Prom Closet

Biggest prom dress drive in DFW begins collecting donations for 2026

Help teens say yes to the prom dress.

Photo courtesy of Prom Closet

The 17th annual St. Andrew Prom Closet at St. Andrew Methodist Church in Plano will invite teens to "shop" for their dream dresses in February. But first they need those dresses.

Organizers have begun accepting donations of formal dresses (sizes 0-30), jewelry, shoes, handbags, and wraps. They'd like to offer thousands of dress options for teens to take home at no cost.

“We’re calling on our community to help make prom dreams come true by donating dresses and accessories,” says Kathy Moore, organizer of the event, in a release. “Start the New Year by cleaning out your closet and bringing us your gently used dresses, shoes, jewelry, and handbags."

New items can also be purchased through their Amazon Shopping Link.

"Each year, we rely on the generosity of individuals, local groups, and businesses to make every girl’s experience truly magical,” she says.

Items should be cleaned and "like new" (as if they were being taken to a picky resale store).

They may be dropped off at St. Andrew, 1401 Mira Vista Blvd., Plano, just inside the church’s north entry doors, on a designated dress rack. Drop-off hours are 8:30 am-8:30 pm Monday-Thursday and 9 am-12 noon Saturday.

Prom Closet 2025 Prom Closet is set up like a boutique, with thousands of gowns and accessories. Photo courtesy of Prom Closet

Volunteers needed
In addition to needing donations, organizers also need hundreds of volunteers to help run Prom Closet, from check-in and check-out, to personal shoppers, dressing room assistants, and set-up and tear-down crew members. Volunteers must be adults and must complete a background check. Sign up here beginning January 26.

A service of the Women of St. Andrew Methodist Church, Prom Closet allows teens the chance to "shop for" free dresses, shoes, and accessories in a boutique-style setting, complete with a (volunteer) personal shopper.

The event has grown from assisting 35 teen girls when it started in 2009 to 1,323 girls from 322 schools and 110 school districts last year. The girls come from all over Texas and as far away as Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Missouri, and exchange students from France, Germany, Poland, Switzerland, and Thailand.

Shopping details
The 2026 shopping event will take place February 24-28 and March 2-5 & 7 at St. Andrew Methodist Church.

It is open to any high school girl from anywhere, no questions asked, but shoppers must register online beginning January 26 to book an appointment. There are 40 shopping slots per each 90-minute time frame. A few rules:

Shopping is by appointment only.
Each student must be present to shop for her own dress and accessories.
Each shopper is allowed to bring along just one guest, age 16 or older.

"For the St. Andrew Methodist Women, the Prom Closet truly is a year-round labor of love,” says the Rev. Arthur Jones, senior pastor of St. Andrew. “What began as a small outreach has grown into a remarkable ministry that blesses more than 1,300 young women and their families each year. The dedication of these women — and the many volunteers who join them — goes far beyond organizing dresses. They create an environment where every girl feels loved, valued, and beautiful."

Visit the event's website, call the Prom Closet informational hotline at 469-385-1810, or email standrewpromcloset@gmail.com for more information about donations, volunteering, shopping, and more.

Costume News

Jane Austen film fashions take spotlight at Dallas-Fort Worth museum

Courtesy photo

Emma

A new exhibit at the Arlington Museum of Art will celebrate the 250th birthday of beloved author Jane Austen with a distinctly Hollywood touch. Called Dressed for the Drawing Room: Fashion in Jane Austen’s World, the exhibit will showcase costumes and jewelry from film adaptations of two of Austen's most iconic works: Pride and Prejudice (2005) and Emma (2020).

The exhibit, which will run from January 9 to March 22, 2026, will be presented in partnership with Jane Austen Society of North America - North Texas Chapter, a nonprofit dedicated to the enjoyment and appreciation of Jane Austen and her writing, with costumes loaned from NBCUniversal Archives & Collection.

By bringing costumes and accessories from two important films in the Austen world, the exhibition hopes to immerse visitors in the elegant and often politically charged world of fashion during the Regency era.

“Literature, film, and costuming are all important expressions of time, place, and identity,” says AMA Director of Exhibitions Kendall Quirk in a statement. “Jane Austen’s novels are full of observations of the time period she was living in. Using costume to portray these subtleties of the Regency era highlights how important details are. We hope visitors experience costumes from their favorite Austen films and gain a better understanding of what each costume signified for the characters.”

Pride and Prejudice costumes will be part of the exhibit. Courtesy photo

Written in 1813, Pride and Prejudice was about a tumultuous courtship between Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy, who initially dislike each other before falling in love. The 2005 film starred Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen, and was praised for the chemistry between its two stars as well as its stunning visuals and modern feel. It earned its costumer designer Jacqueline Durran considerable attention for her work, including an Oscar nomination in 2006 for Best Achievement in Costume Design.

Set in 1800s England, Emma was about Emma Woodhouse, a well-meaning but selfish young woman who meddled as a matchmaker in her friends' love lives. The 2020 film version starred Anya Taylor-Joy in the title role, and earned costumer designer Alexandra Byrne an Oscar nomination in 2021 for Best Achievement in Costume Design.

The exhibition is free (and the museum does not charge admission). It is the latest in a series of similar Hollywood-themed shows hosted by the Arlington Museum of Art in recent years including Disney memorabilia, Wicked, and Game of Thrones.

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Costume News

Jane Austen film fashions take spotlight at Dallas-Fort Worth museum