Dance Again allows students to sell and buy formal dresses

Dance Again allows young women to dance the night away in elegant affordable dresses.

Human Environmental Studies Professor Kara Lynch launched Dance Again with the idea of “making memories more affordable.” Lynch knows how expensive formal dresses can be for young women and wanted to create something to benefit people who buy those dresses that need to sell them.

“A lot of people purchase those expensive dresses and they wear them one time and they sit in their closet and devalue over time,” Lynch said.

With Dance Again, women can sell their dresses at the formal wear consignment store and get 70 percent of the sale if the dress gets sold.

Lynch said she only takes dresses of good quality. Lynch will look it over and talk with the seller to come up with a price to sell it for. If it has a lot of stains or rips, she won’t take it. She wants the customers to pay a decent price when buying a dress for a special event.

Senior Kapre Filhart of Coleman High School has bought and sold dresses at Dance Again. After finding out about the shop, Filhart thought it would be a good idea to buy her Homecoming dress from there because she did not want to spend a ton of money on a new dress.

Up to date, Filhart has sold four dresses. She was happy to sell the dresses because they were taking up space in her closet and she knew she wasn’t going to wear them again. Filhart said she rather have someone else war the dresses than to keep them until they’re out of style.

“We kept them in pretty good shape anyways because we only wore them once and we brought them new so it was good someone else can get a good use out of them,” Filhart said. “Cheaper price, good for them, good for us.”

Dance Again is marketed to high school girls and college girls that are in need of formal wear. Lynch agrees Dance Again is a great resource for women in sororities or going to a military ball that are in need of dress.

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Lynch also calls the store a “win-win situation” because the seller and buyer come out on top.

“My goal is for someone to be able to sell a good quality dress and for someone to be able to purchase a nice quality dress for a fraction of the cost,” Lynch said.

The store is actually located in the basement of Lynch’s house seven miles outside of city limits. The hours of operation varies and can be found on her store’s Facebook page.

“I think people are pleasantly surprised when they come because they think it’s a consignment store and some people have a perception of what that might be,” Lynch said. “But when they come, I have over 265 dresses right now. They’re also beautiful and then they see that. I have three rooms people can change in. It’s a nice environment for people to be in.”

Dane Again offers a wide range from short dresses to long formal ones. Lynch said some dresses are the Cinderella type with a big poufy bottom while some are sleek and straight.

Lynch said opening the business at first was challenging because she never ran her own business before and had to start from scratch. However, she said the job is really rewarding because she gets to meet new people from the community.

Mount Pleasant High School sophomore Lauren MacGregor bought her homecoming dress from Dress Again this year.

“When I saw my dress, it fit perfectly and I didn’t have to get any altercations on it at all,” MacGregor said. “And they say where the dresses have been worn and where they’re from.”

MacGregor said she recommended Dance Again to several of her friends because of the price and quality. MacGregor said the prices of the dresses are reasonable and affordable, and there are several choices to choose from.

“It’s closer to the town, too,” MacGregor said. “It’s not far away and there’s not too many dress places around here either; not at all.”

For more information, go to Dance Again’s Facebook page. Dance Again is located on 902 N. Meridian Rd. Mount Pleasant, MI 48858.

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