Prom
What can we say about prom?
-Its roots go back to the 1920s
-It's enduring
-It's expensive
-It's a rite of passage
-It has been heteronormative
-It's also been segregated
-It can be appropriated
-It's a platform for politics
-It's a place where clothing speaks
And, what girls wear matters.
See Girlhood in 3D! Explore a model of the prom dress or view in augmented reality.
Enjoy a narrated augmented reality (AR) experience of the prom dress, made possible by the Smithsonian Digitization Program Office in parternship with Verizon 5G Labs. Follow this link or scan the QR code with your smartphone.
Girls have not only used fashion for self-expression, but also to promote social change. Isabella Aiukli Cornell, a Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma citizen, used her prom dress to call attention to the systemic violence and abuse faced by Indigenous women. She chose the color red in solidarity for the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women's movement.
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Today and always we remember and honor our Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women. They are not forgotten. Bring them justice. Bring them home.