By Rick Wright

Staff Writer

A modern day generation gap was on display last Saturday at a high school dress swap at the South Portland Community Center. 

Ericka Lightner, 14, playfully bantered with her mother, Kate York, about choosing an appropriate dress for the South Portland High School Winter Ball on Jan. 23.

Lightner was looking for “a little short, not long dress that’s cute and doesn’t look too old. If my mom will let me wear it, it’s not short enough,” joked the South Portland High freshman.

With York standing close by, Lightner finally selected a teal-colored dress acceptable to both mother and daughter. 

“I like the color and the design. It’s about the right length,” Lightner said. “It’s stretchy material so it won’t be rough. It’s silky. The top doesn’t go low cut.”

The dress swap was started last year by parent volunteers Lisa Henderson and Lori Baxter. Saturday was the fifth time Henderson and Baxter ran the event. 

The two created the dress swap primarily to help girls save money for the four major dances held at South Portland High each year -– homecoming, Winter Ball, Spring Fling and prom.

The idea is simple: Girls bring in their own dress and swap it for a dress on the rack. If they don’t have a dress to swap, they can buy one for $5.   

Sarah Dadmun came to the dress swap with a supporting cast that included her mother, Sharon, of South Portland, and Sarah’s boyfriend, Alex Kite, a 16-year-old sophomore at Scarborough High School. Sarah, 15, is a freshman at South Portland High. 

With no particular style in mind, Sarah hoped to find “a dress that looks good.”

Sharon said she brought her daughter to the swap because, “I had a few dresses to donate that I’m never going to wear again. It’s a good way to get rid of stuff that you’re not going to use. If somebody else can enjoy it and give it a second life, that’s great.”

Kite liked the idea of a dress swap because of the recycling and financial benefits.

“If people have dresses they know they’re not going to wear or don’t fit them, they can give them to other people who need them. In this time of economic stress, it’s a very good idea,” Kite said.

“Buying a dress for every dance adds up. So we thought it would be a great idea to clean out some closets and do a dress exchange,” Henderson said. “Most girls don’t want to wear the same dress twice. Some kids can’t afford to go out and buy three or four dresses a year.”

Henderson has four daughters. Two of them, Mindy and Stephanie, currently attend South Portland High School. Baxter has two daughters including Haley, a sophomore at South Portland High School.

About a dozen girls came to the swap, which ran from 1 to 3 p.m. 

That number was not as many as Henderson anticipated, she said. 

“We had a lot of traffic last year.” 

Both women plan to offer the swap two more times this year. 

“The last time we did it, we had a really good turnout,” said Henderson. “We had one girl that stayed and tried on every dress that we had. It was quite entertaining.”

Henderson and Baxter started the swap a year ago with a handful of dresses donated by parents and students. Approximately 60 dresses were available Saturday. 

“We hope it just keeps expanding,” Henderson said.

Sisters Jamie and Kimberly Fisher came to Saturday’s swap because they found several dresses last year they could wear to the Spring Fling and other dances. Jamie, 15, is a sophomore. Kimberly is a 17-year-old junior. Both girls go to South Portland High School.

“We’re just looking around to see what dresses they have so we don’t have to go and buy one,” Jamie said. “I think it’s pretty cool. It gives people a chance if they don’t have much money to get dresses.” 

Kimberly agreed with her younger sister.  

“It’s really fun. You get to pick what you want and you don’t have to pay anything,” she said.

Amanda Marshall donated a dress Saturday but she could not find one that matched her size or style. The 18-year-old South Portland High junior decided to go to Kohl’s Department Store and use a gift card to buy a new dress, “something that’s kind of sparkly, dressed up and flowing,” she said.

Marshall was accompanied by her stepfather, Ray Wormwood. He was not daunted by walking into a female-oriented event with his teenage stepdaughter. 

“I have another daughter as well,” Wormwood said. “I take them out shopping at Christmas time. I find it fun. That’s what having kids is all about.”

Bobby Levesque, 18, of Scarborough, was on hand Saturday to help his girlfriend, Rachael Ryan, a junior at South Portland High School, select a dress. 

Levesque, who graduated from the Youth Building Alternative program last June, never got to go to a formal dance in high school. He can’t wait to escort Ryan, 16, to the Winter Ball. 

“It’s really exciting,” Levesque said. “I’m looking forward to it.” 

Rick Wright can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 237 or news@inthesentry.com.