Prom is an American high school tradition and a right of passage for many teens, but also an event leaving students faced with an exorbitant amount of money spent on tickets, transportation, corsages, and, most importantly, dresses.

Sophomores Bella Vega and Ally van Dorsten are volunteering to work with Live Water Surf Shop to sell teenagers handpicked, affordable dresses.

The temporary prom “pop-up” shop is joining hands with the store in Fairfax, and will be open from now until mid-April.

According to Vega, dresses supplied at the shop are ordered from a wholesale fashion website, and then promptly shipped to the store location.

When dresses arrive, the volunteers and shop employees work on displaying the dresses and interacting with customers.

“Our job is to pick out the dresses from the website and to help the girls decide on which dress is good for them,” Vega said.

van Dorsten said she volunteers at the shop because she loves fashion.

Instead of relying on luck or going to a prom retailer and dropping big bucks, van Dorsten points out that Live Water is supplying students who want to look good for their prom, but don’t have the money or time to purchase big-name designer dresses.

According to Vega, it’s a great opportunity for the two girls to celebrate the prom season while satisfying their desire to work in a fashion retail position.

Vega said that the girls found out about the volunteering opportunity through Mr. Davidson in the College and Career Center.

van Dorsten said that the shop offers benefits that a website cannot provide.

“There are not many stores that provide the benefits of finding a prom dress…Most people order off of websites and hope it turns out good,” van Dorsten said.

The shop is open after the surf shop closes from 5-9 on Sundays and Wednesdays.