Students can get their formal dresses early this year for their schools’ annual Christmas dances.
The Hostess House Resale Shop began its second chance formal sale Monday, and it will continue until May 24.
Manager Retta McMullen said the formal dress sale usually begins in January but is beginning a month earlier this year so students going to Christmas dances at school or church can get their dresses in time.
The prices of the dresses for sale range from $25 to $80. The average price is $30, McMullen said. On Saturday, the shop is having a special sale: certain dresses not in the Vogue room will be half price. They are regularly $25, she said.
“It’s a great opportunity for a girl who doesn’t want to spend $180 on a dress,” she said. “Some of these dresses still have the tags on them.”
The shop has one fitting room, so girls can try their dresses on before purchasing them. Jewelry also is available to complement the attire.
Prom dresses, bridesmaid’s dresses and other formalwear can be dropped off until the end of the sale, but McMullen recommends dropping off the dresses as soon as possible. The cost to sell a dress is $5 for the hanging fee plus an additional 20 percent of whatever the dress sells for. Some people just donate items to the resale shop, though, like Joan Grant.
Grant, a Marion resident, donated her coat and her granddaughter’s formal dress to the shop. The pink dress was worn at a wedding.
“It’s so pretty, and it’s going to such a nice cause,” Grant said about the dress.
She said she had been meaning to drop the dress off for a while. She used to work at the resale shop when it was located on Second Street, and said she regularly donates items to the store.
All of the proceeds from the resale shop go toward the upkeep of the Hostess House, McMullen said.
“It really helps (when people donate items),” she said. “As you can imagine, our utility bills are outrageous.”
She said business is booming at the shop, as shopping at resale stores is becoming more popular.
“They’ve been advertised on television quite a bit, how to stretch a dollar … ,” she said. “I think that makes it more acceptable.”
If you go
What: Second chance formal sale.
When: Through May 24; 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays to Fridays and 9 a.m. to noon Saturdays.
Where: Hostess House Resale Shop, 723 W. Fourth St.
More: Formal dresses can be dropped off at the shop during business hours. Cost includes a $5 hanging fee and 20 percent of set price for all dresses sold.