Not your mother's prom

• Article
• Comments ()
• Click-2-Listen
• Videos

By

Sharon Stone couldn't get a date.

Reese Witherspoon's stood her up, so she went with her father.

Susan Ford had hers at the White House.

The prom, the annual spring rite of passage for high school juniors and seniors, can cause angst, reverie, exuberance, credit-card debt, social scars and new-shoe blisters.

According to Conde Nast's Your Prom magazine, high school seniors last year on average spent $638 on their proms -- an estimated $4.1 billion a year. This included gowns, tuxedo rentals, tickets, pre- and post-party dinners, makeup, manicures, jewelry, hair, limos and even hotel rooms. Not to mention the illicit champagne and beer.

A new AOL poll asked 2,000 teenagers to rate the prom. Sixty-three percent said it was "the biggest event in high school." The prom has spawned books, films and Web sites (Promspot.com) devoted to navigating the often fairy-tale last-ditch farewell to friends and "frenemies" alike.

In the weeks ahead, teenagers and parents will strive to strike a balance between what is necessary and what is over the top. Invitations will be offered awkwardly; some will be accepted, some will not. There will be tears.

Late-night instant messaging. Crash diets. Fashion emergencies. Last-minute breakups and hookups. And of course, the new version of frantic note-passing: blogging on the Internet. ("Help! My best friend's ex-boyfriend asked me to the prom!")

Prom committees are made up of future overachievers (Hillary Rodham Clinton was her high school prom chairman), and no detail is overlooked.

Some schools concerned with safety issues such as students driving under the influence of alcohol have canceled the prom. Kellenberg Memorial High School on Long Island announced in the fall that it was canceling its prom, citing the "flaunting of affluence." The year before, 46 seniors spent $10,000 renting a house in the Hamptons for the after-prom party.