All dressed up in duct-tape apparel

Ashley Colletti and Spencer Conover went to the Boylan Catholic High School prom Saturday night, dressed up in duct tape.

It’s all part of a contest promoted by Duck Tape brand duct tape that offers up to $3,000 in scholarship money to each of the duct-taped prom-goers and $3,000 in cash to the winners’ school.

Colletti and Conover aren’t the first Rock River Valley entrants in the contest.

Mike Mace and Emily Ewald of Rochelle won the contest in 2002, when scholarship awards were $2,500. That same year, Melinda Cook and Christopher Oppold of Freeport won an honorable mention.

Ashley said she spent about two months making her dress and Spencer’s tuxedo for the event. It also took about 20 rolls of Duck Tape in yellow, green, teal, blue and silver.

The dress was made from scratch, while the tuxedo was made with duct tape over a standard jacket and trousers. Spencer’s vest and tie, however, were made from scratch with duct tape. Ashley also made her corsage, Spencer’s bouttonaire and her purse from tape.

“The dress is heavy,” she said. “It has a fabric lining, but the rest is all tape.”

She found the Duck Tape contest by accident and decided to try her hand at making the clothes and entering the contest.

“I was looking for something else online and stumbled across the contest site,” she said.

Contest entrants send photos of themselves in their prom wear to Henkel, Inc., in Avon, Ohio, parent company of Duck Tape. Online voting determines the winners.

Winners donate their prom wear to Henkel, which displays them. You can see photos of previous winners and their prom wear at www.ducktapeclub.com/contests/winners.asp?ContestPID=1.