They will try them on, but when it comes time to buy, a lot of the girls choose more classic designs. Black and white are still good traditional colors, but the trend is toward the brighter shades. A violet gown with scattered beading and an iridescent shine was a show-stopper on the rack at one store, but Pat Golden says the biggest sellers are the classic looks. Other popular styles are the straight dresses and A-lines. And we are selling a lot of sequins.
Color is the main change from last year, Golden agrees.
Purples and pastels are really big. We've been through the black phase and now the girls are looking for color. When a teen buys a dress for the prom, the stores' sales representatives list the dress under the school name, with Bella Boutique adding the name of who bought the dress on their list. If someone else from the same school wants to buy the same dress in the same color, the sales representative will tell them that another girl has purchased the dress and will not sell it to them. The two-piece look that was popular last year has continuing interest, says Buchanan.