No girl ever wants to show up to her prom wearing the exact same dress as someone else. Aimee Kick, a senior at Francis Howell North High School in Missouri, wanted to wear a creative prom dress that would not only be elegant and fashionable, but also one-of-a-kind. So she decided to make her own, but not out of fabric. She ruled out tea bags, stamps, bubble wrap, and aluminum foil, and settled on coffee filters when she realized the other materials were either perishable or not durable enough for a night of dancing. Aimee had become known as “the girl with the coffee cup” around school, so it was fitting that coffee filters served as inspiration. Movement and breathability were other important factors in deciding on the material. Aimee also wanted to be able to make and complete the dress on her own in a reasonable amount of time. Although she has three AP courses, an online college course, and a part-time job, Aimee folded, cut, stained, dyed, sewed, and blow-dried every single coffee filter used in the dress. She completed the dress in about a month, even though she has never made clothing from coffee filters. “When I really started to notice how into making the dress I got was the day before a large (and tedious) research paper was due. I kept saying to myself, ’Just finish the paper and then you can work on the dress as much as you want,’” Aimee told the Francis Howell School District. She said this project was more of a stimulating challenge than a difficulty.

Aimee isn’t the only high school student to don an unconventional dress for prom. Check out the Coke Can Pop Top Dress and the 2008 winner of the Stuck at the Prom Duck Brand Duct Tape Scholarship Contest.
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