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Looking through the latest teen fashion magazines this time of year, high school girls scan endless pages of ads, looking for inspiration and the perfect prom dress.

Some gowns are short and sassy, with handkerchief hemlines and corset-tied backs; others are long and sophisticated with cutout midriffs and open, V-shaped backs that dip to a point several inches below the waistline.

In either case, these definitely are not their mothers' prom dresses.

One new look this season from the Xcite collection of Stafford, Texas-based designer Impression Bridal is so provocative that some bridal and prom gown shops refuse to stock it in the interest of good taste. The long, form-fitting beaded gown in black or red features two thin straps strategically crossed from shoulders to waist in the front, exposing large portions of skin and leaving very little to the imagination.

The Bridal Beginning in Mt. Lebanon carries the Xcite line, but store owner Pat Olivo says he and his wife and co-owner, Pam, didn't order the questionable gown for two reasons: "We don't believe in it, and I don't believe it would sell."

Pat says his dress shop carries other prom gowns from Xcite, which are "somewhat risque," but he doesn't think there's a large market for that kind of extreme style among high school girls in the Pittsburgh area.

"We could have put it on one of our mannequins in the window and caused a few traffic accidents," he says jokingly, "but we opted not to do that."

MB Bride and Modern Tux in Greensburg carries the Xcite line, but buyer-manager Erin Provance-Smith says she didn't order the gown she refers to as "barely a dress."

"I remember it vividly," she says. "I saw it at a prom fashion show in Atlanta in August. Of course the girl modeling it was 6-foot-1 and a size 0 so it looked good on her, but I can't sell that here. Parents don't like to see that much skin and a lot of schools in the area have certain regulations for what girls can wear to the prom."

Betty Workman, president of Carlisle's on Pittsburgh's South Side, also saw some risque dresses "with middles cut out and belly buttons showing" when she attended a preseason prom show.

At one point, she says, "I turned to another shop owner and said, 'Would you let your daughter wear that?' I won't promote that in my store."

But it's apparently still popular. The dress, known as No. 376, is one of the best-selling prom dresses for Impression Bridal, of which Xcite is a part, throughout the United States, including "from the Midwest to the West Coast," spokeswoman Leakhana Lee says. She said the dress retails for $250 to $300.

Prom gowns nationwide average around $200, says Gina Kelly, fashion editor at Seventeen magazine. Although some cost as much as $500 or more, Kelly says there are many choices available for $100 or less.

And although revealing dresses are getting a lot of press -- and some buyers -- Kelly says most teens are saying the look is not what they're going for.

"A girl really wants to feel like a princess and doesn't want to worry about falling out of her dress or wearing double-stick tape," she says.

Carrie Miller, 17, student and senior class vice president at Upper St. Clair High School, says she wouldn't consider wearing some of the extreme prom gowns she has seen.

"There'll always be a few girls who end up buying those dresses," she says, "but I'm not comfortable wearing them. Good for them for being so confident, but they're definitely not for me." The teen says finding the right prom dress is an important decision, especially during senior year.

"It's the only time, aside from your wedding, that you can go out and dress up like that," she says.

Kathy Charlton, principal at Hempfield Area High School, noticed the revealing look of this year's prom gowns, and decided to do something about it before the girls spent their money.

"The problem was, we never had a dress code for the prom," Charlton says, adding that dress codes for school hours were set to "preserve the academic atmosphere in the school."

"But for prom, that's not an issue. It's outside of academics. And in the past, things haven't been this revealing," she says.

Charlton turned to Headlining Hempfield, a school publication that reaches everyone in the district. There, she provided information about what would be appropriate and what would not be allowed at the Hempfield prom, set for April 30. She says she included Web site links to dresses that could be worn. She even took her concerns a step further and wrote an article for the school's newspaper reiterating the consequences of skimpy, barely-there fashions. Those who show up in them will be turned away. Charlton says no-no dresses include those that require tape to keep it in place. Gowns that are cut too low in the back or have cutouts in the torso that could cause the body to be inappropriately exposed are off limits as well.

"I even have magazines in my office and girls can come look in them for ideas. The kids are showing me dresses and saying, 'What do you think?'" Charlton says. "They are even taking pictures of them and bringing them in to show me the dress. So far, the dresses have been fine.

"Many of the girls have said, 'We really don't want the focus of our prom to be how bare we can be.' But we always get one or two who try to push the limits," Charlton says. "And we just can't have that stuff going on."

Hempfield Area High School student Katie Rahl says she's not interested in seeing a lot of skin at her senior prom.

"I think you can be beautiful and still be covered up," the 18-year-old says.

Her mother, Kim Rahl, of Fort Allen, says she and her daughter had no problems selecting a dress for prom.

"We kind of both looked at this as her special night," Kim Rahl says. "We both agreed on the dress and price wasn't an issue. I guess I was just very fortunate that we agreed on the same style."

Katie Rahl says the "ridiculous" look of the barely there prom dress never appealed to her. Instead, she selected a coral halter dress that flows out full at the bottom.

"I like to wear the classier styles," she says. "A lot of the girls at my school didn't like the rules about what we could and could not wear, but I didn't mind it. I don't want to see that at my prom." In addition to being too revealing, mom and daughter say there are other reasons why skimpy prom gowns may not be the best choice for the formal event.

"She wants to go and look like a princess," Kim Rahl says. "She wouldn't be comfortable in one of those other dresses. She likes to go and dance all night. You can't dance in those dresses."

While some school districts rely on the good judgment of their students and their parents, others have dress codes that dictate what is considered acceptable prom wear.

At Central Catholic High School, students are required to sign a contract when they purchase prom tickets, according to English teacher Vince Buccina, who says he has been involved in planning proms at the all-male school for 21 years. The form includes a portion for the student, his parents, his date and her parents to fill out and sign.

"This way I have their phone numbers on file in case there's a problem," he says.

Central Catholic relaxed its dress requirements for the prom two years ago, says Buccina, so that boys no longer are required to wear tuxedos. The teacher says he encourages them to wear suits unless they prefer to conform to tradition and wear a tux.

As for girls, "the rules are pretty basic," he says. "No strapless dresses and no two-piece dresses. The rules are based on common sense within the Catholic school environment."

He says he recalls only one incident, two years ago, when a senior boy brought a girl to the prom who was wearing "an extremely revealing" dress.

"Our principal -- a Christian brother -- was up in arms and didn't want to let her in," Buccina says, "but we didn't want to ruin the boy's prom night." Another teacher chaperone brought over a sweater and suggested the girl slip it over her dress.

"I said, 'You have two options -- wear the sweater or leave.' She was very considerate and wore it," he says.

Andrea John, English teacher and junior/senior prom sponsor at Fox Chapel Area High School, says the district's dress code doesn't specifically address prom apparel, but students follow current trends and "exercise good taste. We've never had problems and never had to address the issue."

One year, a group of boys all wore cowboy hats with their tuxedos, and another year they wore tennis shoes with the formal attire, she says, "but nothing obscene. Girls definitely are getting into more evening gowns as opposed to real frilly, frou-frou dresses."

Fox Chapel's Parent Teacher Student Association president, Cathy Kingsley, says her two daughters, Katie, a senior, and Susan, a junior, and their friends are conservative dressers, and she doesn't think they would consider wearing inappropriate dresses to the prom.

Barb Michna, mother of Thomas Jefferson High School senior Monica Michna, says she and her daughter go prom shopping together, and "we compromise and we discuss. If it's a no, it's a no. We try to pick out something that is both trendy and becoming. You have to keep the communication lines open."

English teacher Sandy Barker, prom faculty adviser at Thomas Jefferson, says the high school office sends home a letter to all parents of junior and senior students that specifies guidelines for prom dress.

If the faculty sponsors feel an outfit is inappropriate, they will ask the students to "cover up" or call their home to have them change clothes, Barker says. "It's a fun evening for them. The whole purpose is for them to feel like a princess."

At Taylor Allderdice High School, a general school dress code specifies that "no student shall wear any apparel or jewelry that promotes sexual activity or violence -- and students are expected to wear appropriate clothing at all times."

Activities director John Regent says: "We told the kids to try to be tasteful" when selecting dresses for their May 26 prom at Churchill Country Club. "They've been forewarned. If they wear something outrageous, they might not be attending the prom."

At Upper St. Clair High School, senior class sponsor and assistant activities director Sheila Bartlett says there is no formal policy about prom attire, but teachers deal with issues as they arise.

Bartlett hopes the school's Sadie Hawkins dance, held in January, is an indication of the types of dresses students will wear to their prom June 9 at the South Pointe Hilton. Girls wore tasteful and conservative attire to that dance, she says.

"For a while last year, the trend seemed to be heading toward trashy and bare," she says. "I'm hoping the pendulum is swinging back to more feminine, flattering styles."

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