Prom. A once in a lifetime opportunity that produces countless memories for years to come. The price however can be crippling. That’s why Fairy Goodmothers has chosen to lighten the load on students and help supply free prom dresses for those who need them.
Prom can be a beautiful thing! However, not all students can afford things like dress shopping and need to take advantage of opportunities such as this. Lancaster High School senior Judy Brown said that she likes the idea of a free dress.
“Having the opportunity to save some money on a dress I’m probably only going to wear a few times is a blessing and being able to do this means I can give or lend the dress out to someone else who needs or wants it,” said Brown.
“While I understand why prom and dance dresses are so expensive, it’s hard to grapple with the fact that there aren’t many opportunities for students to cost-effectively make it to prom, and that upsets me,” she said.
The fact that Fairy Goodmothers has dresses to give away is a dream come true for some students.
“I’m just a 16-year-old female, I don’t know what the cost of materials, labor, and whatever goes into producing dresses does,” said LHS junior Paige Hughes.
“All I know is that it’s a problem when I don’t get to experience going into a dress store and trying on a bunch of dresses with my mom since I know the price tag will say a minimum of $150,” she said.
Fairy Goodmothers started Cinderella’s Closet Boutique, the very first prom pop-up in central Ohio.
“Fairy Goodmothers was started in 2005 when a group of friends on a girls trip to Chicago saw advertisements for The Glass Slipper Project, which gave students in need prom dresses and accessories,” said Katie Persico, President of Fairy Goodmothers.
“Intrigued, they sought out more information on it and thought to themselves – hey, we can do that here for students in Central Ohio.”
So how and where do the dresses come from? The dresses are sourced from many different places and people around the state.
“We get dresses in a variety of ways. The majority of dresses we have on the floor come from community donations – people from all over Central Ohio drop off new or gently used dresses in current styles,” said Persico.
“The dresses that we get range in price or value anywhere from $75-$500 and up; just like you would see in any store,” she said.
With pop up shops such as Fairy Goodmothers it can make the stress of prom much more bearable for those who wish to attend.
The boutique is located at (7227 N. High Street, Worthington, OH. If dresses are still needed after the boutique is closed, LHS students who may need a prom dress can also check out Gusto’s Closet, the free student clothing store at Stanbery Career Center.
