To some high school students, prom is an unforgettable night meant to be highly anticipated, but to others, it is just a frivolous high school tradition. Regardless of personal opinions, prom is one of the largest events on high school students’ social calendars, specifically for high school girls. What could be causing all the complication? Of course, scheduling hair appointments and planning dinner reservations can be a debacle, but the biggest cause of prom-related stress is simple: the perfect dress.

Epitomizing this stress is the annual prom dress Facebook group. Intended to help students avoid purchasing the same dress, the group was created on Jan 4, nearly four months before prom, which will be held on April 30. Since its creation, it has gained 254 members, and over 80 dresses have been posted.

Senior McKenna Bondura, the maker of the Facebook group, explained her seemingly premature  creation of the page.

“Having made the senior Facebook page, people started assuming that I would make the prom page,” Bondura said. “So, going along with tradition and with everyone starting to buzz about prom, I just thought it was a good time. It definitely was, though, because a lot of girls already have their dress!”

Reactions to the group’s early formation and the prom dress frenzy have varied greatly. Some students believe the anxiety that often results from prom dress shopping is superfluous and could easily be avoided.

“I think it’s all kind of too much,” junior Emma Kate Davis explained. “Some girls spend a fortune on a dress just for one night.” Many others have also expressed their opinion that the prom dress group was created too soon.

However, others believe that stressing over the “perfect dress” is inevitable and should not be negatively connotated. Senior Stephanie Bluhm explained, “It’s not about the dress. It’s about feeling good in your own skin for a special event.”

For some, “feeling good” requires that nobody else has the same dress; otherwise, it could turn into a competition. However, many others are indifferent about the possibility of matching somebody else.

Junior Gracie Dillon explained, “If a girl came to prom in the same dress as me, I wouldn’t mind. I would even ask to take a picture with her.”

Thus, the rush to get the perfect dress may be less about not wanting to buy the same dress and more about excitement.

“Prom is a night full of memories and having fun, but the dress in a big part of it,” senior Alexandra Sender stated. This becomes evident when you search “prom” on Google; the results are not related to dancing  or traditions but to dresses and their designers.

Yes, planning for prom four months in advance can be considered excessive. But prom gossip and the dress frenzy is practically an upperclassman tradition. So set your calendars, ladies and gentlemen, the prom countdown has begun.