Staring down a seafoam green floor-length dress on a clothes rack in a high school classroom, 16-year-old Amaya Williams knew three things:
The frock resembled a bridesmaid dress.
She would never wear it.
She had to have it.
“It’s like flowy and stuff and like the top is just there, but it has, like, long straps so you can tie however you want,” says Amaya, a University High School sophomore. “It’s like the style of a bridesmaid dress.”
Months after she thrifted the dress at the Rincon-UHS Campus Closet, Amaya had a singular reason to wear it: Prom. Although she will attend the event at a different high school, the find was prescient.
“The (prom) theme came up and I’m like, ‘Wait. I have a dress for this cuz I got it from the closet,’” she said. “Like, I’m never going to wear this. But I’m going to wear it! I just got it just cuz. And now prom is May 8.”
Prom season is one of the reasons for higher campus closet traffic this week at the midtown high schools of Rincon and UHS, which operate independently on the same site in the Tucson Unified School District.
The dozens of closet shelves — hidden in the back of Room 201 — include strappy heels and skinny belts, leftover 2022 senior shirts and not enough pairs of jeans (the most-thrifted item.) All clothing and accessories are free for students who shop the closet.
The average cost of a prom dress is about $200, according to Teen Vogue magazine. The event is expensive for students and families and ticket prices alone start at $50. Dresses, tux rentals, shoes, flowers, hair, nails, limo rides, promposals and meals can cost $600 to $1,000 or more, according to a Boston University economist who has studied prom inflation.
The origins of U.S. proms seem to be in the late 19th century in New England. And although attendance dropped off in the 1960s and 70s, students are back at prom — most dancing in groups with others on the sidelines, tapping their feet or mouthing song lyrics.
From Tucson High’s Badger Closet to the Giving Chargers Clothing Closet at Cholla, TUSD has at least nine high schools ready to help outfit students for everything from an average school day to a job interview or the social event of the season.
On Thursday morning, UHS sophomores August Sosa and C.J. Shupe made their way to the closet for the first time. Just minutes before the first bell, Sosa grabbed a Frankenstein T-shirt and a pair of nearly-new Dr. Martens black boots. C.J. found some black-and-gray furry Khombu boots.
“They were in my size too,” C.J. said. “I would come back here if I had more time.”
The Rincon closet, which opened in 2022, typically operates on the first Thursday of the month before class and after school. But as events approach, like prom, homecoming, winter formal and the freshman dance, things can get chaotic.
“If we’re only open the first Thursday of every month, maybe not everybody knows that and they’re not able to come then. So, if a student needs something in between that time, we will just open it up for them,” said Campus Closet club sponsor, Katrina Messing, who is also the UHS recruitment and retention coordinator.
Student executives run the operation: Adelaide Riches and Ariana Williams sort and fold apparel, gather donations and drum up business on social media.
“I was really just looking for more ways to get involved with the campus and the community. And I thought campus closet was such a good opportunity to be involved and give back a little bit,” said Adelaide, a UHS junior who’s also the catcher on the softball team and president of the Penguin Perspective, the newspaper club.
On Thursday morning, the duo convinced a couple of thrifters to pose for an Instagram post — modeling potential prom dresses.
To donate
Contact each school’s main office for a designated closet drop-off. Rincon-University High School can be reached via Instagram.
Ariana, a senior, also on the yearbook staff, before she attends the University of Arizona next year, aims to bring her peers to the closet.
“We really want people to clear out our stash as we have a lot of clothes,” Ariana said.
Her sister helps out with that.
Amaya was tipped off to the closet by her older sibling and is now a potential No. 1 customer, wearing something from the closet nearly every day, she says. On Thursday, she absconded with hot hair rollers and a black belt with metal notches.
Thrifting is a family affair and her parents support it.
“They’re fine with it. They wash everything. As long as everything’s easy to clean, then they’re into it,” she said. “Cuz it’s like, I’m not stealing it off anyone. It’s moral. And you find cool stuff sometimes.”
The weirdest item she’s discovered?
“Two answers: There’s a poodle skirt back there made entirely out of felt,” she said. “Also, there used to be these really absurd and abstract rainbow cowboy boots.”
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