Project Prom girl dazzles in magenta dress

It was a landslide. Thousands of Newsday readers voted for this year's Project Prom dress and more than half of them preferred the vibrant magenta confection from Promgirl.com. And that was just fine -- fantastic even -- with our Project Prom girl, Steffany Martinez, 19, of Baldwin, who turned up Thursday night for her very first prom at Russo's on the Bay in Howard Beach looking nothing short of fabulous.

The newly minted Baldwin High grad arrived in this country from El Salvador in 2009 not speaking a bit of English. Thursday night, Martinez, who is now a member of the National Honor Society, was not at a loss for words in the least.

"I feel so good and pretty, and I think the people who voted did a great -- no, a wonderful -- job," she said, beaming. "I loved all the dresses. I couldn't have picked it by myself, but this is the right one. I was so excited for the night that I was shaking."

The gown, with its billowy skirt and bejeweled empire waist, was dreamy. But the color was the eye-catcher (along with the teen, who had her hair and makeup done Thursday afternoon at Spa Adriana in Huntington). In fact, even her date, friend Andrew Keiser, 18, caught a little magenta fever.

"I went to a store and I showed them the picture, and they matched it with a bow tie and a cummerbund," he said.

And though he isn't a huge fan of fashion, Keiser said, "I like the dress. And my whole family liked it. We voted for it. That color is pretty on her."

"It is a great color," said Steffany's best friend, Tracy Bigelow, 18. "I voted for it, and she definitely deserves this. She's strong, and charismatic, and a very good dancer."

Steffany's guidance counselor, Marie Mazzara, said, "She's only been in this country for a short time and she's so focused, very sincere and gives 100 percent."

As for Steffany's glam factor, Mazzara joined the chorus: "I think she looks absolutely beautiful."