Teen’s dress to dye for
Since Mirabella Uphof was 11 she has been dreaming of her Year 13 school ball — complete with a big blue Cinderella dress.
But when Omicron put New Zealand in the red traffic light setting, the 17-year-old feared her ball was off for good.
Then the country moved to the orange light setting in mid-April and her school, Bream Bay College, announced the event would go ahead in just over a month.
“It was quite overwhelming when I found out that it wasn’t too far away,” Uphof said.
Finding the dress of her dreams was stressful at short notice especially in rural Ruakākā, south of Whangārei.
Most of her classmates drove to Auckland to buy or hire a gown, but Uphof found a wedding dress on Trade Me for $280.
“It was a bit risky. I was hoping that it would look like the picture and it does, so that’s great,” she said.
Although she was nervous about dyeing the dress, it turned out as she’d dreamed it would.
Students at Bream Bay plan to save money in other ways, too. Her friends will do each other’s hair and makeup, and she’ll wear last year’s shoes. Her date for the May 27 event is wearing the same suit he wore in Year 12.
Uphof attended the Dilworth School ball last year, where tickets were about $120 compared to $65 at Bream Bay.
She reckons Aucklanders spend more money on everything ball-related and the events are much more formal.
Most Dilworth students arrived in limousines, while in Ruakākā students use classic cars and the odd tractor or fire truck.
Ball season in Auckland is also well under way after many schools had to cancel last year.
Edgewater College, Diocesan School for Girls, Epsom Girls Grammar, King’s College and ACG Parnell all have balls in coming weeks, but some will be in September or later.
Diocesan principal Heather McRae said the ball date was only confirmed when the city moved to the orange traffic light setting in April.
All appropriate health and safety requirements would be applied including hand sanitiser and seated dining.
Face masks would be encouraged and students were advised not to attend if they had symptoms, McRae said.