Dresses and suits are free for teens chasing prom dreams at this NYC shop: ‘It’s a rite of passage’
Bianca, a high school senior, giggles with her friends as they huddle around the full-length mirror, taking turns to admire their chosen prom gowns giddily.
The 18-year-old is gushing over the black dress she picked for her senior prom in June, smoothing out the relaxed tulle skirt adorned with tiny stars, which she describes excitedly as having a “2000s vibe.”
The best part? It’s free.
“Prom dresses can range from $300 to $600, sometimes $1,000, and nobody has money for that,” Bianca, who declined to provide her last name, told The Post while attending the Prom Clothing Giveaway in Washington Heights.
Coupled with the cost of hair, makeup, jewelry and shoes, the highly anticipated school dance — a rite of passage, if you will — comes at a staggering price for just one night.
But at the Alianza Dominicana Cultural Center on Saturday, it was a prom free-for-all, with dozens of formal attire offered free of charge thanks to Operation Prom, a national nonprofit organization that collects thousands of donations for formal attire and gives them away to prom-bound students.
“It’s awesome for all the kids that don’t have the opportunity to get [them],” Griselda Ramirez, 41, told The Post while helping her 17-year-old son, Israel Martinez, find the perfect suit and tie to match his date’s royal blue dress.
Hoards of students combed through racks of sparkling gowns and pressed suit jackets, admiring the glittering jewelry, colorful ties and tower of shoes displayed on the tables. Girls ran back and forth from the makeshift dressing rooms to show off the coveted finds to their parents, friends squealing when someone finds the dress.
“I love it because I see so many gorgeous girls walking around in their gorgeous dresses feeling confident, and the heels and the accessories,” Bianca said.
“I feel like it’s so inclusive and helpful for the community of the girls who can’t afford to get prom dresses or the girls who want to get prom dresses but can’t.”
This year, Operation Prom received an estimated 5,000 dresses in New York alone, giving away 115 items overall this weekend during the 6-hour event. The organization, which has chapters across the nation, hosts giveaways in the Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan and Westchester ahead of prom season.
Without it, many students in New York would be unable to “go through this rite of passage and celebrate with all of their friends,” Noel D’Allacco, who founded Operation Prom 20 years ago, told The Post.
She said it’s the stories every year — like “hearing from students that they never even owned a dress, they never put on a dress, they don’t know what size they are” — that inspire her.
In one corner of the Washington Heights space, Bronx native KC, 14, shops with her grandmother, who is attempting to teach her how to walk in heels ahead of her eighth-grade prom. Meanwhile, Alyssa, 14, is on the hunt for a pink dress, eventually finding a coral satin number with the help of her mom.
As one high school girl emerges in a glittering gown, cheers erupt with high school advocate counselor Jessenia Polanco at the helm of the excitement.
Polanco, who works for the Catholic Charities and brought a group of her students to the event, said many students in the area are international, live in shelters or don’t necessarily have the means to purchase formal wear.
“When my students come in, I get excited when they find something and seeing their faces light up because they finally found something, especially if they’re underprivileged,” Polanco, 43, told The Post.
“It makes my day. It makes my moment.”
Altagracia Hiraldo, the founder and president of the Alianza Dominicana Community Center, said parents are often moved to tears upon seeing their children in formal wear.
“The family cannot afford those dresses,” she told The Post, referring to the high cost of gem-encrusted prom gowns that can go for hundreds of dollars.
The Operation Prom team is completely comprised of volunteers, like Winifer Nunez, 20, who spent the afternoon working one-on-one with teens hunting for the perfect dress.
“I always try to help them get what they want, to help them feel beautiful, because prom is a special day for them, so I really like to help them feel special,” she told The Post.
While they don’t receive monetary compensation for their efforts and time, the joy of helping the high schoolers find the perfect outfit is plenty.
“I have no salary,” a beaming Hiraldo told The Post. “Everything I do is volunteer, but the pay that I receive in my heart, nobody can understand.”
