RISON - Though it’s only February, prom dress shopping is already at the forefront of many teen girls’ minds (and their parents). Mallory Stuckey, a junior at Rison High School, has created a way to lessen that burden with the RHS Prom Closet.
Stuckey, and her mother Tracy, join the latest episode of the Free Range Conversations podcast to share all the details of this weekend’s event that provides free dresses and accessories for girls in advance of prom in April.
The RHS Prom Closet will be open this Saturday, Feb. 8 at Rison Baptist Church’s Jesus First Building.
Rison High School students will have first dibs at dresses beginning at 9 a.m. before the closet opens to other students at 10:30 a.m.
Leading up to the “shopping” day on Saturday, the organizers are accepting donations of prom dresses. Dresses can be dropped off at Rison Baptist Church on Thursday, Feb. 6 from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., or anytime this week at Rison High School with Mallory, or at Rison Elementary with Tracy.
Those wishing to donate can also message RHS Prom Closet on Facebook to make arrangements for pickup.
“We accept all newly used prom dresses, or just dresses that you have around the house,” Mallory said. “You never know what somebody's looking for.”
On Saturday, girls will begin “shopping” for their dress at the fourth annual RHS Prom Closet, something many locals consider a “Girl’s Day Out.”
“They get to explore, walk around, try on dresses. We have accessories and shoes, all sorts of stuff,” she said. “They have a fun day with their friends trying on dresses, and they get to take home one dress.”
Mallory said the organizers hope the next year that the girls will come back and return the dress for others to “shop” and wear.
When arriving at the RHS Prom Closet, girls will be asked to sign in and agree to terms that they will not sell the dress, that they will return it to them, donate it elsewhere or to someone.
According to Tracy, keeping the dress is also an option if they find sentimental value in doing so.
Girls will also have options of shoes, jewelry and other accessories to select from at the event.
As an added bonus, there will be door prizes for gift cards, spray tans, manicures and more, including corsages from local florist My Berry Patch.
Tracy hinted that some prizes may even be given to the first arrivals, so for the best chance at prizes, she recommends getting in line before 9 a.m.
Over the past four years since Mallory launched the prom closet out of a class project in the EAST program, they have taken in dresses from individuals and businesses - such as Royal We and Emerge in Conway.
Some years the closet has had over 200 dresses for girls to choose from in sizes ranging from double zero to 24 plus, and in varying styles of long and short, according to the mother-daughter duo.
With most dresses starting around $400, Mallory knew for some girls, not being able to afford a dress could be what keeps them from attending prom and creating memories.
“It's a great experience to see somebody that might not be able to, just see that smile on their face,” she said.
According to Tracy, from the pageant experience of Mallory competing over the years, they knew first-hand the costs involved with prom dresses and the hassles of shopping in-store.
“Stores can be crowded, and usually there is a limit. You can try on three dresses,” Tracy said, noting that the RHS Prom Closet operates differently. “I enjoyed watching the girls the first year. They were shopping with their friends and they would try it on and they would come and go ‘what do you think of this?’ and there was no limit to how many you try on. They said that was the first time many of us said that it had never been fun to go prom dress shopping.”
The response from peers has been overwhelming for Mallory each year.
“It’s ‘thank you, thank you, thank you,” but they really don't have to thank me. I enjoy doing this. It's something that I'm very passionate about, and I'm just I'm very happy that I was given the opportunity to be able to give them this opportunity,” she said.
From a mother’s perspective, Tracy said the parents are equally as appreciative.
“I had a mom come to me and she was in tears. That year it was kind of when she had lost her job and she said, ‘we wouldn't have been able to do this, I can't tell y'all how much this means to me.,” she said. “Just that seeing that, even from the mom, that was kind of when we knew it was going to be more than just that one-year project.”
With Mallory in her junior year and figuring out what her plans for senior year and college dreams look like, she is hoping the next classes of students will take on the RHS prom closet and keep it going.
She said she would like to see young girl in the eighth or ninth grade take on the project so they can get to enjoy the experience for multiple years the way she has.
During the podcast, Mallory shares some of the skills and memories from her time competing in pageants such as Miss Arkansas’ Teen where she was the third-runner up last year.
She is currently taking a break from the pageant circuit in preparation of her senior year and her many projects, but is not hanging up her tap dancing shoes as she’s full-swing into dance competition season now.
To listen to more of Mallory’s story and the RHS Prom Closet, the full episode is streaming now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and ClevelandCountyHerald.com