Newton NJ Consignment Is Music to the Ears

Name: Prima Donna's Quality Consignment | Date: April 1, 2010, 9:38 pm

The same old song and dance is heard in the hallways of local high schools this time every year. Which is harder to find; the prefect prom dress or the deep pockets to pay for something that will probably be worn just once? Prima Donna's Quality Consignments has an idea that may be music to the ears of the young at heart this spring. The shop, on 166 Spring Street, in Newton, is hosting through April, "Will You Care to Dance," which encourages local teens to recycle their nearly new or gently worn prom dresses, gowns and accessories; make some money; and help another girl find something to wear to the annual high school gala at a fraction of the cost. “A lot of girls don’t experience prom because of the price,” said Julie Simms, owner and proprietor of Prima Donna’s Quality Consignments, LLC. “Other girls will spend between $150 -- probably the least for a dress – and up to $500. Then some girls will spend $100 to get their hair done, and their nails done, and shoes." In conjunction with “Will You Care to Dance,” Sussex County Community College students Michael Miller of Hamburg, Gabriela Pincay of Wantage, and Jovan Sekulovski, of Hopatcong, from program coordinator Sherry Fitzgerald’s “2 Intro to Design” class have decorated the storefront at Prima Donna’s Quality Consignments and will also participate as “live” mannequins in the windows, Saturday, April 3, 2-5 p.m. Simms, who opened Prima Donna’s a year ago, says there is no reason for the exuberant cost of prom, especially when plenty of dresses and gowns hang forgotten in a closet. “There is always some girl who will want that gown or dress, even if the owner no longer does,” said Simms, of Paulinskill Lake in Newton. “Prima Donna’s gives the other girls who just haven’t yet found that perfect fit the option of purchasing or renting those dresses.” Between sequins and rhinestones, prom is a night many teen-age girls see as the ultimate high school party, a rite of passage into adulthood, their Cinderella moment. But, by the next morning, most dresses and gowns turn into pumpkins, never to be worn again. So, in this era of frugality, while their parents fret about their 401(k) and whether they'll survive the next round of layoffs, students are accepting the fact that this year, like it or not, prom will be different. That's why many have already rented or purchased prom dresses and accessories as well from Prima Donna’s before the big event. “Prom is an exciting time for teenagers” said Simms, while sorting through a new shipment of brand-name wear including Bebe, Ann Klein, Talbots, Holistor, Ed Hardy and American Eagle. “A lot of mothers will say to us, 'I didn't know how they were going to go to prom.’ I’d like to think we provide a way in which they can.” Dresses, gowns and accessories can be dropped off at Prima Donna's Consignment, LLC throughout April, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.