The 2021 homecoming fashion was sparkly and trending with bright colored dresses and animal print suits. Back in the 80’s and 90’s students would wear a nice sweater and jeans, now students are wearing shiny dresses and high heels. The times have definitely changed and homecoming is evolving more elegantly. Dillard’s, Macy’s, Cira’s, and online stores had a huge selection of dresses, but they sold out quickly. It is hard to find a dress, so the best thing is to buy it a couple weeks up to a month before the dance, “I got my dress from David’s Bridal and it took forever to find. I was very happy with it though because it was super comfy and easy to dance in,” Hailey Pribble (24) said. Eaton High School also had a delayed start to school which might have had an impact on how soon you would buy a dress, compared to other schools starting in August. Some of the stores that sold dresses would write your name and school down so if a girl at your school wanted the same dress, she couldn’t buy it. This rule is called the “one dress per school rule” and it is in place so that no two girls would have the same dress. The idea is smart and makes the girls feel like they can be unique and not have the same dress as the others. Not many girls had the same dresses, but some had the same colors, “I got my dress from TBC Bridal in Denver. I was really looking for a hot pink long sleeve dress, but then my mom saw this one. I had my doubts at first, but as soon as I tried it on, I fell in love with it. I don’t think it was about what so much was “trending”, I just chose the one I fell in love with and what looked best on me,” Ashtyn Black (23) said. 

 Satin, sequins, and lace along with the colors green, black, and blue were very popular for the material and color of dresses for the 2021 HOCO, “I got my dress from Dillard’s and I thought the black color with sparkles was really cute,” Tyanne Bartel (24) said. For makeup, a natural look went best, knowing that it might come off at the dance from sweating. Lots of girls went with updos for their hairstyle, also because of the heat in the gymnasium or just not wanting it in the way of dancing. The jewelry this year wasn’t too big of a deal because the dresses were so sparkly that it was the main attraction of the outfit, “I got my dress from Neiman Marcus and I honestly don’t know if it was trending, but there were a lot of other sparkly dresses and so that made me think it was,” said Madison Crider (24). Also, the dangling earrings might start to hurt your ears when jumping in the mosh pit. Now the shoes were one of the more exciting parts of the outfit. Lots of girls wore heels which were sparkly and stood out. But for the dance, some girls changed shoes to save their feet from the pain, and wore Nike Air Force 1’s , Vans, or Converse. 

For the guys, suits were also hard to find, and lots of places were out of them. Kohls, Macy’s, and Express Men were pretty much sold out of dress pants and lots of button up shirts had to be bought online. Some of the colors students were wearing also were hard to find for a dress and suit, “I couldn’t find any navy blue dress pants for a couple weeks, but after going to four or more stores, I finally found some that matched nicely,” Zack Maske (24) said. The auxiliary gymnasium didn’t have air conditioning, so lots of people got very hot easily. Those that had outfits for a warm day definitely dressed right for the dance.

 Some of the guys wanted to be funny and took their ties and wrapped them around their heads as a sweatband. Ties were a bit popular this year, same with bow ties. Suspenders were rare to see though at the dance as it might be declining in trends. Animal print is making its way back too, “It was easy to find a cheetah print tie, the problem was the belt. I couldn’t find a belt that would match so my grandma put some fabric on one of my black belts and it was like I had a cheetah belt. I chose to wear a cheetah tie because my date’s shoes were cheetah print and it would look great,” Dirk Duncan said (22). Some of the trends are making a comeback as others are dying off.