The past few weeks have been gloomy: endless rain and freezing cold temperatures have been difficult for many people in our community. However, spring is right around the corner, and with it, prom.

This year, Hamilton-Wenham juniors and seniors will attend their combined prom on Thursday, May 21st, at the Cruiseport in Gloucester. Tickets are $75 each and are currently available on  MySchoolBucks. 

Considering that each person attends prom only a few times in their lifetime, it is important for promgoers to prepare as best they can to ensure they look and feel their best on the big night.

Natalia Yun, a Hamilton-Wenham senior and three-time prom attendee, found that she was most concerned about the dress, saying, “I’ve been so stressed out about it, because when everyone starts posting about it, it’s almost like a race to get your dress, and I’m not at the finish line yet.”

Once the anxiety about what to wear is resolved,  Yun says she likes to minimize the pressure as much as possible on the day of prom. That includes going to salons for self-care. Her recommendation, Mane and Mani, supplies hair services, nails, and makeup. Senior Aubrey Micalizzi says she did her own hair, but got her nails done at Beverly Nails & Spa, and fake tan at another local business, Bronzed by Bri in Beverly.

Despite the amount of time that many people put into prom, Yun prefers to walk in with a more carefree attitude, saying, “Last year I went into prom just kind of not putting any stress on the event. I think it’s a kind of high stress, high anxiety-inducing event because everyone wants to look perfect, everyone wants to be perfect, but in a way, it’ll never be like that.”

As a returning prom chaperone and former prom attendee, Hamilton-Wenham RISE Academic Coordinator and Teacher Stephanie Rogal recalls past trends but notes that things have changed.

Recently, Rogal notes that there is no specific style of dress people buy, saying, “Now, I think people tend to buy things that make them feel good, and look good.”

Despite the lack of specific styles, trends tend to emerge across the chosen dresses. This year, most people have already bought dresses online from sites such as Babyboo and Azazie. So far, the dresses chosen range from dark black and navy to pastel yellows, pinks, and blues.

Senior Aubrey Micalizzi notes that she thinks “our school specifically does more spring dresses. They’re very light, flowy, bright colors. I feel like a lot of other schools do fancy, sparkly, more formal dresses.”

Junior Mia Broyles has noticed “all of the dresses are satin, like everyone has a satin dress.” 

Though the popularity of buying prom dresses online has ensured plenty of unique options, there is often a universal concern about not wearing the same dress as another student. What results is a frenzy to buy the dress and post it to the HW Prom dress Instagram account (@hwprom2026). 

Although there is far less pressure for individuality among the boys, they have trends of their own to follow when it comes to their outfits for the big day. Seniors Liam Geaney, Patrick Ji, and Gavin Meyer all recommend buying a suit from Giblee’s in Danvers.

Geaney says, “They have so many different colors, so many different styles,” so they are a good option for any kind of suit for prom.

Senior Jonas D’Arrigo says that although many may prefer to rent a suit, “I bought my suit from Macy’s because I knew that I would be wearing it for junior and senior prom”.

Although there are some trends for suits, such as bow ties being more popular, each person puts their own individual spin on their suit for prom. “It’s all preference,” D’Arrigo says, “[being] more comfortable is the goal.”

“In my opinion, [prom is] too stressful,” remarks Rogal, “It shouldn’t be stressful, it should be fun.”

Senior Liam Geaney agrees, saying that “most of the excitement people get from the build up [to prom], but I would say live in the moment. […] Just have fun and dance.”

Rather than worrying about how everyone else looks or the trends currently in style, what matters most is having fun on prom night: curating a look that is memorable without relying on following trends or buying from the same brand as everyone else.

Rogal says that “It’s a moment in time, it truly is,” and to “just go be you.”

At the end of the night, the best memories of prom won’t be the dresses and outfits themselves, but the time spent with friends before the school year comes to a close.