Published: February 08, 2008 12:05 pm            

Swap 'til you drop

Dress sale helps ease high cost of prom

ELK RAPIDS, Mich. — The Elk Rapids Historic Township Hall has served as a social and political center for 125 years.



Now the elegant brick building with the mansard roof and tall, arched windows is being transformed into an upscale resale boutique for prom-bound teenagers.



The hall will host the second annual Dress Swap and Shop from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. The sale is a fund-raiser for Project Graduation 2008, an Elk Rapids High School parent organization putting on this year's all-night senior party. Organizers hope it will raise about $2,000 for the party, while helping to make the cost of going to the prom more affordable.



"If you have checked the price of formal wear these days, $300 is not an unusual amount to pay for one dress," said swap sale organizer Cynthia Mayeaux of Williamsburg. "I think that along with being a fun way to raise some money, it is going to be of help to many girls in our communities."



The event works like this: Girls donate formal dresses they no longer want or sell them on consignment for a 70/30 split. Then they shop for like-new dresses -- many for under $100 and some for as little as $50 - from the hundreds displayed by size or color. The money they make from the sale of their old dresses offsets the cost of their purchases.



Last year's inaugural sale featured some 300 dresses and accessories, from short, flirty frocks and ballroom and pageant gowns to shoes and jewelry, said Deb Gamelin, who came up with the idea after attending a school-based sports equipment swap. Held in the middle school lunchroom and kitchen, it attracted girls from as far away as Kalkaska and Traverse City.



Some shopped on their own, others came in groups or with their moms, and a few came with their boyfriends, said sale volunteer Jami Gray. Her tuxedoed son, Jason, handed out discount coupons for tuxedo rentals in exchange for a free rental come prom time.



"What happens is a lot of times on spring break, girls go down to Florida or the Bahamas and look for dresses. Or they go on these buying sprees in Chicago or New York," Gamelin said. "So we wanted to have it before prom or Snowcoming, which is the winter dance."



Mary Toteff of Elk Rapids was looking for a special dress for her senior prom with date Kris Sundberg without breaking the bank.



"Usually I'd go shopping ahead of time, but if I didn't find anything I liked or if it was too expensive, I would borrow from a friend," said Toteff, 18, now a freshman at Albion College. "So when the opportunity came up for the dress swap it was kind of the same thing, but it was going for a better cause and there was a bigger selection."



After trying on several favorites, Toteff fell in love with a black halter dress featuring a beaded and embroidered flower design. Though she paid under $100 for it, she estimates it cost about $200 new.



"To spend that much on a dress that just gets worn once and then is hung in the closet and maybe never worn again, that just doesn't make sense," she said.



The dress may make a return appearance at this year's swap sale; Toteff's mother, Babe Toteff, said she plans to offer it on consignment or sell it back for a nominal sum.



Gamelin bought five dresses for daughter Mary, 14, who wore two of them at weddings last summer. Now an Elk Rapids High School freshman, Mary will wear another at the school's Snowcoming dance Feb. 9.



"I have two daughters," Gamelin said. "I spend a lot of money on their dresses, and they're dresses they wear just one time. With three or four dances a year, even if it's just one daughter, that's 12 dresses they need" in the course of a high school career.



Mayeaux hopes to build on the sale's success by promoting this year's event at high schools as far away as Grand Rapids and Mackinaw City and on teen-friendly networking sites MySpace and Facebook. Price tags will note the origin of the dresses so that girls can avoid wearing a dress to the prom that someone else at their school wore last year, she said.



To give the sale more upscale appeal, she moved it to the Elk Rapids Historic Township Hall, which is waiving the rental fee, according to Elk Rapids Township Clerk Carolyn Boals. Shoppers will be greeted by romantic music and tuxedoed valets. Inside, flowers and balloons will adorn the high-ceilinged room and the ornately framed stage will be transformed into a giant dressing area with mirrors and attendants.



Other perks include a "cookie cafe" with free refreshments, hair and makeup demonstrations, discount coupons for tuxedo rentals, and a dollar raffle for dresses, cosmetics and other prizes.



One of those attending will be Stephanie Carey, tutor for the Students in Transition Empowerment Program at Traverse City west senior and junior high schools. Carey is coordinator of a similar effort at the high school and said she plans to get tips for improving on last year's event.



"We asked for donations of dresses in the spring and we got over 100," she said, adding that local parents and businesses jumped on the bandwagon with donations of tuxedo rentals, corsages, brand new dresses and even money for a pre-prom dinner. "Then girls came and shopped for dresses for free. I had every single type of student shopping or looking."



Left-over dresses were sold for $5 each in the fall to benefit the student assistance program, she said. Dresses remaining from that event were donated to the Women's Resource Center.



While dress swap sales might not have stores scrambling to compete, parents and organizers see them as one way to fight the high cost of attending prom, which can spiral upwards of $1,000 with all the trimmings.



"I'm a poor woman and just renting a tux for my son sometimes is a hardship," Mayeaux said. "I can't imagine having to buy dresses for homecoming, prom and Snowcoming."



Marta Hepler Drahos writes for Traverse City (Mich.) Record-Eagle.

        

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