Then

It’s the early 2000s: Gwen Stefani’s “Hollaback Girl” and  Outkast’s “Hey Ya!” are blasting on every radio. Students around the country are preparing for the perfect homecoming. The teenagers from the 2000s are now teachers at Munster High School.

In the 2000s, long and form-fitting dresses were all the rage. Girls wore their hair perfectly curled and chic. Elegance and grace was the focus. Glitter and halter tops hung on every rack during homecoming season. Girls also looked for strapless gowns with laced heels. Blues and pinks were a popular color for young girls.

“A lot of two pieces. There were not a lot of sequins later on in my high school, a lot of glitter though,” chemistry teacher Kyleen Nolan said.

Despite a change in style throughout the years, homecoming was still just as  important for high schoolers then as it is now. Similar to high school now, people would go with friends or a date; either way, they would dance and party, cherishing the memories along the way.

“I feel like homecoming’s always been kind of a big deal,” American Sign Language teacher Hannah Fus said. “It’s the first dance of the year, people are still excited about the start of the school year.”

Now

For many high school students, homecoming is the most important time of the year. It gradually becomes the forefront of everyone’s mind as they spend weeks finding out who they are going with, where the afterparty will be and, most importantly, what they are going to wear. Students plan months in advance trying on dresses and meticulously picking out the perfect accessories. In 2025, students have their eyes set on glitz and glam.

A typical homecoming dress in 2025 is short and covered with prints. from floral to stars and every thing in between, girls look for patterns. Texture and dimension are popular as well. Whether it be glitter or embroidery, anything that makes the dress pop is what girls look for. Some look for a dress that flares out after the waistline, while others search for tight, body-con dresses.

“I look for glitter and sparkles, because those are my favorite things,” freshman Evelyn Erlain said.

Although flashiness is in right now, many girls have been looking for a 90s or 80s inspired look. Recently, students have wanted a blast to the past with their dresses having a retro vibe. Modern dresses are out, and vintage is growing in popularity rapidly.

“I definitely wanted some vintage vibes. I wanted it to be kind of 90s inspired, and I wanted it to be dark purple,” sophomore Olive Hill said.

To find the perfect nostalgic dress, girls have turned to Goodwill and Facebook Marketplace to find their dresses second hand. Students scour thrift stores hoping to win big with the perfect dress.

“I don’t want to pay a lot of money for it, so I went to the thrift store and I found a pink dress and was like, ‘I’ll just wear that,’” junior Emma Potchen said.

Old or new, bold or simple, girls across Munster High School gather with their friends and family to find a dress that they feel symbolizes them.

“My favorite thing about [homecoming] is probably getting ready with all my friends,” Potchen said. “I don’t even really like the dance part. I just like being with my friends.”