The Christmas dance has passed and the search for the perfect dress has finally ended, right? Wrong. January has hit, which means the next dress hunting season has already begun. With prom almost five months away, some people may wonder why the preparations begin so early in the year, but a majority of the female student population could answer that question with only two words: the dress. According to deborarachelle.com , the teenage population spends over $1,000,000,000 annually; $4,000,000,000 was spent towards attending a prom in 2005. With the pressure of our society telling us to be beautiful, teenage girls go to great lengths in order to make sure they look their best on the night of the big dance. Parents and boys may disagree with this pressure, but much of it comes from the girls themselves and the way in which they wish to portray themselves on the night of the prom. With the decision to be ‘beautiful’ already in mind, the next step would be finding the dress that best brings out the beauty in each individual girl. Where to begin? Many girls begin the dress search months in advance via the internet. Searching things such as ‘prom dresses,’ ‘homecoming gowns,’ and specifications for a dress idea you may already have in mind lead to multiple websites for boutiques, department stores, and designer sites. Girls can scroll through photo galleries according size, color, or the ever so important: price. Popular and frequently visited dress website examples are: prom-dresses.com , promgirl.com , promgirl.net , edressme.com , and 4prom.com . With a selection of categories on each site, there are hundreds of dresses to choose from. You could find a dress for over $500 or as low as $50. With our economy in trouble, it begs the question: where is the money coming from? About 56% of students will ask their parents for money for prom. One way to avoid the pricey dresses from designer websites, which would later include shipping and handling and any alterations needed, is to look for the dress yourself. Driving to shops and boutiques to look for a dress could minimize the cost and frustration of dress hunting. With hundreds of dresses laid out in front of you, you could guarantee the fit of the gown is exactly what you would need, saving money on fitting. Another great idea would be to head straight for the clearance rack. There is no shame in clearance when the money saved could be hundreds of dollars, and some of the nicest dresses can be found among them. Along with the hunt for the perfect dress, the guys put out money as well. The difference, however, is the time put into preparation. A simple call and fitting to Tuxedo Junction and assuring that colors match accordingly with their date is about as much ‘getting ready’ the boys will need. So with prom a very short five months away: good luck, girls.