What started in 2011 with fewer than 15 donated dresses has grown into a three-day tradition: Palatine High School’s “Say Yes to the Dress” celebrates its 10th anniversary Aug. 26–28, offering trendy dresses for just $10. This year brings a leadership change and a new twist — the final day will invite students from other District 211 schools to shop.
However, this year’s event begins with a change, with math teacher Joyce Richardson stepping down from leading the event and handing the torch over to Deana Havens.
“It’s going to be very hard shoes to fill after Richardson has stepped down and gone into her coaching career,” Havens, the project lead of this year’s event, said. “I have been behind the scenes for a while now and am excited to say this year we are bringing other D211 schools to shop.”
Havens, a Title I social worker with extensive experience in community outreach, is expected to help elevate “Say Yes to the Dress” to new heights.
This new opportunity to invite other D211 schools on the last day of the event might become a new aspect expanding the program’s goal of sharing affordable dresses with all. However, Palatine students won’t be able to shop during that day.
“Our main mission here and over the last 10 years has been to provide access to affordable and trendy dresses for the price of 10 dollars,” Havens said.
Richardson started the event 10 years ago after another staff member was unable to successfully launch it in 2011. It started with less than 15 dresses and has spiraled into an event with six racks of over 50 dresses to pick from.
“I really hope that the students coming from all over D211 really use this opportunity and view it as an amazing way to shop for incredible events like Prom and Homecoming without breaking the bank,” said Havens.
Richardson strongly emphasized that students should not spend 500 dollars on a dress for a single event, especially when they can buy dresses today for just 10 dollars.
Over the years, the event has brought the student community closer together.
“I really saw it for some girls who were getting dresses for their quince as well as prom dresses, where these students were FaceTiming their moms, showing off a fantastic deal on a dress. Richardson said. “Sometimes we would have moms come after school to see the dresses their students picked out. It’s all about sharing that experience with your family!”
