‘Girlie girls’: Glamour returns to prom fashion

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Erica Fisher is wearing her hair up to the prom to draw attention to her white-mocha strapless ballerina gown. Her friend, Megan Flynn, plans to have loose curls falling around the halter top of her slinky lime green frock.

Despite their different looks, both self-proclaimed ‘‘girlie-girls’’ will be at the height of 2007 prom fashion.

Long or short, puffy or slinky, bright or dark, almost nothing is ‘‘out’’ for prom this year. As long as the girl wearing it feels like a diva, it’s in.

‘‘One of the major trends in fashion right now is a return to femininity, a return to glamour,’’ said Macy’s spokeswoman Elina Kazan. ‘‘It’s all about being pretty, feeling pretty ...a resurgence of the feminine.’’

Kazan said that bright colors and short hemlines are in style this year but the dress will depend on the personal style of the girl and the feel of the prom.

‘‘I think it’s more going to be a girl is going to want to really glamour herself up,’’ Kazan said. ‘‘Think of the glamour goddesses of the ’40s and ’50s.’’

Fisher, 16, a junior at Carver High School, channeled that classic feel and look while shopping for her dress.

‘‘I don’t know. I just really love the classic look, that old vintage style,’’ she said. ‘‘It’s really simple but elegant at the same time.’’

Flynn tried on Fisher’s dress first, but didn’t like the fit at all.

‘‘Then she tried it on and it was like it was made for her,’’ she said of Fisher. ‘‘Hers is more vintagey and mine is more glamorous.’’

Kazan says that this range of styles is what prom is all about this year. While some girls may love the classic princess look, it’s comforting for them to know that they don’t have to be quite so formal and can funk it up a bit, she said.

‘‘I’m more the preppy style, I like a lot of stuff that’s funky. It’s got to have an edge to it,’’ Flynn, 15, said.

But that edge for Flynn, like most other girls this year, is coming from the sexiness of glamour, not skin.

‘‘If they show any skin it’s in a tasteful way, maybe through those cut-out type of dresses,’’ Kazan said, referring to gowns that have a strip of fabric missing near the midsection or in the back. ‘‘They are finding that leaving something to the imagination is a lot more sexy and a lot more elegant.’’

As far as accessories go, Kazan said that elegance and glamour will carry right over.

Fisher is going for a simple strand of pearls to complete her classic look while Fisher won’t wear a necklace because of the flashy bodice of her dress and is opting instead for bright, dangly earrings.

She’s also going to be wearing strappy silver heels, following the metallic trend this year.

‘‘The one thing that always remains constant,’’ Kazan said. ‘‘They always want to look the best, always, and they always want to look beautiful.’’

‘‘The only major trend for the guys this year is brighter colors showing through in their vests and ties,’’ said Mr. Tux sales associate Garrett Murphy, who works at the Hanover store.

‘‘For guys, it doesn’t change every year, just every decade or so,’’ he said.

In addition to color, he said many boys are going for the dapper look in pinstriped tuxes as opposed to the classic black. But when it comes to prom, everyone knows that the girl is the star of the show.

‘‘They are basically going with whatever their dates are telling them to do,’’ he said.

Eleni Himaras may be reached at ehimaras@ledger.com .

Copyright 2007 The Patriot Ledger
Transmitted Tuesday, April 24, 2007

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