Prom night, like your first wedding night, is one of the times you should expect perfection; a bad prom experience can scar you for life. Post Traumatic Prom Stress Syndrome often manifests later in life when a memory trigger, such as the scent of a gardenia corsage or the rustle of taffeta, causes the sufferer to lapse into full hysterics. Some cases of PTPSS are so severe that the victim is calmed only by the sound of a bathroom door slamming.
Even the smallest detail of prom night must be right, especially the hair. Not very many people know this, but the word “prom” comes from an ancient Texian word meaning, “big hair walking.” Naw, just kidding. Actually, “prom” is just a shortened version of “promenade.” By 1894, people were referring to any formal student dance prior to graduation as a “prom.”
The word “promenade” might be from either the French “se promener” (forgive my French), meaning “to go for a walk,” or from the Latin words “pro” and “menare,” meaning “to drive animals forward with shouts and threats.” Considering the difficulty in getting young men to dance, the later etymology might be more appropriate.
Prom night just screams for Big Hair. Well, someone is screaming. Today’s flowing, sensible and natural hairdos are much nicer to touch and toss, but are wimpy and can’t possibly hold that prom queen tiara properly like Big Hair can. Also, BH is indestructible and capable of holding its shape in any type of
The mother of all modern Big Hair has got to be “The BeeHive,” a mechanical engineering feat that truly deserves this unique place of honor in the High Hair Hall of Fame. To create one, you first had to build a supporting infrastructure of backcombed hair from the crown of your head. A special “ratting” comb was invented just to do this. Then, you carefully swirled smooth locks of hair around the ratted hair until your entire head was wrapped in a hirsute cylinder. Then you sealed it, preferably with a semi-gloss. Done properly, the BeeHive looked exactly like - a beehive.
Occasionally, one still sees a woman laboring under such a massive mound of hairdo and one wonders, “How does she find the time to style her hair like this every morning?” The truth is, she doesn’t. She’s wearing her original beehive from ’67 because you cannot undo this do without a full surgical team and plenty of painkillers.
Many pundits have developed theories for the continuing popularity of Big Hair. When former Texas Governor, Ann Richards, sporting her famous Cotton Candy Coiffure (again, pardon the French), proclaimed Texas Big Hair Day in 1993, she put forth a theory from her own hairdresser. His thought was that Big Hair balanced out a Big Somethingelse on a lady’s body.
This is probably not the real reason. One sees Big Hair on all shapes of women, from the very thin to those with a “Big Finish.” No, Big Hair probably has more to do with control than proportion. In order to achieve this look, you have to master your hair, dominate it, whip it into the bigness you know it can be. Think Don King.
This is image creation at the highest level. Walking down the street with Big Hair tells the world that you are in charge. Contrast the visage of Big Hair aficionado, Dolly Pardon, with the memory of former Iraqi UN diplomat, Mohammed Aldouri who wears that most pathetic of all hairdos, The Comb Over. Who would you trust?
Of course, there is a non-political reason for Big Hair and this reason is probably why the Big Hair is a must have for prom night. While we definitely are all princesses in our own right, not all of us can be selected to wear the prom queen crown. But, if you pile that hair high enough, it feels regal.