FROM OUR PRINT EDITIONBy Elise McKeownYOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- Prom. Teenagers with stars in their eyes think of a wonder-ful night with their friends in late spring and lament that their high school days are drawing to a close.Prom. Business owners with dollar signs in their eyes vie to provide the stretch limousines, professional photographs, flowers, expensive gowns, accessories, rented tuxedos and dinners to these teenagers with stars in their eyes. The limousine and gowns and flowers, and more, are part of the evening for most prom-goers. In the process, many teenagers (or their parents) spend hundreds of dollars."We have 14 people in our group," says Kelly Croysdale, age 17 and a senior at Austintown Fitch High School. "We've got a limo and we're going to the dance. And then we're going to dinner afterward."Many teenagers also plan after-prom activities -- overnight trips to Cedar Point, for example. "We're planning on going camping for the next two days," Croysdale says, "the whole group of us." "I think it's a lot of money," says Croysdale's mother, Patty Croysdale, of the amount spent on proms. "We spend within reason. Even the cost of the dresses -- we look around. You want her to get what she wants, but at the same time we go by a budget."Kelly found her dream dress for $289. "It's blue. It's got beads and it's strapless," she says. "It reminds me of Cinderella.""There's a lot of pretty dresses out there," her mother says. "But we've looked and you could spend $400 on a dress. To me that is a little bit overboard. You have to use good judgment, depending on your financial situation."Prom dresses range in price from $290 to $1,000, says Judy Jackson, sales associate at Toula's Bridal and Formal Wear, Canfield, but on average, a girl spends $400. "The dress is the main feature of the prom," Jackson points out. Forty percent of dress buyers purchase other accessories at Toula's as well, she says. "A lot of people like one-stop shopping. Plus there are things that are made to go with the style of dresses Toula has here, so it's kind of a real blend."The right jewelry, the right shoes and the right purse are among the challenges girls face in picking the exactly right accessories. Often girls buy their dresses, then see what they have at home as accessories, Jackson says. "They're on budgets," she notes. Jewelry sets -- necklace and earrings -- run $50 on average, she says, while purses are in the neighborhood of $35. Shoes can be dyed to match a dress and, if the color is on the dye chart, are $60. "Sometimes there's a $12 charge for dying," Jackson says. But, "they've come up with a standard dye chart and you save a little bit of money that way."Girls start buying prom dresses in January, Jackson says. Toula's stocks 2,000 of them and, during prom season, sales of the dresses account for the majority of the store's revenues. Toula's also offers a large selection of bridal, bridesmaid, mother of the bride, and occasional dresses, which are sold throughout the year.Girls can't neglect their hair and makeup. On any given prom night, 13 or more girls will arrive at Angela Krista's Rare Hair in Poland. Having their hair done "completes their total look," says owner Angela Laughner.Girls often ask for a "half-up, half-down" style, she says. "It's a little more natural looking. It's not so stiff, not so curled. I don't think accessories are as big as they used to be." The stylist asks questions about what the girl's dress looks like to determine her best hair style and makeup. "You get a feel for what goes with the dress," Laughner says. "Half the time it doesn't make sense to them, but to us it makes a world of sense."It's our job to make them look absolutely gorgeous," she adds. "That's what they're looking for."It will set a girl back $35 to $45 to have her hair styled for the big night and another $18 to achieve makeup perfection. Prom business doesn't significantly add revenues, Laughner says. "It's just a one-day-a-week thing," she notes. "We still have the other days."For boys, the cost of going to the prom is much less. "You can get basic tuxedos, but they all go for the fashion," says Christine Pompeii, owner of Ricardo's Tuxedo in Niles. "They go for the accessories that you can't rent. The top hats and the canes -- they go all out."The newest styles cost more than the items that have been around a while, she notes. Boys can spend anywhere from $50 to $120 to rent a tuxedo, but the current favorites -- zoot suits, or the "gangster style" -- run $99 to $120. Many prom-goers buy long chains at $15 and, to complete the ensemble, zoot hats that cost $30 to $35.Proms make up a big part of the tux business, accounting for 85% of annual revenues, Pompeii says. Weddings, homecomings and other formal events make up the rest. Flowers are added to the outfits by many teenagers. Gals buy boutonnieres and guys floral arrangements for their dates. "A lot of the girls are carrying a single flower," says Brenda Greasel, manager of Mum's the Word in Boardman. "They're getting away from corsages, mainly because the dresses just don't lend themselves to a corsage. And the girls are a little tired of the wrist corsages." Boutonnieres run $6, corsages $20, and hand-held flowers anywhere from $15 to $25, depending on the type of flower, Greasel says. Dressed in their fanciest finery, the couple often stops for professional photos before the dance. This practice started about five years ago to eliminate the wait in line during the prom to have photos taken. "Let's say they get to the dance and they may stand in line for half an hour, 45 minutes," says Robert Senn, owner of Robert Senn Studio of Photography, Austintown. "This way they come in and 10 minutes they're back out."A popular prom photo package -- two 5x7's and four wallet-sized -- is $16, Senn says. "We give four additional wallets if they come in before a certain time," he adds, "so it cuts down on the rush."His studio may photograph 200 couples in one night, Senn states, should more than one high school schedule proms the same night. Although proms are a part of the business, "we're photographing seniors, baseball teams, soccer teams -- all kinds of things during the month of May," Senn says. "May is a very busy month."The prom couple needs wheels, and not ordinary wheels, and that's where limos come in. "A lot of the kids are getting larger groups of friends," says Mark Bagnoli, president of Fab Limo, Austintown, "which makes it more economical for them. Because when you get a larger group to split the price, it makes it cheaper."Fab offers a 14-passenger SUV for $924, and a limo bus that seats 20 for $990. The prom-goers have use of the limo for seven hours.There's been a decrease in income from proms in recent years, Bagnoli says, because so many proms are held the same night, unlike in the past. Since the company cannot accommodate all of the proms in one night, it forgoes revenues because it can't spread the work out over several dates.The event "does run into money," says Patty Croysdale, who has two daughters and one son, "but we keep the dresses. My girls share their shoes and their jewelry, so we make it work."Mrs. Croysdale expects to pay close to $400 for her daughter's weekend. Kelly says she plans to pay her parents back for the limo, but "this will probably be my husband and me paying for this," her mother says. "If she wants to reimburse us, when she gets a job, for the limo, that's fine. As far as the dress and the shoes and the jewelry, that's on us."The cost of the weekend is well worth it, both agree. "It'll be nice to be with everybody for a long weekend," Kelly says. "It's a nice part of their life," Mrs. Croysdale adds. "It's a nice remembrance for them.""