Having had a wonderful dinner with our co-chaperones, we moved on to the Aviation High School prom. We parked right outside the the venue so that I wouldn’t have far to walk in my very commuter-unfriendly heels and fishtail maxi skirt. The EMP (Experience Music Project), is a very cool venue, so much so that there were two high school proms there last Saturday night. Greg and I arrived before Meredith and Nik, and ended up outside the door of the wrong prom! So back to the other side of the building we shuffled, where we saw Meredith and Nik and jumped straight to the front of the queue (one of the fringe benefits of being chaperones).
The venue was fabulously decorated and the music was pumping. Light refreshments were served all evening and there were plenty of places to sit both around and above the dance floor on a second level. But you know, teenagers don’t sit. They dance! So the chairs were filled with chaperones and teachers checking out the dance floor. Nik made his earnest chaperone rounds while Greg snapped photos. Meredith and I sat on chairs and yakked ALL evening about what the teens wore and what was happening on the dance floor. Brilliant.
It was extremely fun to see the prom ensembles, and there was quite a range. Some were very elaborately turned out, rivaling A-list actors on the red carpet. While others kept their attire more relaxed and casual. Every colour of the rainbow was represented, as was every length and silhouette of dress. Long, short, very short, sparkly, beaded, fitted, frilly, fishtail, ruffled, sheath, flared, strapless, sleeved, bright, pastel, black, white, nude, patterned, plain, ornate – you name it and we saw it. From the most elegant of long gowns, to fun short tutus, straight sheaths, and knitted ruffle beach dresses. Some gals impressively made their own dresses.
The assortment of footwear first took me by surprise. But after a while it all made sense. Half the gals wore casual sandals, ballet flats, Converse sneakers, Tom Toms and rubber flip flops WITH their fancy dresses. The venue forbade bare feet, which meant no taking off of shoes on the dance floor. And because they danced all night, they wore their dancing shoes! Clever.
The blokes looked adorable. Most of them checked in their blazers and stuck to shirt, tie, and waistcoat. Black and white reigned supreme, but the odd bit of blue, grey, burgundy and purple peeked through too. Most wore blacks shoes, but Converse sneakers were not uncommon.
As the gals danced the night away, there was lots of hitching, pulling and tugging of dresses. I totally remember doing that at my own High School dance because wearing a fancy gown for the first time is highly confining. I couldn’t wait to get out of my frock and into a comfy outfit at the after party.
The juniors and seniors had a wonderful time at what was a well organized and fabulous event. Surprisingly, they knew some of the songs that were way before their time, and danced to them like pros. We, on the other hand, hardly recognized the DJ’s music apart from a few classics. Clearly, we’re getting old.
Big thanks to Meredith and Nik for inviting us to our first prom. It was great fun! We are left with amazing memories of well turned out high schoolers having the very best time.
