As spring approaches, students start to anticipate many things. For many girls, finding the perfect prom dress is towards the top.

This year, Arrowhead’s prom is currently scheduled to take place on Saturday, April 27th at the Ingleside Hotel.

There are many different ways students can find prom dresses. While buying a new dress is the more traditional route, there are cheaper alternatives. Some include buying a dress form a thrift store, buying one from a student selling their old dress for a cheaper price, or borrowing one from an older friend. Local thrift stores include Goodwill, St. Vincent de Paul, and Hartland’s DesignXChange. Students selling their old dresses tend to do so through Facebook.

If students don’t want to commit to buying a dress, renting a prom dress is also an option. Dressed In Time and David’s Bridal both offer prom dress rentals. Online stores, such as Rent The Runway, also offer this service.

Kendall Fullerton, a junior at Arrowhead, says she’s started looking for prom dresses, but isn’t too focused on it yet.

Fullerton says she’s looking for, “Something cute. Something that looks good and is longer. When I think of prom, I’ve always thought of long dress. I want something that looks good on me.”

Arrowhead junior, Lily Stemper, says she’s been looking, but believes her expectations might be too high.

Stemper says, “I like to look at Pinterest, but Pinterest sets really high expectations. All the dresses are perfect and everyone always looks great.”

Alli Hofkamp, a fellow junior, says prom dresses are usually overpriced. She finds it hard to believe that a dress for one night can cost so much money.

Hofkamp says, “I’ve been looking at both used and new dresses. If I were to get a new dress, it would probably be from Lulu’s and pretty dang cheap.”

Stemper adds, “I’ll probably borrow someones who would like to donate it to me for free because…money.”

Hofkamp and Stemper say they are looking for a dress that is comfy and easy to dance in. They agree with Fullerton in that prom dresses should be long.

Arrowhead junior, Grace Mandick, says she’s getting really excited to find her dress. She says she’s mostly been shopping online for her prom dress. However, she plans on going to the mall in a couple of days to try a few on.

Mandick says she’s looking for, “Something that’s not only fashionable but also comfortable and has a solid price. I don’t want to spend too much money on it.”

Whether it’s new or old, bought online or in person, finding the perfect prom dress is definitely starting to cross students’ minds.