[ot-caption title=”Sophomore Isabella Musa shops online for her homecoming dress. (via, Sophie Glassman/sophomore)”]

Have you ever been in a situation where you just can’t find the right dress or waited until last minute to look? Well, with Pine Crest School’s annual homecoming dance right around the corner, there are plenty of girls who have yet to say yes to that perfect dress. Whether you shop online or in the store, finding the dress that fits just right can prove to be an almost impossible feat. If you fall into the category of girls who have yet to find their dress, there are plenty of options still available both online and in stores.  Some of the most popular online boutiques to take a look at are Tobi, Revolve, Lulu’s and ShopBop, while the best in-store locations are Bloomingdales, Nordstroms, and Macy’s.

Online shopping is an endless land full of clothing for all shapes, sizes, and styles. It gives you the ability to view a huge variety of clothing all in one place while being able to filter your options. For example, many shopping sites can filter by size, color, and/or price to make looking for your dress that much easier.  Also, when shopping online, you don’t even need to leave your bed to find that perfect outfit. Although online shopping has countless perks, there are some disadvantages as well. For instance, if you’re shopping last minute, overnight shipping can be extremely costly. Also, you cannot try on the dress until it comes in the mail, so if it doesn’t fit you are stuck with the inconvenience of shipping it back and scrambling to find another one at the last minute. Furthermore, the quality, texture, or even the dress itself might not be what you are expecting, as the only thing you have to judge the dress off of is a picture.  Agreeing with the notion of shopping in your own home, PC sophomore Caroline Adkins agrees that online shopping is the better option saying, “I like shopping online better because then I can stay in my sweatpants and in bed.”

Shopping in the store for your dress also has its ups and downs. The benefits are the ability to try on the dress immediately as well as being able to feel it and see how it looks on you. If you don’t like it, you can continue to look around the store for another option. In addition, if you are shopping in a mall, you can go to multiple stores to try on different options. Whereas online, you would need to order one from each place and then worry about return policies. Nevertheless, there are also some downsides.  Stores usually don’t have as many size or style options available as do online stores, in addition to the fact that it is a bit harder to find what you’re looking for in general.  Countless PC students feel that in-store shopping is the way to go.  Sophomore Hannah Schaffer says, “I’d rather shop in the store because then I can try it on and see it in person.” Agreeing with Hannah, Noey Boldizsar, a junior, shares, “I like in-store shopping better because I want to try on the dress before buying it.”

Hopefully, this shopping advice will help you in your last minute shopping endeavors.  Good luck and happy shopping!