Belle of the Ball Program seeks prom dresses

Anton's Cleaners has launched its eighth annual Belle of Ball program to collect, clean and distribute prom gowns to high school junior and senior girls who otherwise would not be able to attend their prom. All dresses are cleaned by Anton's free of charge as a community service.A key component in the campaign are referral partners, who are the direct link to the girls attending the Belle of the Ball boutique in mid-April. Belle of the Ball is looking to enlist community centers, teachers, social service agencies and high school guidance counselors as Referral Partners, who will identify sophomore, junior and senior high school girls who can benefit from the invitation-only program.
After these students are pre-qualified, they will be invited to a special "boutique" held in Boston at Simmons College on April 14. Students who meet the guidelines to participate will "shop" for their dresses with the assistance of volunteer personal shoppers who will help each girl find the right dress.Donation of good quality, "gently-worn" prom-appropriate dresses are needed and can be dropped off at all 42 Anton's Cleaners locations or all Jordan's Furniture locations from now through April 1.
Some Anton's stores are located in North Andover, Melrose, Hamilton, Reading, Lynnfield and Newburyport - and Jordan's Furniture.All dresses are cleaned by Anton's at no charge.Last year, close to 2,000 dresses in a variety of colors, styles and sizes were displayed. More than 400 girls attended last year's boutique, enabling every young woman who participated to find a dress that was just right."I was hoping for it (to find a dress), but you can't always find it on the first day,"Taylor said as she provided Captain with her phone number and size in case more dresses were donated between now and her prom in April.Captain said it's fairly uncommon for girl to walk out of the store without a dress. In fact, only four girls on Friday left without one, but they did get makeovers and gift cards from two stores in the mall.You probably do want to try on lots of options - I know people who've gone into a shop (well, dressmaker's) knowing exactly what they want and end up with something completely different. Even if you hate the whole dress, try it on anyway just for the skirt, just for the sleeves, just for the neckline. Then you can get a much better idea of what you want.
One of my sisters found 'the dress'. She'd found it in a mag and had her heart set on it. We spent the rest of the day wandering around trying on more, having coffees so she could decide, then she just got it despite the $$ tag.Another sister found 'the dress' only to be told by a friend she couldn't have it as it was too similar to the friends dress... So she eventually found another one which she loved even more.