20 Girls Find Dresses at the Free Prom Dress Shop

Manchester’s First Annual Free Prom Dress Boutique was a success! Saturday and Sunday, for a total of 6 hours, the Village Room was full of Manchester teens hoping to find the perfect prom dress, with help from their parents, siblings and friends. In total, 41 girls visited the shop and 20 left with dresses.

Although they didn’t take a count, the Manchester Ladies Society, who put on the event, estimated that they had close to 85 dresses. They began collecting dresses this summer, but collected thirty of the dresses in just the last month. The Manchester District Library received dress donations at the front desk during business hours. One librarian joked that in the last few days leading up to the dress shop, more dresses were coming in than books!

There was so much interest in the shop this year that The Ladies Society decided to make this an annual event. They will be continuing to collect prom and bridesmaid dresses as well as shoes and jewelry year round at the library.

Jessica Bushaw, president of the Ladies Society wanted to thank the library for their help and all of Manchester for their generosity in donating so many beautiful dresses. She also wanted to thank the women who made it possible, “I must say the 1st Annual Free Prom Dress Shop was amazing. I love all the women in the Manchester Ladies Society. It is nice to see our awesomeness in action!”

The Manchester Ladies Society meets next Saturday at 1 pm in the Village Room. All women are invited to attend. Visit their website or email them at manchesterladiessociety@gmail.com for more information.

the first girl to find a dress – she also found a necklace that matched perfectly

waiting in line for one of the dressing rooms

Hair stylist, Stephanie Celkis, gave prom hair-do advice.

talented seamstress Nina Tyner performed major and minor alterations on dresses while girls waited

Nina took this dress home with her to finish on Sunday.

Some girls were attending Manchester High School’s prom but others were attending prom in different communities or a prom for area homeschoolers.

Some girls found the perfect dress right away. Others tried on many before they found the right one.

Although many girls tried this dress on, it wasn’t until the end of the day on Sunday that it found the perfect girl to go home with

Kristy Hammond, treasurer of the Ladies Society, pins the hem up of this dress so it can be shortened to the right length.

She didn’t find a dress but she found a pair of shoes

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by Sara Swanson

Sara Swanson is an editor, writer and founder of the Manchester Mirror.