The school year is coming to an end, and the special events are piling up. Especially as a senior, it seems like every week there’s an event that I need to prepare for. Of course, it’s not the event itself that I’m preparing for, but what I’m going to wear. 

I know it sounds dramatic, stressing over what to wear, but with events like senior breakfast, lunch, dinner, professional dress days, and graduation itself, I’m running out of dresses! I search to find a dress my classmates haven’t already seen, desperate that I don’t break the unspoken social rule of not wearing the same outfit twice. Though it may not seem like that big of a deal, someone recognizing what I’m wearing can be so embarrassing. 

For the more recent and formal senior events, girls will talk about the new dresses they’re going to buy. Personally, I have never felt a need to buy a new dress for each school event. In fact, over the past four years of high school, I’ve just browsed through my closet, or even my sister’s, for each and every professional dress day or school dance. This approach has always worked well for me to save money and not re-wear dresses, but the effort I go through for a meaningless social rule is too much. 

As I was getting ready for senior walk, digging through my closet, I realized I was on the last dress in both my own and my sister’s closets. So when my friends heard about senior lunch coming up and started discussing dress shopping, I got worried about being seen re-wearing a dress that I’d already worn to school. I imagined myself walking in with the same dress that I wore to senior walk, while looking around and seeing all of my classmates in new threads.

But when I browsed online to search for a new dress, everything was so expensive. It was here that I came to a realization: it’s okay to be seen re-wearing a dress. Though it is a social rule for women to not reuse an outfit, I say forget about social rules. Men can re-wear the same suit and tie over and over and no one will notice, because they all look the same. On the other hand, with women and their elaborate dresses with different styles and designs, re-wearing an outfit is a no-no because of the unrealistic high standard for girls’ clothes and appearances. But I say we break the social rule for the rest of senior year. 

For the senior events coming up, I plan on wearing the same dresses I’ve worn to the last few events. And I WON’T be embarrassed about it. Even though my dresses are recognizable, I don’t care if people recognize them because I think they’re beautiful. 

So if you haven’t bought a dress for the upcoming events, take my advice and save your money for something better. Re-wear your favorite dress, and forget about what other people might think.