Couples stick together

By Wayne Laepple
The Daily Item

May 27, 2008 08:08 am

— TURBOTVILLE — Who knew that duct tape could make a fashion statement?
For Samantha Oakes, of Watsontown, and Lynnette Eichenlaub, of Allenwood, both seniors at Warrior Run High School, that question became a challenge.
Both young women decided to attend the Warrior Run prom on May 3 wearing gowns made primarily of the sticky product.
“Actually, my date suggested it to me,” Oakes said. “At first I thought it was pretty weird, but then I decided to go for it.”
The payoff for the two, as well as for their dates, both of whom wore tuxedos made of tape, was a lot of attention when they arrived at the prom. Eichenlaub and her date, Dustin Williams, of Watsontown, and Oakes and her date, Steve Gallie, of Sunbury, created quite a stir when they walked in.
“A lot of people were really impressed,” said Eichenlaub. “I didn’t hear any negative feedback.”
“It was worth it,” agreed Oakes. “Our friends thought it was cool.”
Eichenlaub estimated they each used about $75 worth of tape to make their dresses.
Duck Tape, a brand name maker of duct tape, sponsors a national contest for high school students to make their prom outfits from tape. The grand prize is a $3,000 scholarship, along with a $3,000 award to the winner’s school. Second prize is $2,000 for each, and third prize is $1,000 for each. This year’s contest ends June 11.
The two girls, both advanced placement art students at Warrior Run, started making sketches in January.
“What I made doesn’t look like what I started out with,” Eichenlaub said. There were several false starts before she came up with a workable design.
Oakes said she developed a pattern, and one of her friends suggested she put the tape on fabric.
“It took me several tries to get something that worked,” she said.
Both girls said they spent time almost every day after school working on their outfits. “Our friends were getting mad at us since we were always busy working on our dresses,” Eichenlaub said.
In addition to the dresses, the two helped their dates make their tuxes. They also made their accessories, including shoes, gloves and purses, as well as corsages, boutonnieres and even earrings.
As prom day drew closer, the two worked longer and longer every day on their dresses.
“I stayed up very late the night before,” recalled Oakes. “I had to get up early to get my hair done. My boyfriend stayed up all night working on his.”
Her mother and sister had to help her get dressed, taping parts of the dress together as she put it on.
“I couldn’t bend,” she said with a laugh.
When the four arrived at the prom, all their hard work paid off.
One unexpected benefit became apparent at the end of the evening. When they left the prom, it was raining.
“We were the only ones who could go outside,” Oakes said. “We were waterproof.”


The contest
Photos of contestants in the Duck Tape prom dress contest may be seen online at www.stuckatprom.com.
The national contest closes on June 11, after which a panel of judges will select the top 10 dresses, basing their decision on the amount of tape used, color and style.
Then people from around the country will vote online for their choices, and the top three vote-getters will receive scholarships and cash awards for their schools.

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