Graduation Dresses: Students Tell Us How to Get Fun on a Budget

Like Kirtana, Alicia Munhupedzi used the Internet to find her dress — although it was a little last minute.

“Where can I find a good dress quickly and cheaply?” I thought.

The answer? Depop, the second-hand clothing app popular among Gen Z consumers It was sold earlier this year for $1.2 billion (£890m)..

Like others, Alicia felt that her dress was important.

“Graduation is a big milestone, especially if you’re not planning on doing a master’s,” she says. “So there was pressure on me.”

She couldn’t sleep properly the night before the ceremony and woke up at the crack of dawn to get ready. “I spent today giving up two hours of sleep, water, good vibes, energy, and coffee.”

Knowing that all eyes would be on her when she was awarded her degree, Kirtana was nervous about her graduation ceremony – but it went by faster than she thought.

“This is the only time you get it for yourself,” she says.

And was the 05:00 wake-up call and two hours of preparation worth it?

“Yes,” says Keerthana, “I couldn’t negotiate on that.”

Additional reporting by Kate Berry and George Sandeman.