Meet the Sefton mum clothing prom princes and princesses in gowns, suits - and confidence

It’s prime prom season when thousands of teens are excitedly getting ready for their school leaving celebration.

And thanks to Sefton mum Lynne Higgins, hundreds of pupils across Merseyside whose parents wouldn’t have been able to afford the expensive outfits have been able to enjoy the evening along with their peers.

It’s 13 years since Lynne, 65, set up Dress to Impress supporting young girls and boys with glamorous gowns and sharp suits along with everything else they need to complete their prom outfits for free.

While the smiles on their faces are all Lynne needs as thanks for what she does, their joy and happiness are proof of the power of her passion for what might seem such a simple gesture.

Lynne said:

“Every child is entitled to feel like a prince or princess when it comes to prom. Yet there are so many students in our city who can’t afford the £700 gown, or the £200 suit, along with all the make-up, hair, shoes, and everything.

“That means that they are excluded and that’s wrong.

“So schools come to us with young people, heads down, shoulders rounded – and when they come out in their outfits, you see the shoulders go back and the heads go up, and the smiles spread across their faces.

“We don’t just dress them we clothe them in confidence – and that’s why I’m so passionate about what we do.”

She says ‘we’ because she’s now surrounded by an ‘amazing team of volunteers who are worth their weight in gold’ but it was just Lynne who started a community shop which became Sefton Community Pantry CIC – of which Dress to Impress is a part – in 2008, stocking clothes, food and homewares for hard-up families in Seaforth, before going on to give out hundreds of food hampers to families in need … and who still provides them to people when the struggle becomes too much.

Lynne’s also been known to help furnish an entire home for a family who had to be rehoused after a fire and organise heating for another who’s boiler had broken beyond repair, as well as answer other emergency calls for aid when no-one else can seemingly assist.

Supported by public donations and fundraising, she responds to the appeals from schools who see children going in hungry, without underwear or socks or a winter coat.

She provides PJs and bedding, and toys for them at Christmas.

“All our referrals come from schools. They are best placed to see families who need help and they can be our eyes.

“But people shouldn’t be living like this,” says Lynne, who over the years has fostered 30 children.

Dress to Impress, housed in the CIC’s former church hall base in Seaforth Road, has been racing to the prom rescue since 2013, after a chance moment in a boutique that broke the compassionate mum’s heart.

She explains:

“One of our foster daughters at the time was doing prom and I’d never done it. Our older son had had his but that was easy, that was just a suit. When it came to hers we went out to our local prom shop.

“I was in a position where I wasn’t watching the pennies at the time. My daughter was trying on gowns and while we were there, a mum and daughter came in.

“Now there was a fabulous dress in the window and this kid’s face was blossoming while she looked at the window saying ‘that’s the dress’! She was buzzing, and they came in all excited and asked the assistant how much it was.

“Whatever the assistant said robbed her of her joy. She was crushed and they turned round, looking at the floor, and scurried out of the shop.

“My heart broke. It was just as my daughter was coming out of the fitting room and said the girl was in her year group, and it made me realise that not everyone was in a position where they could go and buy what they wanted.”

Lynne goes on:

“My daughter lacked confidence, but she just looked stunning and I asked her what she thought. When she said she didn’t know I told her she looked like she should be getting an Oscar and she looked up at herself and bloomed like she was properly seeing herself for the first time.

“It was so special – I wish I could bottle that to show people what we do.

“I phoned her school and said we had half a dozen gowns in the shop and to send kids who couldn’t afford one to me. I also said we’d pay for 10 tickets for kids, so no-one got left out.

“That was the start of Dress to Impress, because every kid is entitled to feel like a prince or princess.”

She started with half a dozen gowns and now Lynne’s got thousands which she offers via schools across the city region, ‘nothing cheap or rubbish’ and some with price tags of £2,000 still on: “And we’re always looking for donations,” she says.

Boys get the suit, a shirt and tie, a tie pin if she has one, socks, boxer shorts, shoes, an electric razor if they’ve started shaving and a gift set.

(Lynne also provides young boys with suits for funerals and job interviews: “I had one lad who came in on Monday for an interview suit and he didn’t want to take it off. I asked him how he felt and he said ‘powerful, handsome and important’.

“So we help build their self-esteem too and give them confidence.”

Girls are given the gown, a tiara, if they have one a Primark voucher so they can get the underwear to go with it, a handbag, shoes if they have them, and a goody bag with toiletries and cosmetics.

Lynne even offers bridal and communion wear, and free wedding outfits for couples where one is on end of life care and they want to tie the knot as a final loving act.

There’s a reason why Lynne is now devoted to spending her life helping those families who need it most.

“I was the kid who grew up with nothing,” she smiles. “I was the smelly kid who no-one wanted to play with.

“My passion for everything I do for these families and these kids goes back to me, when I was that child in need.

“I never had the opportunity for someone to come and make life different for me; so I want to offer it to kids like me today.”