Every October, girls struggle to find their homecoming dresses. It’s discussed for weeks: the store, the color, the style. Friends influence each other’s dresses, from words of advice to shopping together. With so many stores and types, finding a dress is an entire system. There are dozens of dresses among the racks: silk, tight, velvety, strapless, sequins. And after trying those on, comes picking from numerous shades of colors.
Shopping can be overwhelming, especially with the limit of dress stores available in the area. Nowadays, it’s hard to find a trustworthy website, so finding a reliable one is essential. There are a few popular stores that Bluebirds turn to find their ideal dress.
“…last year I got mine from Lulus. The year before, I think it was Windsor, and the year before that, it was Macy’s,” Cyd Martin (12) said.
The most popular stores for Homecoming dresses are Dillards, Macy, Windsor, and Lulus.
Dillard’s and Macy’s are known for their affordability and accessibility. A Dillard’s or Macy’s department store can be located in most malls in the area, including Kenwood Mall, leading to its wide availability. Although both stores’ items vary, Macy’s and Dillard’s both have very similar or the same dress styles or brands offered. According to a customer service associate in a recent phone call, Dillard’s sells 12,000 dresses per year, and their best selling colors are green, brown, white, and black. Macy’s best selling colors are fuchsia and black.
Windsor is another notable store, located in Kenwood Mall. Per their website, they mainly specialize in formal dresses for wedding guests and dances, with over 1,000 styles available for purchase. With such a wide variety of dresses to select from, Windsor is a highly recommended store if picking a dress is a struggle.
If online shopping is a preference over department stores, Lulus is a very popular selection. They tend to have simpler styles, usually tighter, shorter dresses. These can be strapless, have sparkles and sequins, or have embroidered designs.
Other online shopping sites that tend to have several homecoming dress purchases include Hello Molly, Lucy in the Sky, Princess Polly, and Amazon. All of these online sites are commonly seen as affordable and convenient. These are recommended sites if finding a dress is still a struggle, but it’s up to personal preference.
While searching for dress stores, students are also looking for a selection of styles. As with every year, there is always a new trend.
“This year lace is popular. There’s also like a lot of strapless. It’s typically like more simple dresses rather than extravagant glittery dresses,” Martin said.
Although there are a number of styles that are currently popular, the choice depends on the person. Lydia Poteet (11) prefers more detailed dresses rather than the common simple styles.
“Freshman year was purple, last year was blue, this year it’s green, but all of them sparkles, sequins, I love a good bedazzled outfit.”
When finding a dress, it’s best to look for one that fits personality rather than the style trend. The perfect dress should feel comfortable and fitting. What everyone looks best in varies.
After selecting a style, finding a fitting color is ideal. Every shade and variant of color can be found on the market. Because homecoming takes place in the fall, darker colors tend to take favor. Overall, black is a widely sold color, with other darker colors following behind it.
“I’ve done like darker colors and blacks, all of them have been different,” Katie Bucher (12) said.
Among the darker colors, blues also tend to make an appearance, whether light or dark. A wide variety of pinks is also commonly seen as a selection. Students can select from a large palette of colors from a wide variety of stores to find the best dress for them.
