We love homecoming. To us, it welcomes the holiday season, the true start of fall, and a great reason to wear an incredible dress at the homecoming dance. However, if you are strapped for cash or saving for something else, you might balk at some of the price tags on the dresses.
No fear! We have some great ideas you can use to save money on your homecoming dress, as suggested by JJ’s House designer Jessica. After working with JJ’s House for years, Jessica has seen a multitude of tips, tricks, and ideas for saving money on homecoming dresses. Her favorite tip that she suggests to every girl is to simply look for a more affordable dress.
Many girls assume that a cheaper dress means they will not have as much variety or will need to choose a more toned-down dress. Luckily, JJ’s House is the place to go if you want a dress that will not break the bank, but will still “wow”! They have hundreds of homecoming dresses that range anywhere from $60 to $300 and are unique and gorgeous!
Second tip? Consider DIY’ing your homecoming dress. We promise you will not need a seamstress. If you have a basic understanding of sewing, you can do some amazing things with a pre-owned dress or modify a cheaper dress. Our favorite example we saw was a mini dress with a bold, royal blue damask pattern that had matching florals sewn onto the hem to make it a full-length dress.
Other options are to buy a white or cream dress and tie-dye it to create a stunning ombre effect. We suggest trying this out on T-shirts or scrap fabric first, so that you can perfect the art of it before trying it on the dress you plan on wearing. Go for bold colors to really make it pop, like magenta or forest green, or use delicate pastels for a subtler effect.
Our third tip is to simply not choose a homecoming dress at all! Oftentimes, dresses labeled with certain events, such as proms, weddings, or homecoming, will have their prices artificially inflated. Instead, look for maxi dresses or wedding guest dresses, which are often priced more affordable, but are still just as flattering and beautiful.
Alternately, you can hit the thrift shops. It is best if you do this well before prom season, so that you have a wide variety to choose from, but this is where many formal dresses end up. Once people have worn their dresses, they may hang onto them for a few years, however they will often donate them after a time. This means that you can pick up a gorgeous dress that has only been worn once for a few bucks. Since finding your exact size may be tricky, we recommend putting a bit of money aside for a tailor, so that they can fit the dress just for you.
No matter what you end up wearing, the most important thing is that you feel confident and beautiful in your dress — and that has nothing to do with the price you paid for it!
