Mum’s pop-up shop aims to make prom affordable

A mother is on mission to make high school proms more affordable after her daughter missed two events due to Covid.

Julie Sarahs launched a pop-up branch, called Stroud Community Costumes, which allows students to borrow dresses, suits, shoes and bags for a non-compulsory donation.

She was inspired to take action after seeing the cost of some dresses rise to more than £200.

“If I can take away a little bit of the stress around this time when people are revising for exams, perhaps struggling financially or wanting to be a little bit sustainable with fashion then this is perfect for them,” Ms Sarahs said.

Ms Sarahs’ daughter bought two dresses for as many proms, which were both cancelled during the pandemic.

Those unworn prom dresses were the first to grace the rails at Stroud Community Costumes, which is now in its third year and has more than 100 dresses for teenagers to borrow.

If people make a donation after borrowing an item, the money is used to buy more prom items for the shop, which is based in Stroud Library.

“If you want to borrow [a garment], all you have to do is give me your contact details and I run it on a trust basis that you will return it in a condition somebody else can borrow,” Ms Sarahs said.

Ms Sarahs said she was worried some students felt priced out of attending the event.

“If I can help by providing somebody with something to wear then that is great,” she said.

“That frees up a little bit more time and money for them to go wild on hair, makeup, nails, accessories, fake tans, or [I can] try and reassure them that, actually, it doesn’t have to be so over the top.”

Ms Sarahs added she would be “very grateful” for donations of shirts, suits and men’s shoes for male students, as she does not have as many options for boys.