How to Find the Perfect Homecoming Dress

Longer_Than_Forever's tips will get rid of your dress-shopping trauma in minutes! —Sparkitors

Homecoming season is upon us yet again, and there are so many things to do. How teachers expect us to find dates, make reservations, form groups, order flowers, buy dresses, shoes, shawls, jewelry, ties, and suspenders, and complete copious amounts of homework is beyond me. Yes, we’re all stressed. And don’t get me wrong, shopping can actually help with stress...but dress shopping can be, well, intimidating.

But have no fear! You don’t have to be afraid of spending hours upon hours trying on sparkly heaps of ruched fabric. If you know which dresses are right for you, it should take no more than three and a half hours to find your perfect Homecoming dress! Don’t believe me? I’ll break it down for you.

The Reading Phase: Read this to figure out what kind of dress will suit your body best—this should cut down your shopping time significantly!

Time Spent: About ten minutes.

The Online Phase: Look up stores like Macy’s, Deb, JCPenney, and Home Depot online. Scroll through their selection of party dresses, though most stores will have a whole section for homecoming. If you see something you like, stop there. SAVE the URL! If not, keep looking.

Time Spent: If you’re easily pleased, ten minutes is all you need. If not, then it can take longer than that. I’ve never heard of anyone who searched for over half an hour. Total Time: At most, 40 minutes.

The Begging Phase: This one’s tough. You have to beg a friend, parent, grandparent, sibling, friend, friend’s grandparent’s sibling, or anyone to go shopping with you. You can pick anyone as long as it’s not your date. This can also entail asking your parents for money to buy the dress. Begging takes skill, but I’m sure most of us are quite good at it, so I won’t elaborate.

Time Spent: Anywhere from a minute to six weeks. This section does not count for the time spent since it has nothing to do with the actual dress.

The Store Phase: You have something in mind. You have a rough idea of where to find it. You even have someone to go with you to offer opinions. Now you just have to buy the dress. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t find the exact dress you saw online, or if it looks really bad in reality. Keep searching for similar ones and you’ll find exactly what you need. Try on a few dresses and narrow it down to one. If you can't decide, “eenie meenie miny mo” always helps.

Time spent: One to two hours. If it takes longer than that, come back another day when you’re more optimistic. Chances are  you look good in everything, but your mood keeps getting in the way.

Total Time: About three hours and 20 minutes! Yay!

There you have it. That’s the secret to finding a great dress. And if they sell dresses in Home Depot in your town, please do tell. I want one.

How do you shop for dresses?

Related Post: How to Wear Your Summer Dresses Into Fall

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