School proms can be an expensive affair – the outfit, hair, nails, even limo hire.
But a group of Perth girls are helping cut the cost to ensure their peers can go to the ball by allowing them to borrow a second hand prom dress.
The St John’s RC Academy friends have established Reloved, joining a growing trend for recycling prom gowns and fighting fast fashion.
With school prom season just around the corner, they have amassed a collection of glamorous gowns which fellow pupils can borrow for their big night next month.
One of the pupils, Gaby Cameron, 17, is even a handy seamstress and can alter the gowns to fit perfectly.
She and fellow S5 pupils Kaitlyn Clark, Ruthee Menmuir, Connie Richards and Carla McKay, all 16, were eager to reduce the environmental and economic impact of buying entire outfits for the coming-of-age celebrations.
More donations… then more and more
Kaitlyn explained how the dress swap came about after they had learned about sustainable fashion.
She said: “For PSE (personal and social education) we were doing our leadership course and we were looking for something we could lead as a group.
“We had learned previously in class about circular fashion.”
So they decided to set up Reloved, allowing dresses which had perhaps only been worn once to be given new life.
Gaby said: “You can donate a dress here, someone else can wear it and it can be used multiple times.”
The girls made posters asking people to hand in unwanted dresses in good condition.
Gaby said: “We got a few donations and that was enough to get us started.
“Then some S5s and S6s came in and looked at the dresses, tried them on and pinned them.”
Modelling the outfits to show how good they could look, the team made fresh posters and a video and Reloved really took off.
💃🏻🕺🏻| Reloved is open! We have had lots of new dresses and suits donated which are available for all S5/6 pupils to borrow free of charge for Prom. You will be helping to eliminate fast fashion by giving a preloved dress a new life @st_johnsacademy #laudatosi #laudatosischool pic.twitter.com/Bxe9k5fUZZ
— St John's Academy DET (@SJA_DET) May 9, 2023
Gaby said: “Then more donations came in… then more and more and more!”
Now they have rails packed with frocks of all colours and sizes, as well as accessories and suits which pupils can try on at lunchtimes.
“There are loads of donations, so there is something to suit everybody and you can get it altered to fit,” Gaby said.
It’s intended their Reloved second hand prom dress library will become a permanent fixture at the school, also catering for the annual winter ball.
More and more schools and community groups are lending pre-loved prom dresses, in recognition of the cost burden for families and the need for more sustainable fashion.
Prom dress recycling elsewhere
Dundee woman Jodie Ewen recently launched The Prom Project, collecting dresses which schoolgirls can use for their big night.
Other local schools, including St Andrew’s High School and Viewforth High School, both in Kirkcaldy, and Montrose Academy, have similar second hand prom dress collections similar to that at St John’s.
St John’s Academy principal teacher of design, engineering and technology, Craig Smith, said Reloved fits his department’s ‘nae waste’ campaign.
He said: “You can recycle plastic, but dresses, fashion, textiles are among the big things that can’t be recycled; the materials are usually mixed.”
As much as it is an environmental stand, Reloved is a socio-economic one, he said.
“A lot of our students can’t afford new dresses.
“There’s a lot of pressure on young people to have the big fancy dress and pressure on parents to provide that.
“It’s good to see these getting reused.”
St John’s Academy will hold its senior prom for S5 and S6 pupils in the Royal George Hotel, Perth, in June.
Conversation