Pop-up boutique takes financial strain out of prom dress for P.E.I. students

High school prom can be an expensive affair for students and their families — the tux rentals, the limo rides, the photographer, the hair and makeup.

Then there's the dress that can cost hundreds to thousands of dollars.

But one P.E.I. organization is helping to ease that part of prom's financial burden with a free dress boutique.

Cornerstone Baptist Church held its annual Beautiful You prom dress pop-up at Montague Regional High School on Saturday.

Keilee Scanlon, a Grade 12 student at the school who will attend prom in June, said finding a free dress can be an important self-esteem boost for her and her classmates.

Keilee Scanlon, a Grade 12 student at Montague Regional High School, was looking for a prom dress that was the right fit at the pop-up boutique on Saturday. (Stacey Janzer/CBC)

"It means not having to worry about feeling beautiful and not having the money to support that hope," Scanlon said.

"I think girls would just say they didn't want to go to prom, when in reality they can't afford it. They'd be missing out on something they only have once in their life."

Cornerstone received over 120 prom dress donations to send to the Montague boutique, which ran over two days in the school's gym.

The church's Cornwall chapter began the Beautiful You initiative in 2018, and it expanded to the eastern P.E.I. community in the years since.

Hannah VanderZwaag, the Montague site co-ordinator for the boutique, says it's heartwarming to see students and families who are so excited to find the perfect prom dress for free. (Stacey Janzer/CBC)

Hannah VanderZwaag, the Montague site co-ordinator, said the event has seen 460 prom dresses given away over the past few years.

"Our goal was just one dress — if we could give one girl one dress, we were happy," she said. "We had 13 girls go home [Friday] with 13 dresses, so that was awesome. We're hitting goals left, right and centre."

'It all adds up'

In addition to the dresses in a variety of sizes and styles, the boutique also includes accessories and shoes.

At the end of Saturday's boutique, the organizers were also drawing five names to receive free hair styling, makeup and photography on their big day.

"Prom is expensive and we think … it's the dress, but we forget about the shoes and the nails and the hair and the photography and the makeup," VanderZwaag said. "It all adds up, so it's just nice to be able to take away the financial stress of the dress."

Beautiful You is not just for students who need financial help with their dress. VanderZwaag said some prom attendees simply don't want to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on a dress they may only wear once.

'It means not having to worry about feeling beautiful,' says Scanlon, who will celebrate her high school prom in June. (Stacey Janzer/CBC)

Scanlon, who will attend Holland College in the fall, was still on the hunt for her perfect dress Saturday, but was confident she'd find the right fit at the boutique.

"I found my date but I haven't found my dress," she said with a laugh.

For VanderZwaag, the fulfilment comes in watching the reaction when students say yes to a free dress.

"They were so excited, you could just see it on their face. It was exciting to see their family and friends' reaction too," she said. "I think they just felt a big weight come off their chest, like 'I found my dress, I feel beautiful.'

"They looked stunning and we really wanted to support them in that."