Say Yes To Your Prom Dress At South Brunswick School District Event

SOUTH BRUNSWICK, NJ — Many families in New Jersey had a tough financial year in 2022. The pandemic and inflation resulted in households seeing their savings dwindling in the past few years.

As prom season approaches and demands go up, the high school milestone can be costly for many, what with the expenses for a dress coupled with shoes and makeup costs.

To help students and families curtail prom expenses, Viking Closet in South Brunswick High School is offering prom clothing and accessories for free.

They hold an annual Red Carpet Prom Dress Event where students can 'shop' hundreds of dresses for free. This year’s event will be held on Feb. 25.

Students from other school districts are also welcome to browse the closet and take home their favorite dress.

“Over the past few years, we have rebranded and expanded Viking Closet, collect tons of dresses from the community and invite students from other districts as well,” said Carla Garcia, social worker at South Brunswick School District.

The Viking Closet is located at the high school and collects new and gently used clothes, shoes and prom dresses. They are open once a week during the school day, and as needed during the rest of the week. Their inventory changes with the season and trends, Garcia said.

But their prom dress event is special and exciting.

“We like for students to have an appointment slot because we set up dressing rooms to make sure we have enough space and the girls have enough time to try on the dresses,” Garcia said.

Students can also pick up dresses for eighth-grade dances, semi-formals for middle school, Sweet Sixteen or Bat Mitzvahs.

“We get donations from South Brunswick and neighboring communities. Manalapan-based Lolas boutique is an ongoing supporter and regularly donates brand-new gowns,” Garcia said. Some families also make monetary donations. Others are so glad about their child's dress selection that they give back to future events.

Once students say “yes to the dress” they can either keep the outfit or choose to return it back to the closet.

The event is not just for families in tight financial situations. It is also for the environmentally conscious who wish to reduce their carbon footprint.

“All of our dresses are in perfect condition. We're really pushing for reducing our carbon footprint by avoiding the fast fashion industry. So why not pick up a hardly worn dress instead of buying a new one,” said Garcia, who has been with the school district for the past 20 years.

“We're trying to get students to realize that not everything needs to be new. There is still a ton of life left in these dresses as they are just hanging in closets after being worn only once. So, let's put a little bit of a pause on buying and see if we can reuse dresses.”

On average, the Viking Closet collects around 200 to 300 dresses every year. Some even available with tags. “I’ve had parents tell me Viking Closet has more options to choose from than a store,” Garcia said.

Last year students from other school districts including Spotswood, East Brunswick, North Brunswick, New Brunswick West Windsor and Franklin visited the Viking Closet to pick out a dress.

Garcia hopes more students come in during this year’s event.

“We are really looking forward to more families joining us this year. We work hard to create a positive experience for all. Come shop with us and have a fun time.”

The school district’s Red Carpet Prom Dress Event comes with a red carpet, student photographer and lots of cheering once you say ‘yes to the dress.’

If you have a dress you would like to donate, here’s how: dress donations can be dropped off during any school day between 7:40 a.m. to 3:35 p.m. The district also has a dress collection at Pierre's Deli in South Brunswick from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Feb.18.

South Brunswick School District’s Red Carpet Prom Dress Event will be held Feb. 25, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the high school.

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