Need a dress or tux for prom around Kansas City? This free boutique can help

Prom is almost here. Each year high schoolers across Kansas City get to flaunt their glitter and corsages, but sometimes getting dressed up like royalty can cost a pretty penny.

To help families navigate the costs associated with prom, Woods Chapel United Methodist Church in Lee’s Summit will host a free Prom Boutique.

The Prom Boutique is a ministry of Woods Chapel United Methodist Church and will run from March 9 to 12 at 4725 NE Lakewood Way, Lee’s Summit, MO 64064.

The four-day boutique will be open from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, and from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Saturday.

Area high school students can pick from dresses, tuxedos, shoes, jewelry and more—all free of charge. There is no proof of income or address required for students interested in shopping at the boutique. You can just show up and shop the selection of more than 2,000 dresses.

A transformative time

Nine years ago Christy Barber was asked to help out with the volunteer-staffed boutique. As a mother of two boys, Barber thought it would be a great opportunity to help some young ladies pick out a prom dress.

Now, Barber serves as the Prom Boutique’s public relations volunteer chair and has seen thousands of students find their prom dress. And after taking a year off for the pandemic in 2021, she’s ready to start giving away dresses and tuxedos again.

Barber said most young people come into the boutique feeling like they won’t find anything or are pushed by their guardians to find an outfit, but they eventually have a change of heart.

“They put that dress on…it’s kind of a transformative time to look at themselves,” Barber said. “They see themselves in a different way, and then the fact that there’s no cost for them.”

Barber said in past years, busloads of students sometimes visit the boutique, and once a bus driver noted how happy the students were after leaving the boutique with their outfits.

“So when the bus driver says something you know you’ve done something right,” she said.

The Prom Boutique event started in 1998 by Sonia Clogston, a Missouri case worker looking to help young ladies in foster care. Clogston teamed up with Woods Chapel United Methodist Church in 2005, and since then the initiative has given away more than 20,000 dresses.

How you can help

This year the boutique has over 2,000 new and lightly used dresses to choose from. Barber said that the boutique is stocked up on dresses but could use more tuxedos.

If you are interested in donating tuxedos, tuxedo accessories, shirts, ties and bow ties for young men who might be in need, donations can be dropped off at the church at 4725 NE Lakewood Way.

The boutique currently has 60 volunteers, but if you wish to volunteer in the future you can email promboutique@outlook.com to learn more.