Cost of Prom

How much are students willing to spend for prom?

By Nicole Watson

After two years of COVID ruining senior year, students of Arroyo High School are finally able to have prom. Since this is one of the few events that have been approve for upperclassmen this year. Many went all out spending well over $1000 or found their ways to spend less than $400 including tickets to have a great prom within a reasonable budget. Even though prom are a fun and expensive night. We decided to find the student who spent the most and the minimum amount of money and compare them and their experiences.

“Crazy, Lit, Movie”, as senior Kyle Sagun Gomez describes his prom night. This is Gomez’s last year of whigh school and he wanted to make the most of prom only by spending around $300 and not breaking the bank just to have fun.

The first question asked to Gomez, “What inspired your outfit?” He talks about not having an idea of what to wear or what color he had in mind, but all he knew was he wanted to dye his hair, so prom gave him the excuse too. Gomez ended up deciding to go to the Men’s Warehouse to look around and pick out whatever he thought looked nice.

“I went to the Men’s Warehouse and kinda just looked at stuff and tried some things on. When we were about to leave we saw this really really nice purple shirt and then there was this tie we also saw. They went well together and then I chose dark gray pants and a coat because they went well with purple. I also dyed my hair purple for prom both to match and because I wanted to actually dye my hair” Gomez said.

The next question asked was, to break down the outfit and the budget they had. Kyle SagunGomez got a deal on his suit looking around at Mens warehouse. He also mentioned that he didn’t exactly have a set budget but he also didn’t want to spend the most on his prom outfit.

“My suit and pants were bundled for $100 something, the shirt was $20, and the tie was $30, my shoes were from Walmart for $30. Got to save somewhere you know. No budget but not too crazy. I do think I overspent on the coat and pants, but the others were worth it.” He said.

The next question asked was, “If you could or would do prom again, would you and what would you do differently?” Gomez, definitely would do prom again and will plan to spend less on his outfit and decide to ask someone to prom.

“Yes I would do prom again but I’d need to have my friends there because they definitely made the experience, I would have spent less on my coat and pants. Also I wish I had asked someone to prom because it was my last one.”

Last question asked is “What was your most memorable moment at prom?’’

“My most memorable moment was my knee popping and then I had to take an hour break from dancing. I danced too hard but it was definitely worth it and I went back after my knee felt better.” He said.

The same questions were asked to see how many students are willing to go all out for prom with a much bigger budget to make the most of their night.

“Energetic, enjoyable and satisfactory. “ Mayo Jack Junior at AHS described prom as they decided to drop around $1000 for prom.

The same first question is asked to Jack, “What inspired your outfit?” Jack is a person of color and is a part of the LBGTQ+ community. With unique inspiration they decided to go with a vintage 60-70’s vibe, with an elegant dress.

“I wanted to look elegant and slightly vintage. I was thinking of something as elegant as the 1700’s, with a more modern look. And the dress has a vintage 60’s, elite person look to that, and to be a person of color and of the LGBTQ+ community, being able to take that power back and show that people like me can wear elite clothing.” Jack described. Jack spent over a grand for their whole prom experience. Breaking down each price of the piece of the outfit, it was almost $900 and not including the prom ticket, but they didn’t really have a budget. “Dress, Rin’s Bridal in San Carlos, CA. The total (for adjustments and stuff) was around $865, but the dress itself was $495, shoes from Bliss in Southland Mall, around $35, gloves from INVU in Southland Mall, about $10, capelet from Macy’s, $35 and jewelry from my grandma, free”. “I knew that I couldn’t go over an extravagant price per piece, but didn’t set a

budget.” Jack describes. The next question asked was, “if you could or would do prom again, would you and what would you do differently?” Jack, also said they definitely would do prom again and will plan things out more in depth, but also find more people to hang out with during prom.

“I am definitely going to try to go to prom next year, but maybe just plan a little earlier to make sure that things are set in stone. Also, to make a plan for what to do after. And just to make sure that I find someone or something to do while there because there were some times where I couldn’t have fun because everyone was dancing, while I needed to take a break and cool down. I also don’t dance for that long and if that is the only entertainment there, I will get bored quickly.” said Jack.

Last question asked is “What was your most memorable moment at prom?’’ Jack explained that they felt like there were no restrictions with being with their friends during prom.

“Eating an item, then dancing with a couple friends. I don’t normally dance, so it felt I could let go with them”

Photographer Nicole Watson CAMPUS 7