For 20 years, Duck Tape has awarded scholarships to winners who make the best prom clothes out of duct tape. Ingenious idea, great marketing, and spectacular results. Ten finalists were announced today for the 2021 competition; 5 in the prom dress category and 5 in the tux category. The outfits are fantastic. One student from each category will win a $10,000 college scholarship, and the other 8 will receive $500 scholarships.
This year average number of hours of work on the costume for those in the tux category was 88! That’s three and a half days straight or two full work weeks. 146 hours was the average for the prom dresses; 6 days without stopping or three and a half work weeks. Colored duct tape is 1.88 inches wide and 15 yards long. It took 19 rolls of duct tape to make a tux; 29 was the average for prom dresses. My favorite dress, Larissa’s, used 47 rolls of duct tape!
I have no 2021 images to show you due to copyright laws, but I will describe all ten.
Prom Dresses
- Larissa’s Mexican Ballet Foklórico dress has an off-the-shoulder bodice, wide black skirt, colorful stripes and flowers.
- Erika designed a clever two in one dress design in white, black, turquoise and gold.
- Zaineb made a blue and gold dress celebrating her Muslim background with an image from the Abu Dhabi mosque.
- Meihuan designed a yellow dress based on her Chinese heritage and the pageantry of Chinese opera.
- Giles made a colorful hoop skirt dress featuring messages spray painted on the Robert E. Lee Statue in VA as an antiracism statement.
Tuxes
- Zoe’s blue and gold tux is inspired by peacocks and 18th century menswear. Beautiful feather-like green vest.
- Ryan made a black and red steampunk angel or devil suit complete with a top hat and wings.
- Aaron represented the human body; bones, muscles and organs because he wants to study medicine.
- Vaughn created a green circuit board tux and multicolored striped pants.
- Casey’s tux is an American Gothic theme, complete with overalls, cowboy hat and a representation of the painting.
Please look at the contest website, you won’t be disappointed! (duckbrand.com/stuck-at-prom/vote) Click on the names of the contestants for more details. If you would like, you can cast a vote for your favorite dress and tux. Please let us know in the comments below which two get your vote!
¡Gracias! ¡Olé! –Rebecca
Fake Flamenco 
This is ingenious!
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Thanks, Rebecca. A friend of mine on FB saw Larissa’s dress and thought I’d be interested. She was right!
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So creative. My daughter went through a phase of making things out of duct tape… the ideas have exploded since then.
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Well, your daughter is very creative! Duct tape is a good medium for costume making. We’ve made paper towel tube swords that looked very convincing. Did you get a chance to look at the prom outfits. I’m curious which you preferred. : )
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Yes, she is a talented artist. Thank you.
The prom outfits are amazing! Hard to choose, but Larissa’s and Ryan’s stand out. Do you have a favorite?
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It is hard to pick just one in each category. I do love Larissa’s. For tuxes, it’s a toss up between Ryan and Aaron for me.
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That is indeed a really creative and clever idea for both marketing and fashion originality. Wow, a ten thousand dollar scholarship is potentially life-changing! No wonder the candidates spent so long making them!
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Thanks for the teen perspective on the contest! Yes, the large scholarship would be worth 140 hours of work. : )
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Such ingenuity! I loved last year’s prom dresses too: https://suzannesmomsblog.com/2020/07/11/duct-tape-prom-dress/
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Cool, you’re always on top of the news!
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wow! How cool! I never heard of doing such a thing! But man! Thats a lot of work!
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Yes, and if you win, you’ve earned the reward!
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Thanks Rebecca. I always look forward to seeing the creativity of the entries in this contest!
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Thanks for your comments, Henry. How are you settling in Stateside? I remember the culture shock was strong when we came back from Chile, and that was just a year away from the US.
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