Excitement high as matric dances back after lockdowns

After two years of cancelled soirées, unused dresses and disappointed grade 12s countrywide, it is finally that time of the year again when youngsters don their best outfits and get to enjoy a night celebrating their final year of high school with their classmates.

Recently matric dances have been a bit of a sore topic with many parents forking out money for dress, shoes, hair, make-up, nails, a dapper suit and all the rest, but not seeing the fruits of their labour amount to much.

This season, however, things are looking up and the matrics of 2022 will (hopefully) be the ones who finally get to experience this rite of passage with little to no Covid-19 stresses.

“For the past two years, the regulations changed and the country went into a harder lockdown two days before our matric dance in 2020 and on the day of our matric dance in 2021,” said Jackie Acton, Hudson Park High School’s media administrator.

“I think at this point, the expectations are lower and our matrics this year are quite happy if our hall decorations are not extravagant. I think they just want to have their day.

“We’ve had no matric dance for two years and no fundraising events either, so I think this year will be really special and super nice even if it is maybe more minimalistic,” Acton said.

While the event still calls for youngsters to look their best, it seems that, for the most part, the pandemic has led to minimalistic trends understated, simple and sleek is in this season!

Juliana Gouws, who owns Beacon Bay bridal and evening wear boutique Fairytales, said youngsters were going for more simple dresses; more were opting to hire dresses or make use of Gouws’s made-to-hire offer.

“In the past many girls would have dresses made, but due to Covid-19 and the uncertainty it brings, many opt for hiring dresses now.

Gouws has a range of 500 eveningwear dresses to choose from. “I try to rotate them every three years and pull out the ones that are not so popular, as trends change.”

The boutique also offers a range of accessories for hire, including necklaces, bags, bracelets and head pieces.

Gouws said lately youngsters were opting for more practical, minimalistic dresses, and those who did get their dresses made were taking into consideration how the dress could be used or worn in future.

“From my experience it seems youngsters are going for plainer dresses that are not so embellished, fancy or elaborate.

“Fitted dresses with low backs are very popular at the moment, but they are more simple and I think that’s because the more minimalistic the dress is, the easier it is to use again it in future.

She said mermaid-style dresses were also very popular. Colour-wise, a variety of greens have been the go-to hues lately.

“It’s my tenth ear of running Fairytales and I’ve never had girls go for greens or yellows, but this year emerald, mint and yellows are quite popular colours. “Reds, blues and blacks are also still very popular, burgundy especially.”

Helping girls find the dress that makes them feel like a princess tends to change from person to person, depending on the trends.

“They are all very different girls with different personal styles. Some want simple dresses, and some want bling.”

While Acton appreciates the sentimental value of a matric dance dress, she says more often than not, they are used once and then tucked into a closet and forgotten.

She says donating to the Fairy Godmother Cupboard means that the dresses are put to good use. Over the years she had seen the difference they make in the lives of many girls.

“I do wish more students, who feel very sentimental and decide to keep their dresses and not to sell them, would donate them to the Fairy Godmother Cupboard instead.”

Two local matric girls, who wished to remain anonymous, agreed that green, from dark emerald to sage, were very “in” at the moment.

Another reiterated that sleek, fitted dresses were indeed favoured by this year’s matrics, but that some form of embellishment, especially lace, was still popular among her classmates.

“A lot of girls have chosen the sleek, fitted dress with low V necks, some plain and some with lace on the top of the dress and plain at the bottom or lace on top with fine mesh over the bottom section.

“Lace seems to still be popular, especially for the top section of the dress to give it a formal dance look, she said.

Both girls agreed that finding shoes to go with their outfits was a bit tough, both searching far and wide. “A lot of my friends had to order online,” one said.

The two girls said they were very excited and had booked to have their hair, make-up and nails done, as well as a photographer in advance, both having started planning last year for their dance, which takes place in March.

When it comes to suits, Samantha Harding of Best Man Suit Hire says classic slimfits are definitely here to stay, but there is the odd request for something a little different.

“We stock quite a few of the same suit, in a variety of sizes specifically for weddings, so that we can cater for all the sizes in a wedding party. This definitely helps us when we have matric farewells too, as we can help a lot of boys at the same time.”

She says only a handful of clients request more elaborate or embellished suits.

Simon Hunter of Strand Outfitters, a men’s wear and suit hire boutique founded in 1920, said lately understated classic suits had definitely been the most popular, with most matrics opting for slimfit suits.

Strand Outfitters has a wide variety of suits for hire in various colours including slimfit tuxedos available in black, white, burgundy and royal blue, slimfit suits in black, navy, sky blue and grey, as well as regular fit suits.

It also offers a range of waistcoats, shirts, ties and pocket squares.