Each fall, the long-awaited homecoming dance rolls around. Coordinating with friends may come with the hassle of dinner reservations, finding perfect picture spots, and shopping for the flawless dress or suit.
A prime culprit in the horror story that can be shopping for homecoming attire is fast fashion. Fast fashion is often inexpensive clothing that is produced at a rapid pace using mass-market retailers. Because of the fast production, fast fashion companies are able to follow trends even as they change, leading many teenagers to use online fast fashion websites to buy their homecoming dresses. While some have had satisfactory experiences, there are also many who have not.
Buying her dress off of a seemingly reputable online website during her freshman year, current sophomore Addie Modzelesky was one of the victims of fast fashion. “The [reviews] said it was fine, and it [shipped] at a good time, but the dress just wasn’t good,” Modzelesky shared. “I gave them my measurements, and it just didn’t fit.” The larger problem that Modzelesky ran into was the return process. “[The company] didn’t let me return it and I never got my money back. They said that we could get another dress from there, but I didn’t want another dress…so now I still have it,” she detailed. Still owning the dress, never been worn, Modzelesky ended up wasting $75.
Along with Modzelesky, sophomore Alexis House also had a fast fashion dilemma in 2024. House bought a dress from Amazon, and she recalled that the experience “didn’t go too well.” House was thrilled when her dress arrived, but unfortunately it was not the right size. When she tried to return it, she was denied. “They said we can’t make returns, even though Amazon said there were free returns. Then they said we had to repay the full price to return the dress.” After some refuting, she was eventually able to return the dress. Although House got her money back, it was a highly frustrating experience.
It is easy to see how fast fashion can be unreliable when it becomes an immediate inconvenience, but it also creates long-term environmental problems. According to a study done by Boston University’s School of Public Health in 2022, over 34 billion pounds of fabrics and textiles are discarded by the United States every year. That weight is equivalent to over 2.5 million African Bush elephants, the largest land animals on earth. Having such a large amount of clothing waste in landfills contaminates soil and water, kills land and marine animals, and releases dangerous greenhouse gasses like methane into the atmosphere.
The pressure to find a new dress for each event can lead many to resort to fast fashion. However, there are also many sustainable alternatives that are not only stylish, but also good for the environment. Online shopping makes it easier than ever to find alternatives to fast fashion. More and more second-hand shops are popping up online, making high-quality clothing accessible from the comfort of your own home.
Purchasing one of her dresses from Re-Love It, a consignment shop in Purcellville, senior Bella Gaske-Kuhn shared her opinion, “I think that [wearing second-hand clothing] is becoming more and more important, especially with the rise of fast fashion, they are pumping out lots of mass produced, very bad quality items, so being able to find second-hand clothing that is really good quality is really worth it.”
An advocate for thrifting and more sustainable alternatives, senior Lauren Pyles bought her freshman, sophomore, and junior year homecoming dresses from Depop, a popular app for reselling clothes and accessories. “I think it’s really great for the environment and your bank account, and you have more of a variety of styles to choose from which is really fun,” Pyles expressed. “There were so many options to choose from. Most of the time it’s a lot cheaper to get dresses off Depop than to get it from an actual store, and I just feel better about thrifting a dress.”
Sometimes the perfect homecoming dress can be found right in one’s own home. Borrowing a dress from a family member or friend gives the special piece a second life while avoiding the pitfalls of fast fashion. “I didn’t want to have a super nice dress go to waste never to be worn again,” says Julie Ohlinger, a junior who chose to wear her sister’s dress for homecoming. It’s not only sustainable, but also personal. Every dress carries a story that will be continued. “I don’t see anything wrong with [wearing second-hand] as long as you like the clothing. Especially since my sister is in college, I think it’s really nice that I can just use her clothes without her wondering where her clothes went,” Ohlinger laughed.
From perfect fits to a wasted stitch, fast fashion has a part of every homecoming season. When looking for the perfect outfit online, ask other people about the website you are using, find the reviews, look at the size guide, and read through the return policies. Nonetheless, there are also people who prefer buying their dress or suit in-person. The alternatives include borrowing from another person or browsing in thrift stores. Even though fast fashion can be the antagonist in the chaotic tale that homecoming shopping can become, there are many ways where it can be avoided.