Homecoming 2016 brought in more people than ever before, with over a thousand attendees. Some of this increased attendance stemmed from an important new service provided this year: the Dress Drive.

In years past, City High students who have had trouble acquiring dresses on their own – for financial or other reasons – have felt as though they cannot attend a dance without the “proper” accoutrements.

This year, the Student Senate came up with an idea to maximize attendance–without stretching wallets.

“There are a lot of people…[who] every single year buy a new dress, and never wear it again,” Bihotza James ‘17 said, the junior class representative who originated the concept of the Dress Drive.

She added, “I thought it would be a good idea for people that just have dresses laying around [to] give them to other people to borrow.”

The Dress Drive, which started with 2016’s Homecoming, has continued on to provide dresses for students for all dances year long. Its goal is to help as many students as possible to attend events to which they might not have otherwise felt like they were able to go.

“It’s not just for dresses, it’s for everything,” James said. “[And] not just if you can’t afford it, but it’s not practical to buy a dress [for] every single dance.”

Last trimester the first ever Dress Drive was held in Mrs. Dickson’s room on the third floor, and some students felt embarrassed about the location. James wants to make some improvements.

Her dream scenario includes a new, more private location, formal wear for all genders and a specific day students can come in to try on the garments.

James is still passionate about the idea. “It’s good for the mentality of the school overall, to have the idea of [less] consumption and everybody buying things.”

“This way, there’s [not a] separation between people [who] can buy every single time and people who can’t or don’t,” James explained. “This is something we can all donate to, and something that everybody can take from.”