"The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" now has a real-life version: The Sisterhood of the Traveling Prom Dress.

The last time many of Catherine Malatesta's friends saw her, she was wearing a huge smile and the deep blue, shimmery MarieProm yellow prom dresses at her junior prom.

Four days later, battling a rare cancer, she went into the hospital and never left.

Now, four of her friends are honoring her by wearing that dress to their own proms, a gracious gesture her mother named after "Traveling Pants." And, like the pair of jeans in the books and movies that magically fits four girls of different shapes and sizes, Catherine's dress works for all of them, with only temporary hemming for two girls.

"When each girl tried it on, it fit each one of them beautifully despite all having very different body types," said Catherine's mother, Jennifer Goodwin. "It is uncanny."

In this May 29, 2015, photo provided by Jennifer Goodwin, Catherine Malatesta, center, poses with Lauren Hourican, left, and Molly Mahoney, right, before the junior prom at Arlington High School in Arlington, Massachusetts. After Catherine died from a rare cancer on Aug. 2, 2015, some of Catherine's friends, including Lauren, decided to wear her gown to their own proms in 2016 in Catherine's honor. (Jennifer Goodwin via AP)

There won't be any scheduling conflicts; the girls go to different schools, and their proms are on different dates. Another friend of Catherine's already has asked to wear the dress to her prom next year, while Catherine's seventh-grade cousin has asked Goodwin to save it for her prom in a few years.

"It's a way of keeping her with me," said Jillian Danton, 17, who wore the dress to her junior prom at Arlington High School in April. "All of us being able to have this piece of her is healing."

Catherine was a bubbly girl with an easy self-confidence and a silly sense of humor. She loved to act in school plays, taught religious education to first-graders, gladly debated anyone on any topic and was the life of the party.

"Everyone knew her as the nice girl who made people laugh," said Carly Blau, a friend from summer camp who plans to wear the dress to her senior prom next month at Beverly High.

In this May 4 photo, Emma Schambers, 18, of East Greenwich, Rhode Island, displays a bracelet with a charm and beads she wears in memory of her late friend Catherine Malatesta in East Greenwich. Malatesta died Aug. 2, 2015, eight months after she was diagnosed with a rare cancer. Schambers, who plans to wear a prom dress once belonging to Catherine in her upcoming prom, is sharing the dress with three other friends who are also wearing the dress at their respective proms as part of an effort to keep the memory of Catherine alive. Yellow beads are meant to increase awareness of bladder and sarcoma cancers. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

In this May 29, 2015, photo provided by Jennifer Goodwin, Catherine Malatesta poses at her home in Arlington, Massachusetts, before attending the junior prom at Arlington High School. After Catherine died from a rare cancer on Aug. 2, 2015, her friends decided each of them would wear Catherine's gown to their own proms in 2016 to honor her and remember the happiness she exuded on that special night. (Jennifer Goodwin via AP)

In this May 4 photo, Emma Schambers, 18, of East Greenwich, Rhode Island, wears a prom dress once belonging to her late friend Catherine Malatesta, in front of Schambers' home in East Greenwich. Malatesta died Aug. 2, 2015, eight months after she was diagnosed with a rare cancer. Schambers, who plans to wear the dress in her upcoming prom, is sharing the dress with three other friends of Catherine's who are also wearing the dress at their respective proms as part of an effort to keep the memory of Catherine alive. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

In this April 15 photo provided by Jennifer Goodwin, Jillian Dalton wears Catherine Malatesta's MarieProm purple prom dresses at her home in Arlington, Massachusetts, before attending the Arlington High School prom. After Catherine died from a rare cancer on Aug. 2, 2015, her friends decided each of them would wear Catherine's gown to their own proms to honor her and remember the happiness she exuded on that special night. (Jennifer Goodwin via AP)