Skip to main content

Say Yes to the Dress


 

It looks like high school proms are returning, bringing back memories of the time my daughter was searching for a prom dress.

New fun game. The Kid and I are sending photos of prom dresses to eachother. I found the perfect one, it’s 600.00.



Next she started sending me pictures of the most atrocious ones. 

Daughter, looking at prom dresses,

“That looks like a watermelon. You’re wearing a watermelon!”

Followed by:

“What are you going to do with your boobs in this dress? Put them in your pocket?”

“This one doesn’t have pockets.”

The pièce de resistance:


What. Were. They. Thinking? 

My response at the time:

I think it looks like someone’s arm is up her dress here, and they’re responsible for knocking her off balance. Also, it’s really sad she had a run in with a jar of exploding baby powder.

When you add up all the expenses associated with going to the Prom, the total cost can be enormous. In 2015 the folks at HC Drug Free made up their own list, which you may notice is pretty heavy on the gender stereotyping.


The message about having a drug-free, alcohol-free Prom is a valuable one. The assumptions about gender roles and what constitutes “a couple” could stand to be updated. (And perhaps they have been. But this was out of date even in 2015.)

This year two local schools are schools are undertaking to make the cost of a prom dress more affordable.

At Oakland Mills High School:

Oakland Mills High School is hosting a Dress Sale on Saturday, April 2nd from 11:00 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the school’s cafeteria. NOTHING OVER $20, and some are even as low as $5!! All proceeds go to the OMHS Journalism Department. 

If you have Prom or a formal event coming up, this is a great place to find a high quality dress at a low price! Some dresses still even have the tags on them! 




This event is to raise funds so that the OMHS Journalism Department can afford to print the student newspaper, The Scroll. If you have a dress or dresses you’d like to donate, they are accepting donations until March 28th.

On the very same day, April 2nd, Atholton High School will be hosting Becca’s Closet:


There are 1500 dresses at Atholton high school looking for a student to take them home. Free admission, free dress! Come “shop” on April 2 from 9-2!  No appointment necessary!

What kind of a dress did my daughter choose? I’m not at liberty to say. You know how carefully the young  folks protect their “brand” these days. On the other hand, I’m not quite so protective.




Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Teacher Gifts

Today is the last day of school before the Winter Break. It’s a good time to remember the far-reaching nature of our public school system. You may not have children. You may have sent your children to independent schools. It matters not. You will be impacted one way or another. Yesterday I read a long thread on Facebook about several waves of illness in the schools right now. There’s influenza A and norovirus, I believe. And of course there’s COVID. Apparently in some individual schools the rate of illness is high enough for school admin to notify parents.  When I was little the acceptable holiday gift for a teacher was one of those lovely floral handkerchief squares. (I don’t know what it was for male teachers. They were rare in my elementary years.) These days the range of teacher gifts is wider and I have fond memories of Target gift cards which I have written about before. I think it’s safe to say that giving one’s teacher Influenza, norovirus, or COVID is not the ideal holiday...

Getting Fresh

One of my favorite days in the Spring comes when this year’s list of Farmer’s Markets is released. That happened this week. New this year are markets in Old Ellicott City and the “Merriweather Market” which, according to the address, will be located here . I mistakenly thought at first glance that it was in the new-construction part of the Merriweather District. I find the name confusing considering its actual location. I’m going to guess that this market is an initiative of the Howard Hughes Corporation because the name seems chosen more for branding purposes than anything else.  Alas, the market in Maple Lawn is gone. The thread on the markets on the County Executive’s FB page will provide you with quite the education in who actually runs the Farmers Markets vs what people often think is going on. Short answer: they are not  chosen nor run by the county. Each market is an independent entity, sometimes started by community volunteers, other times supported by local businesses...

They Can Wait

This is not a typical Saturday post. That’s because, in my community, it’s not a typical Saturday.  Oakland Mills High School, after years of deferred repair, needs massive renovation. It’s pretty simple: when you don’t fix a problem it gets bigger. The school system itself said the the OMHS school building was  "no longer conducive to learning" back in 2018.  2018 .  But Thursday the Boad of Education voted to push it out of the lineup of important projects which will be given the go-ahead to proceed soonest.  In my opinion it’s a terrible decision and sets a dangerous precedent. To explain, here’s the advocacy letter I sent in support of Oakland Mills High School. I was rather proud of it. I am writing to ask you to proceed with needed renovation at Oakland Mills High School in the most timely and comprehensive manner humanly possible. I have read the letter sent to you by the Oakland Mills Community Association and I am in complete agreement. You are extremel...