As Seniors and Juniors are still dress searching or have already searched for their upcoming proms, it can also be a stressful occasion that can often be time consuming and costly.
Triton High Schools Nurse, Mary Goldsmith receives prom dresses from The Ultimate every year prom season comes around the corner. These dresses are donated, as well as used. But any student is more than welcome to go into the nurses office, try on a dress and if they like it they are able to wear it to prom. But what else is a good advantage to this? Students can actually keep the dress with no cost.
Goldsmith also explained to the Triton Voice the reasoning as to why this kind offer was up in the air for Triton students. “I started this the second year I was here. The first year I was here I learned that one of the girls didn’t go to prom because she didn’t have a dress to wear. So then I said I’m going to do something about this. So the following year, I started to donate them.”
“Initially I ask for donations and I get a lot of fairly new or slightly used prom dresses. But since then the word got out and The Ultimate prom shop has been donating about 20-25 prom dresses every year. Some are even new, Jovani brand dresses that may still have tags on them,” said Goldsmith.
“It’s been fairly successful since then. People came out of the woodwork to donate prom dresses and we did a lot of business,” said Goldsmith.
This year, as there are a variety of dresses in the nurse’s office, not a lot of students have been accepting the offer. Goldsmith gave her intake on how her progress has been over the years. When first began donating, it was more clear that there were more students who wanted to wear a dress within this selection. “This year has been very slow. Usually it’s several every year. The second or third year I did this I had about twelve or more people who took a dress. Last year was fewer too, maybe about six or seven. This year, I haven’t had too many takers,”
These dresses in the nurse’s office don’t go to waste if there’s dresses left that people don’t use. Goldsmith has another strategy if there’s some left over. “We also have Tammy’s closet in Amesbury, and she does it in honor for her donor since she lost her daughter many years ago. But she has a warehouse filled with prom dresses that are either new or slightly used. So I will be doing that at the end of the year. So a lot of the ones I feel like my students won’t use, I actually donate to her,” Goldsmith said.
Goldsmith certainly has the right logic behind her ideas of giving away free prom dresses. “I always say, “if you can get it for free rather than spending 400, 500 dollars on a dress. If you can get it for free try and save it for college,”
Senior Aimee Azevedo described that she feels very stressed out when it comes to prom season. She hasn’t bothered to go out and shop for one just yet, although she is searching. “I’ve been looking online to get ideas, but I haven’t physically went anywhere to try one on. Even though I’m online searching, usually the dresses look different in person.
“Although I think the offer in the nurse office is a nice gesture, I don’t think I would get my prom dress there. It saves you money but I want to pick out the right, perfect dress for me. I think other students may think the same,” said Azevedo.
Senior Julia Plummer, who has already gotten her dress, discussed how she’s gotten her prior dresses from prom from The Ultimate. The same store the nurse’s office gets them from.“I first went there because that’s where I’ve gotten my other three dresses but I didn’t find anything I

liked. Then I went to Glitterati another day where I had to wait almost two hours for a dressing room, but that’s where I ended up getting my prom dress instead.
“I think the donation idea in the nurse’s office is a good idea for people who can’t afford dresses. The ones at the prom dress stores seem to be getting more and more expensive so it’s really not a bad idea if you’re not very picky,” said Plummer.
On the announcements every morning in school, it’s announced that the prom dresses are in there for those who are struggling finding a dress, or cannot afford one. Students should try and make time out of their school day to take a look at what Triton has to offer, as it is a kind gesture. (Rachel Rowe Photo)