Upscale dress resale
By Lizzy Petersen
Photo of dress sale taken by Lizzy Petersen
The Bailey Education Foundation has put on its third formal dress resale. This event began in 2019, with the exception of 2020 and 2021 due to COVID-19. Their sale goes on during the month of March, this year being held on the 25 and 26, though next year they hope to host the event earlier in the month.
The woman in charge of the sale, Amanda McClintock-Underwood, appreciates being able to help others achieve their dream of wearing a beautiful, sparkly dress to their prom.
She shared that it is very important to her to be able to help others since she had “all boys, so this is my fun thing with beautiful dresses, and I get to help the community not have to break the bank.”
The Bailey Education Foundation not only helps the community with its dress resale but also with the money they earn from it. The money the foundation earns from the sale is then placed into funding for scholarships given to graduating seniors and others looking to continue their education.
McClintock-Underwood mentions that the turnout for the sale is usually rather hectic, saying, “It was crazy on the first day with a line down the hallway, all the way to the hospital. There were hundreds of people that came Saturday.”
With multitudes of people coming it is worrisome that there will not be enough dresses. Dresses were donated from all over. Many thrift stores were able to donate some dresses when they heard about the sale, but he majority of dresses this year were donated from the community of Owasso and some nearby towns, such as Bartlesville and Tahlequah.
The foundation is able to take all donations and then decide what to do with them. In the past, some of the donations that did not meet the appropriate criteria for sale were able to be repurposed and donated to local high school theater programs.
McClintock-Underwood states that she has been grateful for the large amount of involvement within the community that has come from this dress resale.
“We started reaching out to the high school for NHS volunteers to help with the sale,” McClintock-Underwood stated.
Another incredible moment that came from the resale was when families who donated dresses offered to help out with set up. There was even a Kendra Scott booth with formal jewelry, all 15% off. This sale has brought countless people together to help young girls feel confident and beautiful for their prom experience.