Local Woman Helps Dress Teenage Girls for Prom

United States of America (USOA) Pageants Mrs. Illinois Sabihah Hussain at a previous Gift of Glam Prom Dress Giveaway & Prom Expo. PHOTO PROVIDED BY CONTESSA HOUSTON.
United States of America (USOA) Pageants Mrs. Illinois Sabihah Hussain at a previous Gift of Glam Prom Dress Giveaway & Prom Expo. PHOTO PROVIDED BY CONTESSA HOUSTON.

Local Woman Helps Dress Teenage Girls for Prom

By Tia Carol Jones

Contessa Houston has always been fashionable. She opened Lure Boutique 10 years ago after looking for a unique pair of shoes and matching handbag to wear for Easter Sunday Service. Now, Houston is paying it forward by collecting prom dresses and hosting a giveaway and expo where young women can get dresses, hair and makeup tips and learn about job and scholarship opportunities.

The Gift of Glam Prom Dress Giveaway & Prom Expo will take place from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, April 12th, at Perspectives IIT Math & Science Academy, located at 3663 S. Wabash.

Houston, who comes from a family of entrepreneurs, took a year to research the fashion industry and wholesale. In 2013, she opened Lure Boutique as a shoe and accessories online store. She started the Gift of Glam as a clothing and toiletries drive that she would host to celebrate her birthday. People would bring in old suits and dresses for women and men who wanted to re-enter the workforce.

In a conversation with a friend who shared with her that she wasn’t able to go to Prom because her family couldn’t afford it. She decided to collect Prom dresses and host a giveaway where young women could get gently used dresses so they could attend Prom. The first year, Houston was able to do the dress collection and giveaway where she graduated from high school, Marie Curie Metropolitan High School, in the city’s Archer Heights neighborhood on the Southwest side. 

Houston said each season; the organization collects between 70 to 100 dresses. In the 11 years since she has been collecting and giving away gently used prom dresses, more than 600 young women have received dresses, enabling them to participate in the coming-of-age ritual that most juniors and seniors look forward to at the end of the school year. 

Houston said the teenage girls who received the dresses have been really grateful. They don’t just get a dress, they also get accessories and shoes, hair and makeup. She said people have even donated money to cover the cost of a ticket for prom. 

“For the girl who comes in and she can’t afford to pay to go to prom; she now can get tickets, a dress and everything else she needs, that girl is just grateful,” she said.

Houston said girls send her their prom pictures and their parents sends thank you notes. She is careful about sharing photos of the girls in their dresses because she understands the sensitivity of the situation.

Houston said she feels like she is walking in her God given purpose by collecting and giving away dresses and items for girls to go to prom. She believes her purpose is to serve and she was brought up to be a giver and she understands how reciprocity works, so because she has been extremely blessed, she is always open to helping someone else.

“I like to do quiet things and just help people along the way, especially kids,” she said.

Houston said Facebook has been instrumental in helping her expand her reach, helping her get the word out and the marketing of the event. She said she is grateful for the resources.

For more information about Lure Boutique, visit www.ishoplure.com. To sign up for the Gift of Glam Prom Dress Giveaway & Prom Expo, visit https://tinyurl.com/5bmh6wde.


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