Off like a duct tape prom dress

June 16, 2005 10:28 AM

Stuck to their prom dates. Since 2001, Duck brand duct tape has sponsored a scholarship contest, open to any high school students willing to go to prom in outfits made of duct tape. This year's fashions range from the classic silver to wilder colors and patterns, and occasionally veer into the just plain strange. Dip into the archives for more.
posted by me3dia (39 comments total)

There seems to be at least two categories: traditional and fantasy. Fantasy to most entrants seems to mean Victorian/Romance Novel, to others, not so much.

I have to say, my prom date and I would have been totally into this if it existed when I was in HS.
posted by me3dia at 10:32 AM on June 16, 2005

The duck costumes are straight out of my nightmares.
posted by odinsdream at 10:47 AM on June 16, 2005

Oh, and good post!
posted by odinsdream at 10:47 AM on June 16, 2005

Wow! I remember when they first did this, and even the best ones were kind of lame- no one really strayed too far from industrial grey. The effort (and imagination!) that goes into the new entries is pretty amazing.
posted by mkultra at 10:48 AM on June 16, 2005

wow, this is so cool. this one might not be all tape, but its very clever.


posted by H. Roark at 10:49 AM on June 16, 2005

If her dress is duct tape
They need engineering school more than I do
posted by Rubbstone at 11:12 AM on June 16, 2005

Wow, and I'm sure the duct tape people sold alot of extra rolls during the creative process. So they got what they wanted.

Does anyone wear a real tux anymore? And don't they sweat like stuck pigs on all that tape? Ewwww.
posted by fenriq at 11:13 AM on June 16, 2005

Um, I think this one might not be one of the winners. But props for the effort.
posted by fenriq at 11:18 AM on June 16, 2005

Man how many grades did these folks flunk?

Too busy working on their outfits I reckon.


posted by Rawhide at 11:20 AM on June 16, 2005

With all that tape, how do they engage in that rampant oral sex and salad tossing I keep hearing about?

Good post.
posted by fungible at 11:21 AM on June 16, 2005

Duct tape bag too? This is awesome.
posted by kenko at 11:21 AM on June 16, 2005

With all that tape, how do they engage in that rampant oral sex and salad tossing I keep hearing about?


everbody knows that if you want to go to the orgy later you wear an undershirt and boxers. Your so not with it
posted by Rubbstone at 11:23 AM on June 16, 2005

I thought this one ruled. The duc(k/t) tape weddings are cool too.
posted by BrotherCaine at 11:33 AM on June 16, 2005

Duck tape used to run a music competition I think...while this is good, that was better.
posted by fire&wings at 11:33 AM on June 16, 2005

Thanks me3dia for bringing us a look at some clever, imaginative young people; and a few less so. Expressions on the kids faces range from chagrin to giddy happiness. My expression is a bemused grin now.
posted by X4ster at 11:40 AM on June 16, 2005

Reading the stories—some obtuse principles denied many couples the ability to wear their duct-clothes to the prom. WTF?
posted by kenko at 11:49 AM on June 16, 2005

kenko, did you go to school in the US? Principles hate fun. Really.
posted by odinsdream at 11:52 AM on June 16, 2005

s/Principle/Principal/
posted by odinsdream at 11:56 AM on June 16, 2005

Wow. Add another use for duct tape to my loooong list.

What incredible outfits. Really amazing. The women look better than the men do, though.
posted by aacheson at 12:15 PM on June 16, 2005

That is so cool, I'm surprised Japanese kids didn't think of it first. Plus, after graduation, you can become like Jim Lambie, a very successful young artist working with duck tape.
posted by R. Mutt at 12:32 PM on June 16, 2005

My boyfriend and I wanted to do this. The school wouldn't let us, and even more importantly, my mom wouldn't. Our alternative outfits did look pretty awsome though- all black with different fabrics and satin and sweetness.
posted by ackeber at 12:38 PM on June 16, 2005

Oh, and this wasn't allowed at our prom, either.
posted by ackeber at 12:44 PM on June 16, 2005

Last year's winners:

posted by smackfu at 12:50 PM on June 16, 2005

Let's just hope that the creativity, imagination, determination, and hard work that went into these outfits will continue in these young people. If they can do this in their spare time, just imagine what they will do with their futures. I hope for their sakes that they see their excellent talents and use what they have to succeed.
posted by monkeyhead at 1:12 PM on June 16, 2005

I never knew Cybil Shepard wore duct tape!
posted by Specklet at 1:18 PM on June 16, 2005

my god, help me. i can't stop looking. it's like kittenwar.

not only did nobody this cool attend my high school prom, i'm second-thinking the reunion.

and after spending weeks reading SAT essays, i think i'm getting a bit misty-eyed for the poor saps. but what's with the Mary Poppins/Phantom of the Opera repeats? are they appealing to the judges or has there been some sort of revival amongst the theatre geeks?
posted by RedEmma at 1:23 PM on June 16, 2005

Smackfu, is there a winner's gallery or something?
posted by kenko at 1:43 PM on June 16, 2005

holy hole in the donut van gogh.


posted by eatdonuts at 1:50 PM on June 16, 2005

And guess where I'm going this weekend? The Duct Tape Festival!
posted by amro at 1:51 PM on June 16, 2005

I was very confused about why they didn't realize that sex sells, but then I read the judging guidelines:

Each entry will be reviewed by a panel of judges and the potential winners will be selected based on a composite score using the following criteria ("Judging Criteria"):

* Workmanship (30%)
* Originality (30%)
* Use of Category Appropriate Colors (15%).
* Accessories (15%)
* Quantity of Duct Tape Used (10%)

Quantity... That explains it!
posted by Chuckles at 2:01 PM on June 16, 2005

WOW - this is awesome! Thanks for the link :) I LOVE the Scottish one to death. I wonder what the average time spent making these was? Don't they have homework to do??
posted by shoppingforsanity at 2:05 PM on June 16, 2005

A couple years ago, one of the kids on MTV's Made went to her prom in a homemade duct tape dress. No mention of a scholarship--she seemed just completely into using duct tape to design clothing and accessories. There was some footage of her working on it. Lots of weaving, folding, tearing, perforating.
posted by nakedcodemonkey at 2:36 PM on June 16, 2005

They should do a duct tape challenge on Project Runway. See how the fashionistas do against the kids.

What I think is remarkable is that some of these dresses are actually damned nice dresses. They fit and drape well, they're well 'cut', they're fashionable. The tape thing I'm sure isn't the most comfortable thing in the world, but it's being used brilliantly.
posted by jacquilynne at 3:08 PM on June 16, 2005

somebody had to do it (NSFW if you work with prudes)
posted by warbaby at 3:49 PM on June 16, 2005

That's what I'm talkin'bout warbaby! they aren't nearly as nicely done...
posted by Chuckles at 4:30 PM on June 16, 2005

Smackfu, is there a winner's gallery or something?

Yep, right here, though it only has thumbnails of the outfits.
posted by smackfu at 6:24 PM on June 16, 2005

Duct tape sucks. Both as tape, and as material. If it doesn't leave a gummy residue on everything, it gets all cracked and dry and leaves an even worse residue.
posted by blasdelf at 7:42 PM on June 16, 2005

You've no idea how often I've cringed thinking folk had misheard 'duct' and ended up with 'duck' tape. Thanks for clearing that up for me.

Some fabulous outfits, too, mind.
posted by jack_mo at 4:15 AM on June 17, 2005

The women look better than the men do, though.

Women just have so much more leeway in terms of what it is socially acceptable for them to wear.

And yeah, while so many of these look fantastic, I'd worry about them being terribly hot to wear - especially when you're going to spend the night dancing. I can't even wear a long-sleeved dress to my company Christmas dinner dance without feeling like I'm going to drop dead.

And I thought I was creative for making myself an orange silk sheath for my prom;-)
posted by orange swan at 8:50 AM on June 17, 2005