With homecoming around the corner, everybody is searching for the perfect outfit to dazzle their date.  In this 2022/23 school year, the current trends are heating up and taking the internet by storm. With homecoming so soon, dresses in stores are looking picked over, and sparse.  A lot of dress stores and boutiques are very highly-priced, and unaffordable for the average shopper.  

“Henry’s bridal, and boutiques are just so expensive,” said senior, Sloane Antonetz.  On the other hand, Macy’s and other department stores have very affordable formal wear but have had the reputation of having picked over, and damaged dresses.  The majority of students have turned to shopping online for their special occasion dresses.  Popular stores in recent years include Lucy in the Sky, Lulus, Hello Molly, Princess Polly, and Fashion Nova.  

Popular styles change every year with fast fashion and current trends.  Some of the most desired styles this season are, satin fabric, slip dresses, cutouts, and tight body-con dresses.  Some other trends are low backs, sequins, and some desire dresses with sleeves.  The variety of dresses offered online is much larger and coincides with the current trends better, due to the fact that they can keep up with them.  Online stores have a faster turnover, rather than department stores that have a much larger audience, and don’t solely focus on homecoming for a profit, unlike these online stores. 

This being said, these online stores have setbacks of their own.  Many buyers have major problems with shipping, and their dresses not being delivered before the date of the dance. 

“I ordered my dress from Lucy in the Sky at the very beginning of September and it hasn’t even shipped yet.  It probably won’t be delivered until the day of homecoming,” said junior Hannah Tanner.   If you order from one of these online stores it needs to be ensured you order early enough due to the fact that some of the stores make, and produce their dresses in other countries.

Another issue with online dress stores is that they have unreliable return policies, of which many buyers are facing the consequences.  For example, online dress store Lucy In The Sky only returns dresses for store credit, not money back.  This leaves many shoppers in a situation where they are unable to get a dress they want, because they are stuck with a dress they dislike.  This would not be as large of an issue if these online stores properly labeled and advertised the sizes of their dresses. Many people have ordered a size they think will fit based on the sizing chart attached to the website, just for their dress to arrive and not fit correctly.  

“The dress I ordered was from the website Lulus,” said freshman Samantha Kendal. “I originally ordered medium based on a size chart, but I was unable to tighten it when it arrived too large.  I exchanged it for a size small, but it was too short.” Unfortunately, this is a common problem with websites this season. Hopefully, everyone can get their outfits together in time for Homecoming, which will take place on the Hamilton Field turf on Saturday, October 1, 2022.