Here’s something that’s often forgotten during prom season: you don’t have to spend hundreds of dollars on a dress to feel pretty. You don’t have to wear half of your college savings to have fun and make memories. It’s only one night, you can make the most of it without spending your entire budget on a dress.
At Hallettsville High School, Mrs. McKenzie Bivins maintains a closet full of gently used and even new dresses ready for students like you. With a variety of styles, colors, and sizes, the prom closet at Hallettsville High School offers a great opportunity to arrive in style without breaking the bank.
“The prom closet is simply a closet we have here at Hallettsville High School,” Bivins explains. “It consists entirely of donations from the community, as well as from those who may have graduated or attended prom and no longer need their prom dresses.”
The prom closet is filled to the brim with over 50 dresses- ranging in styles, sizes, brands, and colors. Even higher-end dresses that would usually cost hundreds of dollars like Sherri Hills have been donated.
“I think it opens the opportunity- I mean prom dresses I think average $400, $300, and to me that seems kind of on the low end from what I hear from around here- and so I think it gives an equal opportunity for people to pick out nice dresses,” shares Bivins.
Dresses are free and can be kept, altered, and styled to fit the person who takes them. However, in the last few years, the Prom Closet has remained all but forgotten in Mrs. Bivins’ room.
“This is only my second year doing it so I’m hopeful that we’ll have a better turnout this year, it was kind of new and unfamiliar to me last year and it was an inherited thing. I think that it’s a wonderful thing and I’m trying to get the word out there a little more,” Bivins shared. “I just want people to know that it’s not just for a certain group of people it’s for anyone at Hallettsville High School.”
It’s not only the affordability that makes the Prom Closet a great option for students. Reusing dresses is great for the environment. The tons of glitter, plastics, nylon and beading that are used on prom dresses take years to decompose and have been labeled as pollutants. Even the creation of the materials used to make the dresses has proven to release chemicals into the environment.
“And I’m all about sustainability, so, we spend tons and tons of money on these really expensive dresses and then they get worn for a few hours, and then who knows what happens to them,” Bivins explains. “So, recycling, reusing them, and getting the most out of them I think is really great.”
The Hallettsville High School Prom Closet offers an amazing alternative to traditional Prom shopping. With dozens of choices without the price tag, it’s worth it to take a look. Today, February 19, at lunch, the closet will open to students to browse and try on dresses. If you are interested in donating your old dresses, just bring them to the school. Make sure they are washed and still in wearable condition.
Kari Pohl • Feb 19, 2025 at 4:14 pm
I think this is awesome Adalyn!