{Written by Journalism I student Katharine Bales ’22}
The Ursuline/Jesuit Homecoming dance is fast-approaching, taking place on Saturday, Oct. 27 at Ursuline Academy for freshmen and sophomores and at Jesuit for the upperclassmen. Nearly all can agree that Homecoming is a long-awaited dance following a spirited football game. Ursuline girls, however, often worry more about finding an affordable, stylish dress than they do the numbers on the scoreboard.
Some high school girls try to save money (and closet space) by renting dresses for the event and returning them afterward, as opposed to buying and keeping them.
“If you do Rent the Runway, you can rent a dress for like $30, versus paying $200 just to let one sit in your closet forever,” said Daniela Zevallas ’20.
Parents of high school girls tend to agree that one-time dresses are easily rented and returned for special events, especially based on past experiences.
“My daughter’s Homecoming dresses are still sitting in a closet at home,” Mrs. Melinda Smith, who teaches journalism at Ursuline, said. She therefore reinforces the idea of dress rental companies.
On the other hand, other students opt for the less expensive stores, websites, and brands instead of renting or temporarily having a dress for one specific occasion.
“I understand that a lot of people think Homecoming dresses are unreasonably priced,” Tara Estefani ’21 said. “I tend to shop online for my dresses on a site called ‘Lulus,’ or I just shop at Macy’s with my mom.”
Many Ursuline students’ favorite stores and companies tend to overlap because of the most popular dress manufacturers and styles.
“I like to shop at Free People and Lulus,” sophomores Hannah Jenkins and Haley Wilson said, just as Tara Estefani had mentioned Lulus before.
Girls like to shop via internet sites, or they sometimes prefer to go to smaller stores to find options that would not necessarily be available at the mall.
“I do Revolve, which is an online website, or a boutique called Snyder,” Lexi Lewis ’20 said. “They both sell cute clothes for pretty good prices.”
