As a way to make the prom dress picking process more fun, WeGo Boutique will be holding a “Say Yes to the Dress” event on Saturday for students who wish to find low-price clothes for prom.

WeGo Boutique was started last year by social worker Janet Hurtado.

“I realized I was having a hard time finding local events that have dresses that are free for girls who have a hard time buying a dress for prom, so I was like ‘Why don’t we have something here at our school?’” Hurtado said. “I opened it up to the staff and students to donate dresses and it was amazing how many people were open to donating.”

Last year, the boutique received around 100 donations.

The boutique has dresses, shoes, purses, and many other accessories. The dresses range from size 0 to 24. Currently, the boutique has over 100 dresses.

“We’ve had students donate. We’ve had staff members bring their daughter’s dresses or their own dresses,” Hurtado said.

This year, Hurtado embraced social media to try and get the word out about the boutique.

“We’re trying to focus more on getting students to come. Last year we focused a lot on getting the donations,” Hurtado said. “We’re on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.”

Students who wish to take part in the “Say Yes to the Dress” event have to sign up for it with Hurtado, counselor Deb German, counselor Julie Gawenda, or psychologist Maria Vlantis.

At this event, students will meet with one of the organizers of the program who will guide them through the dress picking process.

Participants will fill out a sheet that has questions about their dress size and preferences.

“We make an appointment for them and they’ll have their own consultant. It’s to give us an idea so that they’re not going through a hundred dresses,” Hurtado said. “We’ll have a place for them to try on their dress. The consultant will be one of us that are organizing it.”

Students are not obligated to pick a dress.

“If they sign up, they’re not forced to choose a dress. If they want to look around because they feel like this would be a good first step, we welcome that,” Hurtado said. “If they find something, awesome, if they don’t, that’s okay, they still have time to go shopping.”

Hurtado plans on holding another event like this after spring break. No exact date has been set.

“(It’s) for anybody who went shopping and didn’t find anything and for (students) that have decided last minute to go to prom,” Hurtado said.

Students do have to pay a rental fee if they rent a dress. The fee depends on the type of dress.
“The rental fee is for the cleaning fee. It’s a dry cleaner fee. There was a dry cleaner in the community who was willing to help us out and give us a discount,” Hurtado said. “It’s better for us to clean it than to leave it for the students because it will be more expensive for them.”

Shoes, purses, and jewelry are offered for free.

Hurtado plans on continuing the program. She also hopes that the donations widen from more than just staff and student donations.

“Our goal is to reach out to stores and see if they’ll donate dresses. I’m going to try to start this year to collect them,” Hurtado said. “I’m excited about it. I’m excited to see it grow. It’s such a cool experience.”