In search of the perfect prom dress: Which one is the right choice?

SOMERSET TWP. — The gowns stood out among the crowd, flowing pieces of material – blue, silver, green, red. Sequins dazzled in the light, hurting the eyes, how thrilling.

The young men sheepishly exit the dressing room, their tuxes fitting across their shoulders and hanging just right at their hips, while mothers straighten their collars. The girls, not so sheepish, twirled in their gowns, smiling, laughing, poising. Mothers tug up on zippers and tie spaghetti straps that show just enough of their daughters' young backs to be enticing, but not enough to be suggestive.

Yes, it is time for the coming-of-age high school proms, a tradition since the 19th century across the nation. In Somerset County, a popular place to go to find the perfect gown is at Larenas in Somerset Township just outside of Somerset Borough. On a recent Saturday, the place was so active, so light, one could almost here the relaxing sound of a cat purring, almost, but the chatter and laughter were a distraction.

The mother

"It is very exciting. Sometimes it can be stressful, because she likes the one dress and then we go somewhere else and she likes the other," said Tammy Barndt about her 16-year-old daughter, Abby Barndt.

"But, she fell in love with the blue one and that was the one I thought she was going to go with and then she came in last weekend and she fell in love with that dress and that is the one I think she is going to go with, she said.

"She went last year. And actually, she got her last dress here, too, last year. This is her junior prom. Next year will be her senior prom and that will be special, too," Tammy said.

The daughter

"I'm excited. I'm a dancer, so it's really fun for me because I love dancing," Abby said.

She does everything: Ballet, jazz and hip hop. Hip hop is her favorite. She sees dance in her future.

Tammy pointed to a young man looking at a rack of gowns with her daughter. "That is her brother, Bradley, he helped her decide between the (final) two dresses." When she was down to two dresses she asked her brother, Bradley, for his advice and he helped her pick out the one she will be wearing."

Choices

Tammy handed a gown to Abby in the dressing room, off a cozy room fitted with a wall of gowns behind couches and coffee stands.

Soon she would provide the help of closing the hooks and tying the straps on the back of the gown while her daughter paused to see how it looked in one of the many mirrors in the fitting room.

Her daughter tried on a lime-green dress.

Mom: "Not enough dress to that. Not enough material."

They both laughed. Earlier Abby teased her mom by exiting one of the dressing rooms wearing a wedding gown.

"Oh, no," Tammy said. "Not even."

They both giggled.

Later, wearing the lime-colored gown, Abby grew a little uncomfortable and covered up the top of the gown with her jacket as she went back to the racks to pick another gown.

"I love this one," she said. Soon she would be trying on a red gown and wondering why this shouldn't have been her final choice. The one she finally chooses is the coral.

She could choose just about any color gown that would go with her dark blonde hair and light brown eyes and fair skin, because her date for the prom, Ethan Moon, will be wearing a white tux.

"May 4 will be 14 months we've been dating," Abby said.

Ethan promised not to read or look at the photos in the Daily American before the prom scheduled for next weekend, Abby said.

The look when a date sees his girl in her prom dress is as special as the prom itself.

The dress shop owners

The Walkers bought Larenas in September 2022, and have never looked back.

In Barbara Walker's former job, she said she worked with people who had depression and anxiety and a lot of sadness in their lives.

Joining her husband, Greg Walker, to buy and operate Larenas, a wedding and special events like proms business, "has been a really, really good change for me because it is a lot of happiness. I see the boys come out of the dressing room with their tuxes on with smiles on their faces. And girls who come out of the dressing room with their gowns on with smiles on their faces. It is what it is all about.

"This was definitely a good change. A smart thing for me to do. I care very deeply in making everybody satisfied. I don't want anyone walking out of the door that is not satisfied. So I try to work things out," she said.

Walker looked over where her husband is writing in what appears to be an appointment book in the midst of several customers. She smiles. Both of the Walkers had measuring tapes in their hands.

The Walkers' daughters, Kate Emigh and Madison Barndt, also work in the shop.

"My mom and dad were there throughout my life, never missed a sporting event, never missed anything I was in. It is the least we could do for them," Emigh said.

"It is exciting to see my mom and my dad in their element. Never did I think they would end up with what we would be doing, but here we are. They are absolutely doing an amazing job," she said.

"My sister, Madison, she just had a baby, little Harper, otherwise she would be here. We were all here last year." Emigh pointed to a large sign on the counter that announced the birth of her niece.

"There is always next year," her mother said. "Yes," her daughter replied as she stood on a block in front of a three-way mirror, twisting and turning to see how it looked from the back.

It was a family affair, both with the owners and with the customers, that Saturday. There are a lot of voices calling out names and teasing going on and posing, lots of posing and oohing and ahhing.

This article originally appeared on The Daily American: In search for the perfect prom dress: Which one did she choose?