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69 °F Forecast | Road Cams Monday, May 2, 2005 Today's News | Shop Our Valley | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery | Contact Us SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Health Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley SHOP OUR VALLEY AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Classified Place an ad TOP JOBS EXTRA Ashland News NIE Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Moving here? eSouthernOregon CUSTOMER SERVICE FAQ's Advertise with us Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend April 28, 2005 Eagle Point High School junior Noel Orlow, 17, laughs at a joke while being fitted by seamstress Tina Blair for her prom dress. Orlow got the dress through �Jodi's Closet� which offers new or used prom dresses for girls who can't or won't buy them. Mail Tribune / Jim Craven All gussied up for prom By JONEL ALECCIA Mail Tribune Lori Hinkle wanted to give her daughter the prom of her dreams. But somewhere between fantasy and reality, the Eagle Point mother of four ran smack into prom dress price tags. At $150 a pop or more, the designer dresses in local department stores were well beyond the family budget. "I was going, ‘Oh, Noel, we have to go to the discount racks,’ " recalls Hinkle, 37, who distributes designer hair products from home. That’s when Noel Orlow, Hinkle’s 17-year-old daughter, remembered "Jodi’s Closet." It’s a collection of more than 300 formal and semi-formal evening gowns gathered by Jodi Bittick, who owns Martinizing Dry Cleaning in Medford. Bittick gives out the dresses in exchange for a food donation. Last year, for the first time, Bittick began offering glamorous gowns to local girls who couldn’t — or didn’t want to — buy one of their own. Through Bittick’s prom dress "bank," Orlow’s cousin, Megan Aney, acquired the lovely black and blue-spangled gown she wore to her 2004 EPHS senior prom. "It was a lot of fun," recalled Aney, now 19. "I wouldn’t have worn the dress more than once." So when Orlow needed a gown for her May 7 gala, she headed straight for the Biddle Road business. The result? A floor-length, satin and organza gown in fading shades of pale-pink to fuschia. With spaghetti straps and a lace-up back, the rhinestone-studded dress is everything Orlow imagined. "It’s my favorite color!" she said Wednesday, as Bittick’s staff pinned the hem and adjusted the straps for free. In the last year, Bittick has acquired dozens of dresses for the project that began with a simple observation. "We see so many prom dresses come back after the dance and they only wear them once," she said. "There are a lot of girls who really want to go, but can’t really afford to buy a dress." After word got around last year, donations streamed in, Bittick said. She’s got dresses in a range of sizes and a rainbow of hues from silver gray and pale peach to violet, moss, burgundy and black. As Rogue Valley prom season shifts into full gear, many of Bittick’s dresses already have been spoken for. The favorites are always the "fluffy, glittery ones," she says, often a size 10. In exchange for a night of glamour, the girls are asked to bring a non-perishable donation for the ACCESS Inc. food pantry — and to return the dress as soon as possible. Some gowns came back tardy last year and a few never came back at all. For the most part, though, the girls who borrowed dresses from "Jodi’s Closet" were thoughtful, respectful — and grateful, Bittick said. Ditto for their moms, added Lori Hinkle. "We have four kids," she said. "When I heard about this, I was like, ‘Oh, thank you! I need groceries this month!’ " Without the expense of a dress, Hinkle was free to treat her daughter to the accessories that make prom especially memorable. "We got pink flip-flops with beads and rhinestones, just the color of her dress," Hinkle said. "We got a pink rhinestone bracelet and a pink rhinestone necklace, and it all matches!" Bittick hopes to expand her collection and to offer gowns year-round for occasions other than prom. To donate a dress, or to choose one, call Bittick at 734-9247. Reach reporter JoNel Aleccia at 776-4465, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. 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