As the football season comes to an end, many girls have a common thought on their minds. Yes, the race to find the perfect dress to wear to Homecoming has begun.

Some people may simply scroll through pages of online stores or aimlessly wander around racks of dresses, and others might go to thrift stores or borrow clothes from friends, but there are different alternatives to finding stylish dresses.

The process of buying an outfit for Homecoming is not very complex. There are three simple steps to find a dress to wear to the dance.

First, pick a price range. For Homecoming, stores such as Forever 21 or H&M have many dresses well within a $30 range. Department stores also offer cheap dresses and also have more brand names.

Freshman Victoria Ding prefers to buy dresses from Nordstrom or Bloomingdale’s instead of Forever 21.

“I would look for a dress at Nordstrom because they have a large variety of dresses for every occasion,” she said.

After deciding an approximate price range for the dress, look through a few stores and the variety of clothing they have. The color is among the most important factors of a dress. Black is always a classic color for any formal event with the “little black dresses” around stores, but keep an open mind when shopping. Avoid wearing those bright neon colors from the summer and greet soft hues of nature’s colors for the next rainy season. Subtle shades of maroon, orange, blue, and yellow are in fashion for fall this year.

Vintage or thrift stores have become popular and can offer an antique style of clothing. Lace or old classic dresses can usually be found at these stores.

Senior Hannah Prutton revealed her favorite stores to buy any dress.

“I get a lot of my Homecoming dresses from topshop online […] and vintage stores because I find that there are a lot more options, and then, you are certain nobody will wear the same dress as you,” she said.

For underclassmen, Homecoming might not be the dance to spend a lot of money. On the other hand, some seniors might choose to buy more expensive dresses for their last Homecoming dance.

Freshman Homecoming princess Annie Zhou was advised by her upper class friends on what to look for in a Homecoming dress.

“I would look for something unique and easy to move in, but at the same time the dress should be simple because Homecoming is not too fancy, unlike prom,” Annie said.

Other than shopping at department stores like Macy’s or Nordstrom, some seniors have found a way around taking trips to the mall. There are many sites online where companies rent out designer dresses for special occasions, such as Homecoming.

Senior Cecilia Lang-Ree has been renting her dresses for the past four years.

Celebrity dresses that are normally priced at $800 can be rented for around $100. Also, for some people, the hassle of only wearing the dress once and then not using it will be gone.

“I use Rent the Runway, which is this service online where you can rent designer dresses for really cheap prices for a couple days,” Cecilia said.

Although the task of buying a dress to wear for the Homecoming dance might seem intimidating, there are many different places to shop besides the mall. Vintage stores, online renting sites, and even online stores can give a variety of options. While shopping, do not forget to keep this season’s trends in mind.