Say “Yes” to The Ideal Dress

In the popular movie, What Women Want, Nick Marshall, played by Mel Gibson, undergoes a fluke accident that enables him to hear what women think and desire most in life. Using this newfound skill to gain insight into his high school senior daughter’s world, he discovers a valuable piece of information while taking her shopping for Prom night – It’s all about the dress.

Alicia Carithers, a local Fayetteville teenager, knows this Hollywood portrayal of Prom to be true. Prom night is one of the most important events in every adolescent’s life, and often starts with finding the perfect dress. After observing that not all girls have the resources available to attend prom, she decided to create The Ideal Dress, a non-profit organization that collects lightly used or new prom dresses, shoes, and accessories, and distributes the items to disadvantaged teens in the community that are facing the reality of missing their prom night due to financial hardship.

Originally conceived as a project for her Landmark Christian School senior Bible class, The Ideal Dress is now recognized as a 501(c) 3 non-profit organization whose primary mission is to provide outreach for girls in the community who are nominated by their school counselors and cannot afford a dress for prom. During their first year of operation, The Ideal Dress collected over 200 dresses and distributed them to over 25 girls in the community.

“For teenage girls, Prom is often the highlight of their entire high school experience, and it is my dream to give every girl the opportunity to attend such an important event,” states Alicia Carithers, Founder of The Ideal Dress.

In order to provide a memorable experience for the nominated girls, The Ideal Dress program was created to feel more like a personal shopping excursion than a charitable clothing drive. Once accepted into the program, each girl makes an appointment to “shop” at The Ideal Dress storeroom, and when they arrive, an Ideal Dress volunteer greets them and acts as their personal shopping consultant for the day. The girls spend the afternoon trying on dresses, mixing and matching accessories, and utilizing Ideal Dress’s dressing room and platform with mirror. In addition to providing them with a dress, shoes, and accessories of their choice, The Ideal Dress extends the excitement by giving them a “Prom Essentials” goodie bag filled with nail polish, tissues, hair pins, and other items.

Although Alicia graduated Landmark Christian School last year, and now attends Lee University in Tennessee, her heart still resides in her hometown and with The Ideal Dress. Despite the frenzy of college life, Alicia makes frequent pilgrimages to Fayetteville and continues to oversee the non-profit organization with the help of local volunteers and her mother, Pam Carithers.

Community involvement has helped keep Alicia’s dream alive. Local organizations such as The Young Professionals of Fayette County (YP Fayette) and The Mom’s Group of Fayette have partnered with The Ideal Dress over the past year to help support their charitable cause. Last November, Ideal Dress partnered with local companies such as Lizard Thicket, JoS. A. Bank, and Christian City to host their first annual “Fashion for Compassion” Benefit Fashion Show and silent auction at Dolce in Peachtree City.

“The Young Professionals of Fayette are proud to support such a wonderful cause,” states Kristen Rosati, President of YP Fayette, “Many of our members have fond memories of their high school Prom night and are thrilled to be able to help extend that opportunity to underprivileged teens in the community.”

To contribute to The Ideal Dress, please contact Karen Perkins, Donation Director, at donations@theidealdress.org, or visit the website at theidealdress.org to find a list of items needed.