Teens, Tuxes and Taffeta: It’s Prime Time for Proms : Dating: Big night looms for couples, not to mention dress shops, florists, limo services and restaurants.

Suddenly, there are teen-agers running around in taffeta gowns and powder-blue tuxedos. Flower shops are selling corsages by the hundreds and limousines are parked at strategically selected hotels and restaurants.

You can almost hear the strains from the Carpenters’ “We’ve Only Just Begun.” Is it some kind of 1970s revival? Nope, it’s just prom time in Orange County for thousands of high school juniors and seniors.

Over the next two weeks, usually rebellious teen-agers will turn to mush. When it comes to music, they will discard their rock favorites and go for sappy. When it comes to clothes, they will forgo T-shirts and shorts and don penguin suits and frilly gowns.

“We all know it’s prom time when we see a parade of prom dresses walking by and all the hotel guests turn and look,” said Jennifer Nestegard, a spokeswoman for the Queen Mary in Long Beach, a popular Orange County prom site. “We love it because it’s like a fashion show. And all the kids are dressed up and having fun.”

The heavens and oceans are playing major roles in this year’s proms: Anaheim High, for example, chartered a private boat at Newport Harbor so they could dance to a “Sea of Love” theme on May 25. The prom-goers from Canyon High School, meanwhile, have loftier goals--they want to climb a “Stairway to Heaven” at the Doubletree Hotel in Orange on June 1. Last night, students at San Clemente High were content to keep their feet on the ground under “A Night of Stars” at the La Jolla Marriott.

When it comes to prom dates, today’s students seem to have come to a consensus that it doesn’t matter who you go with--as long as you go.

Among this year’s practical couples are Bolsa Grande High School seniors Quy (Kaytie) Ton, 17, and Ngoc Tran, 18, who don’t usually date. They aren’t close friends. And they certainly wouldn’t consider ever going steady. But tonight, the two plan to be hand in hand doing a slow dance at the Beverly Heritage Hotel in Costa Mesa.

Kaytie had asked Ngoc to the prom two weeks before the “Midnight Hour” event, and then hurried to prepare for the big occasion.

“I don’t even know how tall Ngoc is,” Kaytie said earlier this week as she debated whether to wear pumps to the prom. “I’ll make a guess and wear my heels, then my dress won’t sweep the floor.”

Then, there are the romantic couples.

Take juniors Jennifer Larson, 16, and Larry White, 17. Dewey-eyed and constantly holding hands, Jennifer and Larry look the picture of a teen-age couple bopping their way out of a 1950s pop hit. They telephone each other often. They are steadies. And they are already planning to attend next year’s prom.

“We didn’t even have to ask each other whether we were going to the prom,” said Jennifer, who has been dating Larry for four months. “We just knew.”

Prom time is the ultimate rite of passage for high school students. For seniors, it is traditionally the last dance of their high school years, a sign that graduation is just around the corner. It is a chance to strut in formal wear and dance in it as well. For juniors, who organize the events, the prom is the next step toward senior-dom.

“It’s kind of like a social status,” said teacher Greg Shadid, Bolsa Grande High School junior year adviser. “The juniors and seniors feel a need to attend. It’s as if the prom is on a list of things students must accomplish before they graduate from high school.”

And proms have become incredible pressure cookers for students who want to strike the right impression. Peer pressure heightens during prom time, says Rosalyn Laudati, a Newport Beach-based psychologist.

“It’s something they remember the rest of their lives,” Laudati said. “If they don’t go to their own proms, they feel like they are nerds or have a social black mark.”

But proms are not simple formals anymore. They are expensive. Prom night includes tickets ($75 average for a couple), tuxedo rentals (up to $50 a night), chauffeured limousines ($300 minimum), evening dresses ($75 and up), flowers ($25 for boutonnieres and corsages), photos ($45) and dinner ($75). Prom night can kill a teen-ager’s savings and a parent’s wallet.

Like other couples, Kaytie and Ngoc are sharing the costs. But they have found themselves bickering over the expenses. When Kaytie found out that Ngoc’s tuxedo was going to cost them $50, she told him, “You got ripped off, we could have gotten it for $30.”

Two days before the prom, the two found themselves at the formal wear shop, making sure Ngoc’s tuxedo fits. This will be the first prom for both because they skipped their junior year dance. And it is the first prom for their families, both Vietnamese immigrants. The two say the prom is all they hear about and all they talk about in school. They plan to spend the evening with their group of friends.

“The prom is a very American thing to do,” Kaytie said. “Nobody in my family has ever been to the prom. It’s different.”

Kaytie says she hardly ever thought about the prom until her senior year.

“The whole prom image is not me,” Kaytie said. “I’m tomboy-ish. I don’t like makeup or anything like that. But I wanted to go because I really want to share time with my friends. I might not see them again when we graduate.”

Although Ngoc admits he doesn’t know Kaytie very well, he plans to take his responsibility as a date seriously.

“I want to show her a good time. The prom is supposed to be a great night, and I want her to enjoy herself,” Ngoc said.

The prom is also a great opportunity to make a good impression on a date, Shadid says.

“It’s kind of lavish,” Shadid said. “You can’t just have a hamburger, you go for the real expensive dinners.”

For Larry and Jennifer, making a good impression means having dinner at the Rusty Pelican at Newport Beach. It also means getting haircuts and making trips to the boutiques for just the right dress and tuxedo.

Several days before the prom, Larry admitted he was slightly nervous.

“I want Jennifer to have the kind of night her parents did,” he said.

The prom has special meaning for Jennifer’s family. Her parents--high school sweethearts--attended their prom together in 1966.

“I had a good time at my prom, and I hope it will be a special night of fun for them too,” said Elaine Larson, Jennifer’s mother. “It’s kind of like a growing experience.”

Larry and Jennifer are indeed a 1990s couple. Because Larry doesn’t have a car, Jennifer will do the honor of picking him up in her mother’s car.

“Times have changed,” Larry said. “But proms . . . they kinda remain the same.”