Cinderella Gets Eco-Friendly at Prom
by Kenny Luna, North Babylon, NY on 04. 9.07
Well, a pumpkin would be the perfect eco-friendly device to arrive in at the prom, but with the modern American teenager basically considering it a birthright to arrive in an oversized vehicle that sucks down fossil fuels at an amazing rate and fits 15-20 of their closest friends [Well, that's carpooling, in a way -Ed.], I'm betting that's not happening any time soon... Though there is a movement afoot to trend towards an earth-friendlier prom via the prom dress. That ubiquitous of early summer fashion pieces worn on average for just one evening, and when coupled with shoes and the appropriately gaudy accessories leads to a bill of about $500 for the average teen.
Of course, when the night is over and the dress is now considered pre-worn, it usually does not have the luxury of disappearing. Instead, it gets shoved in the back of the closet until someone decides to get rid of it, and then off it goes to sit at the local landfill. Now it appears there is a better way... A company called Passenger Pigeon is probably one of many that have put out a line of dresses produced in North America, and when you consider the facts that because the shell of their little black dress is made of 100 per cent bamboo and the lining is 100 per cent silk, the material is biodegradable. Their formal dresses retail for approximately $200, and as co-designer Wendy Traas says "the dresses can be worn by women when they become older than 17." Hmmm.... Now there's an earth friendly trend!
I've always thought that if you bought old stretch limos and used them as a daily taxi service for commuters to get to train stations from home, you could mass-move as many people as a van, but it would be a helluva lot more popular. Stretches are hard to get in and out of, though, or so I'm told.
hard to get in/out and hard to park.
At least the man's side of prom makes more sense. Everything is rented and then reused. Nothing disposable, only wearable once, and it shows in the price too. Horray men's fashion.
You know, there was a time here in the west when women even wore their WEDDING dresses more than once, but that was before the gowns became poofy meringues covered with plastic pearls and made in sweatshops somewhere.
Limos as public transport aren't terribly practical, but the idea is still nice. Far more elegant than your typical van, at any rate.
where can i get one of those pink betsy johnson dresses for my prom?