June is quickly approaching, which means graduation is almost here. Cue scary and ominous music.
Before the big day finally arrives, it is typically a tradition to take graduation pictures with your friends in the months ahead of time. My graduation picture day is coming up and I have been searching for the perfect dress for months and have found nothing.
I’m not even trying to be dramatic, there is just really nothing cute out there. It is either nothing fits, it is way too expensive, will not come in time, or just ugly.
When looking for inspiration, googling “white graduation dresses” does not cut it. So instead I have found myself turning to TikTok. Interestingly enough, the search results on TikTok either show me videos from 1-2 years ago, or videos of girls with upcoming graduations complaining about their lack of options.
While it is comforting to see that other people are also struggling with this, it stresses me out knowing that even after exhausting one of my more individually oriented media outlets, I still could not find anything.
It really feels like there is nothing out there worth buying.
I will admit, some of the dresses that I bought that checked my “must have” boxes of price and quality were very pretty. However, when trying them on they just were not very me.
As I continue shopping, the ones that I really like online feel very unattainable. And if they are attainable they just really aren’t that cute.
Now reflecting, I am realizing that my issue with a lot of the dresses is that they are outrageously expensive.
I’m talking like $250 for a short white sundress. To me, I just can’t swing that.
A lot of my friends have been able to buy exactly what they want once they find it regardless of the price and while I am very happy and excited for them, I am really feeling the pressure.
The idea of a graduation dress is interesting since for most girls it is all about the pictures. The dress needs to be perfect for pictures, will be eventually worn when walking the ceremony, and then probably not worn again. Due to the sentimental value of a graduation dress, they are not really that versatile or intended to be worn again.
That is basically the main reason why I cannot personally justify shelling out hundreds of dollars for a single-use item. But at the same time, I also want my graduation pictures and graduation as a whole to be perfect. With the expectations I had of finding the perfect dress, I am underwhelmed by the styles being sold online.
I’m to the point where I just ordered four white dresses on Amazon, which I really did not want to do. I’m desperate.
While I am planning on spending every day of the next two weeks searching for the graduation dress of my dreams, it is slowly becoming evident that the graduation dress drought is not only very real but a real bummer. I want to be able to connect to a dress the way most of my friends have, but at this point, it seems like that will not be the case for me.
On the other hand, when I picture graduation and the pictures that come with it, I see myself smiling with my friends with champagne in hand in front of Henley Gate and the beach. I picture our happy faces celebrating the conclusion of our four years together, being excited about our futures. I do not even notice what any of us are wearing.
This really puts it into perspective for me that it is not really about the dress, it is more about celebrating the accomplishment of graduating while savoring every last moment. At the end of the day, I know I will find a dress, and while the dress itself may not be perfect, I know that the moment I wear it in will be.