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Published: Tuesday, Apr. 14, 2009 / Updated: Wednesday, Apr. 15, 2009 09:39 AM

'Beautiful' and ready for a 'Night on the Town'

On Friday, April 17, Taylor Altier, a junior at Indian Land High School, will play in the Indian Land High School girls soccer game against Ninety-Six. The next day, she will trade her soccer uniform for a formal gown as she prepares to go to her first prom.

It took Altier only about 15 minutes of shopping to find the perfect prom dress. Along with her mom, Amy Altier, and her best friend, Liz Wheeler, Taylor visited a boutique in Concord Mills (N.C.) a few weeks ago, at first unsure of what kind of dress she wanted. Taylor pulled different colored dresses off the rack, looking at deep blues, greens and an occasional white dress.

Her focus narrowed when she found a satin yellow gown with rhinestone accents at the shoulders.

"Have you seen the movie, "How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days?" Taylor asked. "This looks just like the dress."

The dress is a simple yellow satin dress worn by Kate Hudson in the movie, during a scene that makes most teenage girls, and grown women, too, envious of Hudson's gorgeous wardrobe. Hudson, playing magazine reporter Andie Anderson, is dressed to the nines for a party. When her date (played by Matthew McConaughey) for the evening sees her, he says simply, in one of those breathtaking moments found only in a true "chick flick."

"You're beautiful."

Taylor and her boyfriend of two years, Patrick Sweatt, are making plans for their prom night to be as special as that movie moment. They plan a limousine ride with friends to a scenic spot to take photos. Then the group will be off to Maggiano's in Charlotte for dinner, and then to the South Charlotte Banquet Center for the prom, themed "A Night on the Town."

This is the first time Taylor has attended prom as a guest, but she has dreamed about going to prom for years. Last year, she even volunteered to go to prom as an assistant, passing out drinks and snacks to prom-goers and admiring the girls' dresses.

The yellow satin dress is the first dress that Taylor tries on at the store and after it, no other dress compares. Taylor looked at herself in the mirror wearing the yellow satin dress, pulling her hair first onto the top of her head, then letting it hang down, trying to decide the perfect combination of dress and hair style.

Her face shows her excitement at finding exactly what she wanted.

"I don't want to try any more dresses on, mommy," she said. "This is it. This is the one."

With tears in her eyes, Amy smiled at her daughter and echoes McConaughey's words from the film.

"Beautiful," she said. "You're beautiful."