With homecoming right around the corner, McLean High School students have begun their search for the perfect dress. Many have already purchased their outfits, and few have yet to start looking. When ordering online, one can come across many different problems such as disliking the dress, the fit not working out, or it not arriving in time.
“I have three different options,” senior Kylie Ngyuen said. She will later decide which one she likes more and this helps avoid the issue of not liking the dress she ordered or it not fitting.
“I order my dresses in August [to] try and get ahead of the game,” junior Peyton Rydzewski said.
Multiple stores tend to take a while when shipping your items and certain online shops, such as Lucy in the Sky, can take up to months.
“If you want to beat shipping time, [August is] the best way to go, but if you do it in September or a month before homecoming you might not be as lucky,” Rydzewski said.
There are endless shops to choose dresses from. Some popular ones are close to McLean, while others are found exclusively online.
“I looked at Hello Molly, Selfie Leslie, Showpo, and Beginning Boutique ,” Nguyen said.
Shopping at the mall is a great choice as well.
“I looked mostly at Tysons Corner,” freshman Martina Cantua said.
Cantua found it easier to go in person to try on dresses but Rydzewski suggests shopping on websites.
“I know Windsor is a popular one, [but] don’t go in store; go online, it’s so much better of an experience,” Rydzewski said.
Often, the immense amount of dresses they have online make it difficult to shop.
“Filters make it so much easier to go through dresses, especially when a bunch of the dress websites have millions of dresses,” Nguyen said.
Shopping with filters shortens the amount of time it takes to look.
“Make sure you filter it by your size, the color you want, and the length you want,” Nguyen said.
Many students are tilting towards dresses adorned with sequin or ruffles for this year.
“I saw a lot of sparkly dresses that I thought were really pretty,” sophomore Tabby Perez said.
However, a select few of the dresses seen last year were quite unpopular.
“I don’t like the ribbed or super sparkly ones, those dresses are overdone, ” Nguyen said.
Nevertheless, it is most important that you stay true to yourself because your opinion is what truly matters. Believe in yourself and your style, it will overall create a more enjoyable homecoming experience.
“Go for whatever you want and go for whatever dress you think suits you,” Perez said. “Don’t let other people’s opinions change what you think, just be you.”