by eminem. And no one I know lost their virginity, although a couple non-virgins did the nasty with their dates. Same as every other party!