Who spends more on prom?

Grace Janecko

Reporter/photographer 

Prom is supposed to be a fun time where people surround themselves with friends and enjoyable memories, but sometimes it can cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars.

Students show off their outfits at this year's prom.

Prom is such a fun event, but when you add up the price of what it takes to prepare for prom, you might consider not going to prom.

“I wouldn’t want to go to prom in the future, but I will make myself go because I have friends that will be going,” said Jealen Norris

So this begs the question, do girls spend more on prom? Or do boys? Both have their expenses to worry about during prom.

“I think women spend a lot more on prom than men because women care more about the event than men do, so women tend to dress up more for prom,” Eli Gallegos said

When considering how much it costs to go to prom, consider accessories, gas prices, etc.

“I can understand how girls spend a lot of money to make themselves look good, but men have to spend a lot of money to rent cars, and spend money on gas, and buy a suit,” explained Norris

Even though boys spend a lot on the car, the food, etc, that doesn’t mean that girls don’t spend a lot too. girls have to spend hundreds of dollars on things like nails, the dress they get, and hair too.

“If the material is good, the dress could end up being expensive, meaning that the dress would cost a lot more than a normal dress would,” Nyree Gholson said

Though these prices can potentially scare some people off from going to prom, the amount of money one person spends is around one thousand dollars, according to lanetechchampion.org.

“The amount of money that is usually spent on prom can end up being a real problem for some people, especially if they’re financially stuck,” Sam Mcgrath said.

Events like prom are bound to attract articles, articles like the one that TheBlueJay.org released, stating, “In most cases, it is much more common for the girl to spend more money on prom than boys.”

“I believe that they’re right because women generally care a lot more about prom and looking good,” said Gallegos

Suits and dresses for prom average around $300-$500  according to glscollective.com and flexsuits.com, so for some people, this amount of money for a dress you might only wear once is way too expensive, but to some, but for others, this could be completely reasonable.

“I think that the dresses are reasonably priced, but suits shouldn’t need to be over $300,” said McGrath. 

People who think that girls spend more on prom often think that men just don’t care as much as girls; on the other hand, people who think that boys spend more often think that women don’t spend enough money compared to what boys do.

“Girls don’t have to buy/rent cars, pay for their date, or pay for the gas, which all costs a lot of money. Even though girls spend a lot of money getting ready, I don’t think those prices compare to how much a car costs to manage,” said Norris

In conclusion, girls and boys spend a lot of money on prom separately, but nobody can pinpoint who pays more because everyone has their own opinions. In reality, whoever you believe spends more money is what you believe.