Prom

Prom

May 22nd, 2017 by Lainey Smith

Prom is a weird tradition it's been around forever, but where did prom even originate? Prom traditions go back a lot further than I expected. The norms of prom have changed a lot throughout the years. With all the social norms of prom we know now such as fake tans, crazy hair, expensive dresses, fancy shoes, and a lot of rhinestones it's hard to believe that prom had good intentions in the past. Way back in the late 1800s prom or better known as promenade back then was held at colleges and universities to promote social etiquette and manners in each year's graduating class. Which is kind of ironic considering how prom has been in the recent years.

Over the years prom got pushed down to being a high school tradition with fancy dresses, music, and lots of dancing. By the 1930s, prom had become as American as baseball and apple pie. The light refreshments and dancing under paper streamers was switched out with fancy dinners and hotel or country club venues. The best venue in the history of prom was 1975 when Susan Ford's class held their prom at the white house. Of course this was only possible because she was the daughter of President Ford who was in office at that time.

The venues and traditions aren't the only thing about prom that changes throughout the years. Fashion changed a lot. In the 1940s prom dresses were long dresses with capped sleeves and light fabric. By the 1950s prom dresses were mid-calf length dresses with ruffles and full skirts. The 1960s were a little bit of a change. Most notably the waistline is a little higher, dresses slimmed down, and hair got puffier. By the 1990s early 2000s dresses were slim with thin spaghetti straps. Further into the 2000s high neck dresses become in style. From the 2000s to 2010 the dresses become more colorful and detailed. After 2010 the "in style" became crazy colorful dresses that look like a highlighter exploded on you. Now we are to present day dresses where the style "less is more" is the most popular. Prom throughout the years has evolved a lot but it's still a highly popular event that many students look forward to.

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