The black stage created a perfect ambiance for the great spotlights that lit the backdrop of dresses. Their luminous glow danced off the sequence and diamonds to ruffles and bows. Girls glided in and out of dressing rooms lined with mirrors as they tried on dress after dress. They were all there for one reason, preparing for a night to remember, their high school prom.
The Cinderella Boutique is exactly what it sounds like. The fairy god mothers and fairy god fathers of Utah, the Young Lawyers Division (YLD), got together and decided to create a free boutique that would dress girls who can't afford the costly experience of high school prom. New and gently used prom dresses were donated to give every girl the opportunity to dress up and go to a ball.
"I wouldn't be able to go to prom without this," said Angela Hess, a senior at Cottonwood, as she walked out of the dressing room wearing an elegant black prom dress trimmed with a smile. She was shopping at the boutique with her sister-in-law, Alix, who graduated from Cottonwood in 2010. Alix talked about how she never went to her senior prom because she had nothing to wear.
"It's amazing," said Alix as she was giving her two cents about a pair of metallic heels Angela had just tried on, "it's simply amazing."
This is the second year the Cinderella Boutique has been put on by the YLD of Utah. Last year the boutique was held at Jordan High School with a turnout of over 300 girls, over 100 of those girls walked away with dresses to the prom. This year the boutique was held at Cottonwood High School and will also appear in Taylorsville High School come mid March when the Taylorsville students will be preparing for their prom.
Kate Conyers, member of YLD, was in charge of putting together this years boutique where planning started back in October. Conyers has big plans to expand the boutique next year to at least double the schools. Her targets: West High School and Kearns High School.
"They don't know it yet but we're coming," said Conyers.
As she walked around answering questions and assisting anyone who needed helped Conyers couldn't help but smile when she heard girls whispering to their friends, "this is all free." In a world where nothing is free, Conyers feels blessed to show these girls the kinder side of life.
Conyers see's the big picture for the boutique turning into an event that could be held in one central location where girls from all over the valley can come and shop for whatever they need to complete their desired prom attire.
The YLD had help with dress donations for this years boutique when Cottonwood student, Samantha Furden, heard about the project and wanted to help out as part of her 10 hour service project for Young Womens. Furden held a donation drive for three weeks and received 170 dresses that she donated to the Cinderella project.
The boutique this year had more flare than the previous year when the boutique only supplied dresses. Donations expanded to over 90 pairs of shoes, hundreds of pieces of jewelry, scarves in every color and dresses in every size, color, make and model. There was also a plethora of various scents of perfume samples, new makeup and different shades of nail polish for girls to find the perfect color that matched their dress. Everything was made available for the girls to take home so they could have a complete head to toe prom experience.
Volunteer Kathryn Samuel heard about the boutique through word of mouth and immediately volunteered to help and become the boutiques personal beauty consultant. As Samuels ruffled through the baskets full of mascara, eye shadow and eyeliner she could be heard saying, "All right, we have your eyes taken care of, now what about this nail polish, it will look great with your dress."
The Cinderella Boutique could not have been put on without the help from some local sponsors. Downeast Outfitters donated clothing racks to help with the boutiques set-up. The Zions Bank corporate office supplied a storage facility for the dresses during the off season and Henries Dry Cleaners cleaned all 460 dresses, skirts and tops as they were donated or came out of storage. The boutique is held at two different times after school so the girls can feel comfortable in a no-stigma atmosphere and parents can have the opportunity to shop with their daughters. Conyers said she tries to hold the boutique two and half weeks before prom so a free option could be the first option. For questions or inquiries about the Cinderella Boutique feel free to contact Kate Conyers at 801-953-4010
"I think it's cool," said volunteer Spencer Alston, "they get shorter and they get longer but other than that prom styles never go out of style."
e-mail: kcox@desnews.com