Every spring, high school seniors in the United States of America face a social crisis of Biblical proportions. No, it does not involve the relatively insignificant questions of if, and where, they are going to attend university, and how they're going to pay for it – or, alternatively, how they are going to spend their working lives. Decisions about jobs, possible military careers, marriage prospects, or jumping in the car and driving to Hollywood to park cars while waiting for fame and fortune to strike are as nothing compared to this, the most momentous set of decisions of their young lives.

Who are they going to the Prom with? How will they get there? And what will they wear? These are vital, life-changing choices. The Senior Prom is the dance of dances.

The Senior Prom – these days, an all-night extravaganza of eating, dancing, and (if the adults don't watch carefully) drinking, will be regarded by some as the high point of their school careers. That is, of course, once they get past the hurdle of actually finding a partner for the evening, a subject burdened not only with the fear of rejection, but the problem of suitability: in recent years, LGBT issues have led to lawsuits, usually won by the gay students, although one school cancelled its Prom rather than allow a same-gender couple to attend, while at another, conservative parents moved the entire event off-campus in an effort to exclude. In short, Prom is fraught. And expensive: according to 2013 figures, the whole experience would have cost, per couple, an average of $1,139.

Unless, of course, the students find a way to avoid spending a fortune on haute couture. Which is where the duct tape comes in – we'll get to that. But first, a few questions to answer.

What's a Prom?

The word 'Prom' is short for 'promenade', although few people pay attention to this. In the 1890s, proms were college dinner dances, organised to allow middle-class young people to ape their society betters' debutante balls. As time went on, the custom filtered down to high schools and spread from tony New England across the States, becoming a fairly staid dinner dance held in the gymnasium – a night of magic with paper streamers and non-alcoholic punch that culminated in the crowning of the Prom Queen. A popularity contest and night to remember.

In the 1950s and 1960s, Americans had more money, and were 'upwardly mobile'. Proms became more formal affairs, a chance to show off nice clothes. Couples pooled with other couples to arrive at the dance in limousines. There were after-Prom parties at hotels. Schools in richer neighbourhoods began holding the dances off-site in more elegant venues than the basketball court – although not usually as breathtaking as the time when Gerald Ford's daughter held her Prom in the White House. Proms were becoming bigger business, involving dress sales, tuxedo rentals, chauffeur services, catering, music, and flowers.

Young women with an eye to the financial bottom line had an advantage if they could sew. Creativity could be displayed, and the dress would fit better. With a little inventiveness, one's dance partner could be accessorised to match. Materials, however, got more and more expensive with the years. Somewhere in the 1990s, imaginative students and their Home Economics and art teachers put their heads together – possibly with help from the Shop teachers – and came up with a labour-intensive but satisfying solution to the high cost of Prom fashion.

Enter the Duct Tape Prom Dress. Together with its partner, the Duct Tape Tuxedo, it offered a cutting-edge alternative to the boring old chiffon-and-taffeta frippery that is so last-millennium.

Now a word about duct tape.

Why a Duc(t)?

What does the military have to do with this? During World War II, the military found a thousand uses for cloth-based adhesive tape, often called gaffer tape. The US Army called it 'duck tape'. Opinions differ as to why: some say, because it was made of duck cloth, others, because water rolled off it like, well, water from a duck's back. Back then, the stuff was olive drab.

After the war, duck tape became mostly grey and was used in construction. Construction people found it useful for taping ducts – so it became 'duct tape'. Then NASA discovered the wonder material. Astronauts do not go into space without a roll of duct tape – not after it saved the lives of the Apollo 13 astronauts. Ed Smylie, the genius who saved the astronauts by jury-rigging their air scrubber, said, 'One thing a Southern boy will never say is, 'I don't think duct tape will fix it'.' Duct tape: don't leave the planet without it.

But can it go to the Prom?

They Could Have Danced All Night

Duct tape comes in different colours now: according to the Duck™ company, there are more than 20 of them, including gold, always good for a strong fashion statement. Patterns, at first passed around from student to student, are now available on the Internet. There are instructions on YouTube.

A word about cost: A ready-made prom dress can cost upwards of $500, not including $45 for shoes and $23 for a handbag. Opinions vary as to the cost of a hairdo for the evening: the national average figure is $50, but in urban areas that could go as high as $200, not including extensions. This doesn't include makeup and manicure ($68) and jewellery ($32 average).

At the time of writing, a roll of Duck™ brand duct tape will cost about $5 in a craft store. Savvy shoppers may find bargains at discount outlets – rumour has it, as low as $3. A dress made of duct tape could be made for as little as $50 – or as much as $250 for an all-out extravagant multi-roll creation.

Does the Duck™ company encourage this Zweckentfremdung of its industrial product? You bet it does. After all, NASA is not their sole revenue source. As Duck™ points out on their website, red and pink duct tape makes beautiful roses – more durable than the ones in your garden, too. To honour the use of duct tape at the Prom, the Duck™ people's 'Stuck at Prom' Contest annually offers a scholarship to the couple with the most creative duct tape Prom outfits, with a matching grant to the school.

So popular have duct tape Prom dresses become that the concept was featured on Project Runway, a television show about dress design. The winning designs were both stunning and waterproof.

Duct tape – out of the garage and onto the fashion stage.

What Do We Learn?

From the 21st-Century trend in duct tape Prom dresses, we can learn three things:

1. Economic necessity is the mother of sometimes beautiful invention.
2. Creativity springs eternal in the hearts of the world's young people. Not to mention a healthy sense of humour.
3. There is no event, no matter how commercial, that cannot be further commercialised.

Want to See More Prom Dresses?

Who wouldn't? Here is a photo gallery.

Want to make your own? (If you're male, have fun, but don't tell us about it. It may still be illegal in some countries.) Here are instructions.

Need a video? Here is one online.

Want a smaller project? Try making a duct tape wallet or a duct tape bag.