There’s much to consider when choosing a high school prom dress — length, style, color, design. But thanks to a group of Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) marketing students, affordability can be crossed off the list.
Since 2006, students from Centreville High School and FCPS’s Fair Oaks Classroom on the Mall have been hosting an annual Prom Dress Shop. The event is filled with hundreds of high-quality donated gowns and accessories. Students presenting a valid ID from any school in the region, not just Fairfax County, are invited to try on dresses and take one home at no cost.
This year’s Prom Dress Shop, located in a modular classroom building near Centreville High School’s stadium (in the parking lot, outside of door 12), launched Friday, March 7, and will continue on weekends through Sunday, April 6.
Service From the Heart
Centreville High School and Fair Oaks Classroom on the Mall teacher Miranda Schick has been leading the Prom Dress Shop since its inception. “My students were complaining that community service felt like such a chore,” says Schick. “At the same time, they were all stressing over prom expenses. So, that’s how it all came together. I reminded them that community service can be fun if it’s something you feel passionate about.”
The resulting shop is a win-win situation. Marketing students apply what they learn in class while helping girls in financial need attend their proms. The effort supports the FCPS School Board’s “Portrait of a Graduate” goal of ensuring student success beyond the classroom.
“A girl’s prom is everything, you know? She looks forward to it for a long time,” says Centreville High School senior Ananyah Tines. “We want to make sure that every girl has her dream dress, even if she can’t afford to buy one.”
Open-back dresses are particularly popular right now. “Whether it’s a halter neck or cross or low back, simpler dresses seem to be the preference,” says Tines. “Girls are looking for more timeless, classic designs and styles, without heavy embellishments. If you have a dress you no longer want, please consider letting it go and giving someone else a turn to shine in it.”
Senior Marianna Martinez says it feels great to help students who need help with prom expenses. “Senior year is expensive enough with costs related to graduation and college. Many people might not have enough money to spend on a dress they know they will only wear once,” says Martinez. “The Prom Dress Shop has been such a great experience and really helped me discover my passion. I came here just last year from Puerto Rico and had no idea what I wanted to do in life. But now I realize that I love marketing and business and want to enter the fashion industry.”
Kaila Le, also a senior, says she especially appreciates the recycling component of the program: “Often people wear a dress only once, and then it sits in a closet or goes to waste. This is a good way to reuse, reduce, and recycle. I’ve seen how much a simple thing like a dress can bring so much happiness. It’s not only a dress, but the experience and memories it brings. And once someone is done with the dress, they can pass it on to other people, so that cycle of happiness can continue.”
Cinderella Transformations
During the shop’s season, as soon as the dismissal bell rings on Friday afternoon, marketing students rapidly transform the modular classroom building’s hallways into an attractive pop-up boutique stocked with racks of dresses sorted by size and color. Once set-up is complete, volunteers from teacher sorority Alpha Delta Kappa take over. Classrooms on either side of the hallway serve as private dressing areas with mirrors.
On Sunday evening, students take the shop down, pack everything up, and put it all in storage before classes start on Monday. Then they repeat the entire process the following weekend.
“To protect the shoppers’ dignity and privacy, our students don’t assist in the evenings with dress selections. That part is handled by teacher volunteers,” says Schick. “For me, the great reward is seeing the girls when they come out in their dress, doing the twirl in front of the mirror, faces aglow with a big smile. Everything, even their posture, suddenly changes. I wish my students could see that part, because that’s really what this entire effort is all about. It just has to be enough for my students to know that they’ve done this — that they’ve helped other students and that they really made a difference.”
Want to Donate?
Want to clear out some closet space by donating formal dresses you no longer need? Schick welcomes gently used, dry-cleaned dresses and accessories such as shoes, purses, shawls, or costume jewelry. She also thanks Macy’s department store for their previous donation of hundreds of dresses during the COVID-19 shutdown. You can drop off items in the main office at Centreville High School, located at 6001 Union Mill Road in Clifton. The office is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. The program can also accept donations during these shop hours:
- Friday, April 4, 5 to 8 p.m.
- Saturday, April 5, 2 to 5 p.m.
- Sunday, April 6, 1 to 4 p.m.
Feature image of students Marianna Martinez, Ananyah Tines, and Kaila Le courtesy Kathleen Miller, FCPS
