Ushering in prom season in style

Students put on a fashion show to show off formal wear, By Keri Rand Wantage — Vibrant colors, patterned dresses and gold accents wowed the audience at the ninth annual Prom Fashion Show at High Point Regional High School on Friday, March 5. Hosted by the current junior class, the event was a fundraiser for their prom that’s more than a year away. The festive show brought to the stage a variety of up-to-date prom outfits for girls and guys. Student emcees, seniors Kristen Penhaker and Ian Blanco began the evening by modeling prom-wear from the event’s biggest sponsors, Donna’s Boutique in Hamburg and Nae Tone’s Tuxedos of Lafayette. Kristen wore one of the season’s top styles — a long mermaid cut gown with a black bodice and black and white print skirt. Ian sported one of Nae Tone’s classic black tuxedos with a fun twist — a camouflage vest, tie and pocket square. The fashion show presented 36 female and 13 male student models from the junior and senior classes. Each couple entered as if with their prom dates, and were greeted by loud, excited cheers from the audience. The couples modeled their ensembles separately at opposite ends of the stage and then met in the middle to put on a little performance — clapping routines or dance moves — and the female model received a colorful carnation. Local supporters Besides the formal wear, local salons were able to showcase their artistry as well. Female models also modeled the latest in prom hairstyles. Participating salons included Shear Intensity of Sussex, Hilites of Sussex, Becky’s Hair Therapy of Wantage, The Cutting Crew of Wantage, The Cutting Crew of Newton and A New Look of Newton. Coming into the show, patrons received a raffle ticket, program, a coupon for Nae Tone’s Tuxedos of Lafayette and complimentary copy of Prom Time magazine. Later on, there were door prizes, including tanning certificates and products from The Tannery of Hamburg, Tan Perfect of Sussex, and Riviera Tan of Newton; certificates for free corsages and boutonnieres from Flowers by Kuperus of Sussex; a gift basket from The Chocolate Goat of Lafayette; gift certificates for Synergy Dance Company of Newton and VIP Nails of Sussex; and a jewelry set from Premier Designs of Wantage. Also supporting the show was Joe’s Limousine’s, which had parked models of its limos including a party bus, outside of the auditorium. The company promised that for every 10 bookings made the night of the fashion show, it would donate a $500 scholarship to one of the students who rented one of their limos.