Sheffield proms: Hundreds of prom wear items available at less than £20 at fundraising event in Ecclesall

On Saturday, March 26, a fundraising sale will be hosted in Sheffield, with hundreds of prom wear items available for no more than £20 each.

The event, at All Saint’s Church, Ecclesall, organised by a team of five volunteers, will be made possible by donations of prom wear from people who have used it and no longer need it.

Charlotte Driver, one of the organisers, said the frustration at the expense of prom wear was the main idea behind the event which is being organised to make sure proms are affordable for everyone to attend in style.

"We are going to make this really affordable because I have four children and they have all gone through the prom system at schools and it gets bigger and better every year,” said Charlotte.

"It becomes more and more unaffordable really – especially post-pandemic, lots of families have hit hardship, things are really tough, especially now. Things were tight enough two years ago but they’re even tighter now.”

The event, which was meant to happen in April 2020 but was postponed due to Covid, will be used to fundraise for charity, with all proceeds from the prom wear going to Bluebell Wood Hospice and Tanzania CCMP.

Tanzania CCMP is part of a Tearfund charity project that aims to support very rural areas of Tanzania. Charlotte herself visited the area in 2019 with a friend and she now raises money each year for the cause to help keep the project going.

For the event, Charlotte says they now have hundreds of pieces of prom wear that they have had passed onto them, which they will sell for no more than £20, with most items costing between £5 and £10.

She said: "I’m talking about garments, suits – they cost a fortune, we have paid a fortune for our son’s suits but here it is going to be ten pounds. I’ve got here dresses that people have donated, designer names, as well as high street names. We have got a complete range.

"We even have brand new things with labels on. One lady gave me three prom dresses that she bought for her daughter for her to choose between the three – two of them still have the label on and the other one she’s worn once and they’re all designer and they are going to be affordable. Two will be £10 and the other maybe £15.

"We want people to come and go away with something that they love and they just want to take away with them.

"The most exciting pair of shoes we have got are a genuine Vivienne Westwood pair of shoes with their original box and their original bag. They are barely worn and the retail price was £295 so we are going to auction those because they are just a steal.”

Charlotte is overwhelmed and greatly appreciative of the local people that have donated to her for the sale.

They also have party wear, evening wear and even bridal wear, some of which is brand new.

The event is at All Saint’s Church, Ecclesall, and is cash only.