It’s the beginning of a new school year and while South El Monte High School was planning our HOCO, students were preparing what they were going to wear. This year’s homecoming was in the Eagle’s Gym, after last year’s was outside on the blacktop due to COVID and students were required to wear a mask to the dance. SEMHS students seemed to dress in a very elegant style this year and rocked the dance floor. 

Eagles have been waiting all summer for HOCO 2022 planning outfits, hairstyles, and makeup. Homecoming princess Isabella Hernandez said, “It took me like a day to find my dress.“ When asked, “What made you choose this dress?”  She responded, “The color of the dress, I feel like it really compliments just me in general and I love how it looks on me.” Isabella wore a stunning baby blue dress with a long slit, and she stated, “I got my dress at Windsor,” which seems to be a very popular dress store that the younger generation shops from. Sophomore Leila Aguilar had also mentioned, “My dress is from Windsor.” Isabella also showed her creativity in her hairstyle, by making it unique when she added rhinestones to her hair. She knew she didn’t want to be the focus of attention when she chose her outfit: “I just really wanted to stand out, but also not stand out as much.”

Another student Alexa Villa couldn’t wait to go HOCO dress shopping as the day was coming up. She explained, “It took me two days to find my outfit.” When Alexa was looking for what she was going to wear, she knew that she wanted something black, “Black is just a nice color and everyone looks good in black.” She knew she found the perfect dress when she entered the store Fashion Q and found the perfect black dress, “It was simple but it still looked pretty, and it was also comfortable,” said Alexa. Fashion Q is also another store that seems to be very popular when it comes to not just HOCO outfits, but just normal clothes in general, especially with teenagers. 

It seems like students this year felt very confident walking into HOCO with how they looked. It was fun to see students wear clothes they wouldn’t normally wear on a regular basis, and see how they expressed themselves through their clothing. Something that is happening is that our new generation is filling the world with new styles and fashion statements that are impacting students around the district or maybe even worldwide. Maybe next year more people could attend homecoming, because they also want to join in on the outfits and the celebrations.