The Prom Closet is an annual prom dress giveaway hosted by Lone Star College in Cy-Fair and the CyFair Branch Library. There are no strings attached, you don't even have to qualify. The goal is give young women who can't afford a dress or who are on a tight budget a free dress for the prom.
The Prom Closet at the CyFair Branch Library is filled with prom dresses, and many of them have been used only once. Prom Closet organizer Elise Sheppard is helping Jessica Yebra find the perfect dress.
"This was $129.99 brand new, has never been worn," Sheppard said.
Some dresses have been donated by formal dress shops and still have the tags still attached.
Every dress is organized on the rack by sizes, starting from size zero up to size 20. There are short dresses, some that are on the wild side, simple dresses and even those fairy tale prom dresses.
"They look brand new, a lot of them have the same tags on them; the buttons are still with it, the extra sequins are still with it, so it's brand new," Yebra said.
The Prom Closet even has a small selection of jewelry, shoes and hand bags. Everything is free.
"Everybody is on a budget and parents are very conscious of how little extra money that they have to spend on extra things," Sheppard said.
So you might be thinking what is the catch? Well there isn't one. The community just wants to help those who need a hand up.
"This is really a recycling project. The dresses come to me, I store them in my closet and the girls pick out a dress and take it home with them; the girls always ask me what the catch is and I just say at some point in your life, you give back too," Sheppard said.
And if you are wondering about the quality and style, the Prom Closet director weeds out those dresses that are damaged or out of date.
"We specifically ask people to donate beautiful dresses that girls today in 2012 will wear," Sheppard said.
The Prom Closet is located at the Lone Star College CyFair Branch Library in Cypress. The organization will host four Saturday events from 1pm until 3pm. The schedule is as follows: March 24, March 31, April 14 and April 21. You can visit their website or call 281-290-5248 during business hours to get more information.
