Going to prom is a rite of passage for teenagers across the country, and Addi Rust was excited to be attending with her best friend Parker Smith. However, she had no idea what she was going to wear because she simply didn’t have the money to drop on a fancy dress. That’s where her BFF came in — he happily made her one from scratch!
- Addi could have gotten a dress, but she wanted something exquisite. However, both she and Parker were shocked when they realized just how expensive these dresses actually are to buy. USA Today reports that the average prom dress is $600, and many people don’t have (or simply don’t want to spend) that kind of money for one night. That’s when Parker became inspired to step in.
- Parker making the dress started as a joke. Addi joked to Parker one day that he could make her a better dress than one at the shop and save her a ton of money, but she was only kidding. After all, that’s a huge undertaking. However, as it turned out, Parker thought it would be fun.
- Keep in mind that Parker had never sewn a thing before making Addi’s dress. He didn’t know how to use a sewing machine, measure patterns, or any of it. He literally learned from scratch just to make his best friend’s prom dress. How amazing is that?!
- Parker created a sketch based on Addi’s dream dress. He then went to his grandmother, who gave him some lessons and got him up to scratch. It took him several months, but Parker worked hard to make the dress and eventually, it was all finished. Well, nearly.
- He was still adding the last details the night before the big event. As he told Fox 59, “I’m such a perfectionist that I was up adding more stones to the dress even the night before prom.” When Addi finally saw that dress, she teared up – it was perfect!
- The requests keep coming in for Parker to make more stuff! Impressed with his skills, he was asked to make costumes for local theater productions. He was truly shocked and honored and had no idea this would happen.
- Parker loved being able to make Addi’s dress for prom because it meant a lot to him. “Extremely sentimental to me. Especially when you see everything all together, and there’s just no other feeling. It’s just crazy to think that something like that can come from, like, a simple kid…It only enriched the kid I know myself to be already,” he told Fox 59.
