{"id":222621,"date":"2023-09-23T19:49:34","date_gmt":"2023-09-23T19:49:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/allworldreport.com\/?p=222621"},"modified":"2023-09-23T19:49:34","modified_gmt":"2023-09-23T19:49:34","slug":"no-corsage-no-date-no-problem-school-formals-thrive-despite-changing-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/allworldreport.com\/lifestyle\/no-corsage-no-date-no-problem-school-formals-thrive-despite-changing-times\/","title":{"rendered":"No corsage, no date, no problem: School formals thrive despite changing times"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Barbara Alexiou has been looking forward to her year 12 formal since her first day of high school five years ago.<\/p>\n

She\u2019s now 17 and about to graduate from Sydney\u2019s Dulwich High School of Visual Arts and Design, preparing to enter a world that is recovering from COVID-19 lockdowns and battling a cost-of-living crisis. Yet, Alexiou still fully intends to live out the fantasy of her final school formal.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Barbara Alexiou won\u2019t let COVID-19 or the cost of living crisis put a dampener on her year 12 formal.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Brook Mitchell<\/cite><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s still such a big thing,\u201d she says. \u201cFrom year 7, everyone is already so excited. The majority of people went to the year 11 formal, but I know even more people are going this year.\u201d<\/p>\n

The pandemic and skyrocketing cost of living has altered many rituals, but the school formal appears to have escaped this one-two punch. Craig Petersen, president of the NSW Secondary Principals\u2019 Council, says formals bounced back rather quickly after the COVID-19 lockdowns, with many schools still willing to pay the increasing cost of venues and decorations.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not aware of any schools not hosting a year 12 formal this year,\u201d he says. \u201cThey\u2019re here to stay for the foreseeable future.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, most formals these days have a noticeable Gen Z twist. Instead of worrying about dates or the cost of a dress, Alexiou says her cohort are more concerned with enjoying quality time with friends and honouring the symbolic significance of such an event \u2013 likely the last before they graduate into adulthood.<\/p>\n

Hannah O\u2019Shea, a 17-year-old Balcombe Grammar student in Mount Martha, says no one bothered buying corsages, and they were happy being dropped off by their parents rather than hiring a limo. She had her dress made while on holiday in Vietnam, which cost about half the price of a new dress in Melbourne.<\/p>\n

Alexiou only spent about $160 on her dress, shoes, hair and make-up for her year 11 formal, which took place on a boat that sailed Sydney Harbour.<\/p>\n

\u201cRenting a dress is really big now, too, which is what I\u2019m planning to do for my year 12 formal,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s much easier cost-wise and space-wise because you don\u2019t have to keep a dress you\u2019re probably never going to wear again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Manager of the Sunbury St Vincent de Paul Society store, Kyama Fraseis, says buying second-hand formal outfits has also become common practice, noting that Vinnies stores across Australia have observed an influx of Gen Z patronage in the past year.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve never sold as much formal wear as I have lately,\u201d Fraseis says. \u201cIt\u2019s not only just to save money, it\u2019s also because young people are more environmentally conscious now.\u201d<\/p>\n

They\u2019re also changing expectations around dates. O\u2019Shea chose to just go with friends, which she says is now common as formals become more casual and inclusive. \u201cNo one really asks someone to be their date, you\u2019d just sort of end up there together. It eliminates that pressure, and most people just want to go and have fun with their friends.\u201d<\/p>\n

Formal \u201cdates\u201d, which tend to have romantic connotations, have instead become \u201cplus ones\u201d. Teacher at Kandeer School in North Albury, Steven Kitos, says current high school students aren\u2019t afraid to break these traditions to ensure everyone feels equal.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Hannah O\u2019Shea (centre) chose a more relaxed approach to her year 11 formal, opting to just go with friends.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Michaela George<\/cite><\/p>\n

\u201cIt might be a nice opportunity for them to ask someone they have their eye on, but there isn\u2019t an expectation. It\u2019s a lot more fluid nowadays.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, Micah Scott, chief executive of the Minus18 foundation \u2013 which hosts queer formals around Australia \u2013 says though some schools are attempting to improve inclusivity for LGBTQ youth at formals, there\u2019s still a way to go.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re working with schools who want to ensure students know they can bring a partner of the same gender and that dress codes are gender-neutral,\u201d Scott says. \u201cBut there are still schools that don\u2019t make this effort, and we hear countless stories from students who don\u2019t feel safe at school, and don\u2019t attend their formal as a result.\u201d<\/p>\n

Though Gen Z\u2019s approach to formals has evolved, the event itself still generally contains the same ingredients, including photo booths, DJs and sit-down dinners. However, some have erred further onto the side of tradition, such as O\u2019Shea\u2019s school, which opted for a classic debutante ball last year \u2013 replete with choreographed dances and the requirement that every student be accompanied by a guardian. <\/p>\n

Ticket prices also remain high. O\u2019Shea says tickets to her last formal cost $100, noting each student\u2019s guardian also had to buy a ticket. Alexiou\u2019s ticket cost about $85.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople don\u2019t really bat an eye at the price because of how important formal is,\u201d Alexiou says. \u201cEveryone sees it as something worth saving up for.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kitos agrees, saying formals are a significant rite of passage for year 12s \u2013 one they, like Barbara, have been imagining for years \u2013 and are therefore something to fight for during trying times.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey only have one year 12 formal. It\u2019s a celebration with friends of getting through the workload, anxiety and pressure of high school,\u201d he says. \u201cThey\u2019ve worked really hard to get to that point, so they deserve it.\u201d<\/p>\n

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