By SONJA KOREMANS
FORMAL fever has begun.
After months of planning, dreaming and spending, thousands of students will soon celebrate the Academy Awards of their school life with the region’s senior formals kicking off in July.
Some students started saving months ago for all the must-haves – evening gown, tux, hair stylists, spray tan, make-up photos, limousines and tickets.
Warwick Senior High School student Chloe Smyth has been planning her formal since last year, and, by her own admission, plans to be Cinderella on a shoestring.
It has been a lesson in budgeting for the teen who has taken on two jobs and devised a savings plan to fund her rite of passage on 31 July.
“Like most of my friends, I will be looking at ways I can save on all the expenses that go into the night,” Chloe said.
Recent figures show that, on average, Australian girls spend $1500 each on the event while boys were spending $850.
But Chloe said local students were more likely to keep their budget well below that.
“Some girls do spend $1000 and upwards on their dresses but not many, it’s actually considered cooler not to overspend on your formal,“ Chloe said.
“My dress will be a few hundred dollars but I’ve made sure it’s a style that I can wear again when I leave school.“
Chloe’s cost cutting includes sharing a photographer with other students, doing her own nails, shopping around for an affordable hairdresser, and travelling in a family or friend’s car rather than a limo to the venue.
“Some girls are getting their older sisters to do their hair and make-up to save money and are also sharing a photographer as those are the extras that can cost of hundreds of dollars.“
Scots PGC College student Kate Worth stuck to a $300 budget for her debut dress this month.
Kate said students who splashed out on extravagant debut and formal dresses were discreet.
“A lot of girls keep the cost of their deb and formal dresses to themselves so they don’t upset the feelings of another girl if her dress was cheaper.”
Kate Strudwick, owner of the Wow Factor in Warwick, said girls were spending between $200 and $600 on formal dresses this year.
“Many girls these days pay for their own dresses so they aren’t spending at the upper end.”
Students were regularly popping into her shop this month to finalise their dress choices, she said.
“They have been coming in each week to pay a deposit down and it’s lovely to see that sort of sensible spending approach to a formal.”
