THE PROM IN POP CULTURE

The glamour, glitz and sheer excitement of school formals, or proms as they say in the US, have led to some very memorable movies

FROM Lamborghinis to Louboutins, the once-humble high school formal is now all business.

It rakes in $3.5 billion across the nation each year with girls spending an average $1500 on preparations for the night.

Chevron Island formal wear store Studio Minc catapulted into the niche market just three years ago and now dresses thousands of girls each year in gowns that sell for more than $850 a pop.

Owner Madeleine Walkinshaw said girls were buying dresses year-round.

“The formal is what these girls are thinking about from the first day of high school,” Ms Walkinshaw said.

“It’s their one big chance to show off – it’s like their own fairytale. We had someone recently buy her gown two years in advance.

“Another busked in Surfers and brought in all of her coinage to pay for the dress.

“We get brides in occasionally but the formal girls are so much more intense.”

But it’s not all about the dress – it’s hair and makeup, shoes, accessories, tan and nails, teeth whitening and eyelash extensions which can raise the total cost of the evening into the thousands.

And that doesn’t include the school-issued ticket cost and elaborate forms of transport.

A spokesman for Gold Coast Exotic Sports Car Hire said Maseratis, Ferraris and Lamborghinis were popular.

“Prices can range anywhere from $250 to $1200 for formal car hire,” he said.

“The sports cars are very popular. For a lot of guys it’s their dream and the formal is that opportunity.”

It doesn’t help that formal – or prom as it’s known in the US – is portrayed in film and TV as the amalgamation of the entire high school experience.

It’s only one night out of five years of senior school, but the movies tell us that it means much more.

Here we break down some of our favourite pop culture prom scenes.

1. GREASE

The movie that immortalised the hand jive was among the first teen flicks to highlight the “senior dance”. In this classic musical, Sandy (Aussie girl Olivia Newton-John) has an identity crisis when she falls for bad boy Danny (John Travolta). With the help of several musical numbers – Hopelessly Devoted To You, We Go Together, Summer Nights – and a major makeover (think skin-tight spandex), Sandy gets her happy ending. NewtonJohn was actually 29 when she portrayed the high school teen, one of her costars was even 32.

2. MEAN GIRLS

Yes, the high school dance was called a Spring Fling rather than a prom, but we get it.

Lindsay Lohan’s character Cady Heron strolls in late to the dance with her Mathletes championship medallion only to find out that she’s been crowned Spring Fling queen. Cady uses her acceptance speech as a moment to reflect on all the damage caused by high school cliques.

3. PRETTY IN PINK

In this iconic 1980s film, Molly Ringwald as Andie and Andrew McCarthy as Blane fall in love but don’t actually make it to the prom together. Blane ditches Andie after they struggle with class differenc es – he comes from a wealthy family, she doesn’t. But it isn’t the love story that steals the show – it's that pink dress. Earlier in the year, Ringwald opened up on the iconic frock. “Although the film’s costume designer, Marilyn Vance, did a fantastic job of interpreting my personal style for my character, Andie, I loved the beautiful vintage pieces she sourced as well as the outfits she designed, and kept almost everything after the film was over — there’s one piece I didn’t keep: the prom dress,” she said.

“To the best of my knowledge, it’s locked away in a wardrobe vault at the studio. At least I hope it is.

“If I’d had it my way, I would have burned the dress on the Paramount back lot as soon as they yelled the last “Cut! Print!”

4. HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 3

The third instalment in the High School Musical franchise shone a spotlight on prom – even featuring an elaborate songand-dance of the teens getting ready for the big night.

During the Night to Remember number, the seniors daydream about the big dance, declaring that the evening will be one to last forever.

The Disney film follows Troy (Zac Efron) and Gabriella (Vanessa Hudgens), and the rest of the gang as they struggle to face the prospect of graduating and growing up.

5. GOSSIP GIRL

Set on the Upper East Side of New York City, it’s only appropriate the Park Avenue princess Blair Waldorf donned an elaborate Marchesa gown.

The prom is a decidedly black-tie affair for New York’s elite and her black dress with its gold brocade peacock was a perfect fit.

“Fit for a queen! This black Marchesa dress reminded me of a turn-of-the-century, highsociety ball gown. Perfect for crowning Ms Blair queen,” the show’s costume designer Eric Daman said.

“A Simon Tu tiara tops it off with gleaming crystal rosettes.”