As time evolves, so do tradition and style. The dresses worn during homecoming can tell a lot about the style of a certain time period. In consideration of this year’s homecoming theme, “disco,” let’s take a trip down memory lane and compare homecoming dresses between teachers and students at Antioch Community High School. Beginning with Kathleen Stewart, who works in the ILC and graduated from ACHS in 1977, describes her dress.
“It was so soft and frilly.” Stewart said. “ It was just very feminine. It was gathered at the waist. Actually, it’s popular now… just really soft floral…kind of puffy sleeves … and it was cinched at the waist and just went down very flowy with… a ruffle at the bottom.”
Comparing that same “soft and feminine” vibe to a current student’s dresses. Junior Addie Webb went with a similar trendy, feminine style with a light pink mesh dress with bows.
Recently, many of the styles from the early 2010s all the way back to the 1970s have been making a comeback. Another recurring trend is a halter top. Megan Troyer, a math department chair at ACHS, shared a picture of her 2010 homecoming dress. It can be described as black and white with a halter or high neckline. Senior Alanna Keppen has a similar style of dress.
“…a tight fitting dress, but the bottom has frills,” Keppen said. “It’s all black and has white polka dots, and it’s like a halter top…that ties at the top.”
While these are two totally different dresses, the idea of the neckline and colors have stayed to be consistent.
Another similarity noticed between the decades is the use of glitter, gems, sequins and other shiny materials. Looking back at the graduates of 1998, Marni Polakow, a physical education teacher at ACHS, and Kelly Taylor, an English teacher at ACHS, both wore a black, sparkly dress. Following suit, in 2010, Samantha Kanya, an English teacher at ACHS wore a short-sleeved, black, sequin dress. This year, sophomore Tegan Schuler and freshman Chase Campbell are both wearing sparkly, sequin dresses.
Not only are there many similarities, but also many differences as well. Specifically, the length of homecoming dresses have significantly changed. Polakow explained the length of these considered “short” dresses.
“It flows out towards the knees…they considered that a short dress in the 90s,” Polakow said.
When looking at the teacher’s photos versus the students, the conclusion can be made that to be considered “short” the dresses now are significantly above the knee compared to the past.
Another noticeable difference was where the dresses were purchased. A consistent theme among the teachers was purchasing dresses in-store instead of online. This could be because online shopping did not become popular or even possible until the 2000s. However, there is still a considerable difference in tradition. Troyer explained the fun but difficult experience of shopping in person with her mom.
“They had to be, ‘Mom approved’,” Troyer said. “I remember the chaos…my grandma would have to come and be a buffer. My mom bought one thing and I would want one thing, and my grandma would try and be a peacemaker.”
Webb was the only student who noted she shopped in person, while the rest of the students said they shopped online. Keppen explained how she usually finds all her dresses online at Princess Polly because they are reliable. Schuler agreed that it was easier to shop online and that she tried Oh Polly for the first time.
Throughout history, as dress styles, colors, trends, length and traditions change, ACHS can share and bond over the timeless fun that homecoming has brought to the school. By sharing stories and memories as a student body, we can carry on trends and traditions to future generations of girls.
