As party season swings into high gear, economy prompts many to find less costly ways to celebrate
Beating prom prices by being a princess
They may dress like princesses, but these girls are being anything but extravagant this prom season. Kaelyn Sullivan and her friends at Amherst Central High School have decided to forgo fancy $200-plus dresses for their senior prom May 30 in the Statler Towers in downtown Buffalo. Instead, they plan to wear Disney princess costumes, each costing $40 to $60.
This is prom — recession style.
In Western New York and across the nation, students have scaled back in ways big and small to offset the financial burden on their parents. In years past, some teenagers spent upwards of $1,000 on this rite of passage. But this year, many are looking for ways to do prom on the cheap.
For Kaelyn and her friends, the answer was princess costumes they bought online.
“I think we look perfect,” said Kaelyn, 18, who modeled her shimmering, powder-blue Cinderella outfit this week for The Buffalo News.
Abbie Gowen, 17, said the girls — who have all been good friends for years—came up with the idea a couple of months ago.
“We decided we wanted to do something different and something that we could look back on,” said Abbie, a dead-ringer for Snow White in her yellow, blue and red getup, rosy cheeks and jet-black hair.
“Rather than spending $200 on a dress,” chimed in Caitlin Blujus, 18, who dresses as Belle from “Beauty and the Beast,” “these are costumes that we can jazz up in our own ways.”
The girls’ families haven’t been hard hit by the recession. No one had asked them to cut back on their special day.
All the emphasis on the faltering economy over the past year has raised their awareness about the costs of everything from dresses to college tuition.
“Our parents end up spending so much money,” Kaelyn said, “especially now that we’re going to college.”
“You’re there [at the prom] for two hours at the most,” said Meghan Murphy, 18, attired as Jasmine from “Aladdin.”
“Then you take your dresses off, [put on more casual outfits] and go do whatever you’re going to do,” Abbie added.
But more than being frugal, the girls really are looking forward to the splash they will make at their prom with their fanciful outfits.
“We’re kind of excited,” Kaelyn said. “We feel kind of different. It’s never been done before.”
Their parents are thrilled.
“We were in David’s Bridal the other day, and we were watching these moms purchase these dresses for $160, and I was like, ‘Caitlin, thank you,’ ” Colleen Blujus said about her daughter.
“It’s kind of false to say that people in Amherst can’t afford to go to a prom,” acknowledged Debbie Sullivan, Kaelyn’s mother. “It’s just a decision to do something that was different and fun and shows they’re really paying attention to how much money they’re spending.”
The girls have found other ways to cut back on expenditures and help others. They all participated in a fundraiser at the high school, selling candy bars to defray the costs of the prom tickets.
They also donated their old dresses to a charity auction so that girls that aren’t as fortunate can afford gowns.
“It’s a hard time for families with money, too,” Kaelyn said.
No one has canceled proms this year, but students have been finding all sorts of ways to cut back on costs.
At Lancaster High School, seniors have scaled back a bit on decorations and other “flair” for their prom and hired a more affordable photographer than ones used in previous years.
Businesses that rely on the prom have felt the pinch.
The hardest hit seem to be limousine companies, which are dealing with a double whammy: fewer customers plus a new 4 percent state sales tax on limousine rides, which will take effect June 1, right at the tail end of prom season.
“This year is just one of my worst years,” said Don Ernst, of ABC American Limousine, based in Amherst.
Customers who made reservations weeks ago are canceling or downsizing their groups. “We’re losing people left and right. . . . [Friday] we are booked up, although I had one that downsized. [Last] Saturday, I had a group that canceled a 10-passenger limo.”
Ernst said promgoers can get great deals on limos as a result of the recession.
“If they are smart, they will check around,” he said.
John Bialecki, one of the owners of Busy Bee Limousine in Niagara Falls, estimated business was down 40 percent this year from last prom season.
“We cut our prices,” he said. “Last year, we charged $65 a person. This year, I’ve been charging $45 a person. You have to in order to survive.”
Joe Spadaro, owner of S&S Limousines in Le Roy and Awesome Limousines in Buffalo, cut prices by 20 percent to 25 percent this prom season.
“It’s hurt,” he said. “But we’re making do.”
Beauty salons haven’t been hit quite as hard, but owners have noticed small changes.
“The only thing they might be skipping is booking someone to have their makeup done professionally,” said Andrea Gorczyka, manager of Excuria Salon & Spa in Williamsville.
Sandi Wallace, owner of Sandi’s Hair Studio in Lackawanna, said business has been about the same for girls seeking updos and other fabulous styles for their big night.
“Girls are girls,” Wallace said. “They are going to keep getting their hair done. . . . If someone is going to cut back, it’s not going to be on hair. Facials, manicures maybe. But they are always going to get their hair done.”
At thrift shops, where penny- pinching girls have flocked for bargains on secondhand gowns, business has increased.
An employee of the Salvation Army store in the Town of Tonawanda said the number of girls shopping for prom dresses has increased by 40 percent to 45 percent this year.
“They are looking for good, clean and cheap dresses,” said the worker, who declined to give his name. “Compared to a store, you are talking 50 [percent] to 75 percent off.”
News Staff Reporter Barbara O’Brien contributed to this report. mbecker@buffnews.com
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