For Fun

The annual homecoming game brings out the best of us in our homecoming traditions. When I was a student at Huntington High School on Long Island, we used to paint this big boulder at the corner of the back entrance of the parking lot to our school. Not just at homecoming, we would paint it in different themes throughout the school year and for special events, memorials and other such things. It’s one of those traditions that technically we were all vandalizing school property, but officials just looked the other way for the sake of tradition. We had some very talented artists so it was a really great way to get attention from the community.

All over the US students have very creative homecoming traditions to celebrate the occasion. Some traditions are associated with homecoming dances where women adorn themselves in gorgeous homecoming dresses and others are directly related to the game. Many schools and towns host a homecoming parade with floats made by students and teams. Other traditions include pranking the visiting team. Here is the countdown of the top ten truly unique, cute and quirky traditions across America.

 10. Student Participation

Those students who aren’t athletes or band members also get in on the school spirit. Long standing rituals in high schools and universities encourage everyone to join in. Like the University of Oregon, located in the city of Eugene. They host an annual tug-of-war game before the homecoming game. This is a well-established tradition, going as far back as 1967. This playful game has taken hold in other states, going beyond the homecoming season. Such events have inspired the Oregon Area Chamber of Commerce to hold an official event during Summerfest in Wisconsin.

The University of Wisconsin at Platteville is the site of a large-scale construction project. First created by mining students in the 1930s, a large letter “M” was created on the slope of a large hill just east of the city of Platteville. The project is  simply known as “The Big M”, which occupies a large area of 214 x 241 feet on the south slope. Students moved 400 tons of whitewashed stone to make this. The university has a past practice in mining engineering, hence the “M” stands for mining. Before the homecoming game and the dance, students use flares to illuminate the Big M, to pay homage to their rich history.

 9. Costume Parties

Some homecoming games fall on a date that is close to Halloween, on October 31. Schools take this opportunity to host a Costume Ball as a part of the festivities of homecoming week. At some schools, this dress up dance is exclusive to a certain group, like the football team or marching band members.

This practice is going strong after all these years at C.E. Jordan High. Located in Durham, North Carolina, C.E. Jordan High School has been hosting this dance since the 1980s. The band members wear scary costumes during their performance at the halftime show. These kind of rituals help break the monotonous routine that band members happen to be more prone to since they have a strict practice schedule. Continue reading →

Lots of planning goes into promposals these days, and you can only hope for the best when it's time to pop the question. Most promposals go down without a hitch, as many times it's a boyfriend or girlfriend asking their significant other in a cute way to prom. But, there are cases where the proposer doesn't know if the proposee will actually be accepting, and this is one example of that.

Oh no pic.twitter.com/PdFuuVtrty

— Sully (@SullyFootball) June 1, 2015

This high schooler went for a daring prom proposal - asking the girl he hoped to go to prom with in front of an entire football stadium full of people. He must have thought this promposal was in the bag, but that it was not! After the high schooler asks his hopeful date over the microphone if she'll go to prom with him, he was let down anything but gently as the girl responds in the microphone, "I already have a date." Awww! You can tell the high schooler is shocked by his response, and we can't blame him.

How the word didn't get around that the girl already got a date is beyond me! That's what friends are supposed to be for, after all! Oh well, it might be a promposal gone wrong, but it's certainly something he'll look back on in a few years and get a good laugh out of, if he's not already.

Sadly, this isn't the only promposal fail we stumbled upon this year. For another cringing moment, check out Daniel's promposal fail... to his own girlfriend, of all people!

With Star Wars Day is officially here (May 4th)! We know many girls are still on the hunt for their perfect prom dress, so we wanted to send out some good vibes today. So, without further adieu... May the Force (ahem... May the FOURTH!) be with you in aligning the stars and finding your perfect prom dress today. In the words of Yoda, "Find your prom dress, you will."

Since today is also Manciure Monday, we're definitely feeling the force in putting together a Star Wars inspired prom look! We found some Star Wars nail art looks we loved on Pinterest, which you can see above, and we paired it with a prom dress that is so Star Wars worthy: Scala 48435! The stars (and galaxies) will align for the perfect evening gown when you slip into this electrifying creation. Radiantly lustrous material is overlaid by intricate patterns for a richly textured look, and glittering sequins add a healthy dose of glitz. From its sweetheart neckline to its sweep train, this gown reminds us of the beauty of the stars above.

Even though you probably won't be rocking Star Wars nails at prom, we thought this Scala prom dress was the perfect way to bring a little geeky inspiration to the dance floor. That's not to say we'd totally be all about rocking a bold nail look like the ones above at prom! After all, prom night is all about you - be comfortable and confidence in whatever outfit you choose.

Or, if you want to bring some Star Wars fun to After Prom, we love Faviana 7210 in gold because it reminds us of C-3P0! The foil jersey dress material glistens just like C-3PO.... in a totally sexy way in this case, of course! This dress used to be $278, but is now on sale for only $194.99 (with only a few left), so it makes for a super affordable After Prom dress that you can easily wear again for many other events.

Want to add some extra fun? If your prom date is totally into Star Wars and geeky culture, too, get him to wear a cute Star Wars bow tie like this one or this one with his prom tuxedo! We're pretty sure all of your date's guy friends will be geeking out over the bow tie and wishing their prom date was as cool as you!

May the Fourth be with you today, and especially on your prom day!

No, this is not a new celebrity promposal. Justin Bieber went to prom in style, and when we say "in style," we mean that he totally crashed a high school prom, with no warning whatsoever! The students of Chatsworth Charter High School in Los Angeles, basically had every girl's Prom 2015 dream come true! We can't lie... we're a little jealous!

The "luckiest graduating class of all time" according to TeenVogue (we're not ready to vote yet - Prom 2015 isn't over quite yet, so you never know what might still happen!) was totally taken by surprise on Saturday night when celeb Justin Bieber showed up. TeenVogue explained that after a night spent in a nearby recording studio, it seems like Justin was on a mission to have some fun and dance? And, honestly, are there many better places to dance than prom?!

@CCHSRoyals always wanted to go to prom. Thanks for having me. #promcrasher :)

— Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) April 26, 2015

Of course, within moments of Justin's arrival, evidence of JB was caught on video. Justin also tweeted a 'thank you' to the school for having him at the prom, explaining that he'd always want to go to prom, but was never able to until now. Better late than never at 21 years old and *stuck* traveling the world performing all the time!

THANK YOU @justinbieber FOR THE BEST PROM pic.twitter.com/FyUXQlrR60

— steph (@stephh_arthur) April 26, 2015

There's been no word or video as of yet concerning if he took the stage to do some singing, or if he picked a dance partner. But, we're hoping more information (aka lots of videos) will be leaked soon! This is certainly one way to make your prom unforgettable: get the Biebs to show up! As we said earlier, Prom 2015 isn't over yet, so it will be fun to see if any other celebrity prom fun pops up. We have hopes for all you prom girls our there!

There have been so many unique promposals this year, from a promposal delivered by police to a high schooler asking an Eagles linebacker to prom. With promposals and prom in the air, we're so excited to share a new promposal with you. Why is this one so special? It came from one of our very own Roo Girls!

Janey, who is one of the Roo Girls that works at the Rissy Roo's store in Linwood, NJ, is a student at Atlantic City High School and her Senior Prom is fast approaching. Since it's her senior year of high school, of course she has to go out with a bang, and she's off to a good start since she was asked to attend prom by way of a promposal!

Ready for how this adorable picture came to be? Janey plays on the girls tennis team at ACHS, but is also the manager of the boys tennis team. The boys coach called her and asked her to come to practice to help with a couple of things for the team. When she arrived, the coach asked her to take some pictures of the team... and of course first they wanted to have a shirtless picture taken. Five of the boys took their shirts off, and when they did, their chests spelled out, "PROM?" Then, her friend Danny came out, handed her bouquet of flowers, and asked if Janey would attend prom with him. Of course, Janey said, "YES!"

Such a cute promposal! Since both Janey and Danny are tennis players, could there be a better place than a tennis court for their promposal to take place?! And, Danny getting his teammates and even his coach involved in the promposal is super impressive! We give this tennis promposal the Roo Girl approval all the way! We can't wait fir Janey and Danny to finally attend prom together and hear how amazing their night was after it's all over!

Promposals have been getting more and more popular each year, and this Prom 2015 season has definitely taken the prom proposals to a whole new level. No more does simply writing a note with a accompanying flowers or a teddy bear work. Now, it's all about dressing up as Prince Charming for the day or coming up with some other totally unique idea.

Lauren with the police who delivered her promposal!

Well, Amesbury High School junior Nick Fortuna, from Boston, Massachusetts, certainly found a very new and unique way to turn the normal note and flower routine into a very special promposal for his girlfriend Lauren Fedorchak. Believe it or not, Nick got the police involved in delivering a promposal! Nick asked police officer Ronald Guilmette to pull over his girlfriend at a traffic stop. Lauren gave the officer her license and registration. When the police officer returned, she received a "ticket," but instead of a traffic citation, the ticket said, "Prom with Tuna?"

Nick was waiting in Officer Guilmette's police car the whole time. Once Lauren was given her ticket, he came over to Lauren's car to surprise her in purse and give her flowers. Of course, Lauren said "YES!"

There have been so many amazing promposals this year, but this one may have taken the cake in our book! It's pretty impressive to get the police involved! And, major props to the Amesbury Police Department for being such good sports and helping Nick with his promposal. What do you think of this police promposal? Would you have gotten scared getting pulled over?

With New Year's Eve 2015 officially here, we wanted to take a moment to wish all of our Roo Girls a fabulous, glamorous, and sparkly New Year!

We hope that 2014 was full of not only lessons, but the best of times with your family and friends. And, with a brand new year here, we hope that 2015 brings you an incredible year that you'll never forget.

Ready or not, 2015 is here, so make the best of it! If you haven't thought of a New Year's Resolution yet, that's a great way to help get ready for the new year. And, of course, the most important part about getting ready for the new year is putting together that perfect NYE outfit! As you know so well, we love dresses at Rissy Roo's, and New Year's Eve is one of the best possible nights to rock a dress (even though it's cold out). So, whether you purchased a brand new dress to wear for this special night, or are breaking out your favorite reliable number, have fun putting your outfit together from head to toe! New Year's Eve is all about glitz, glam, and sparkle, so don't be afraid to accessorize. Whether sequin heels, a studded purse, or shiny jewelry, you'll stand out in style! Of course, if all else fails, you can always rely on a sparkly gold or silver dress to stand out on NYE.

Last, but not least, if you want to make sure you're ready for 2015 with a brand new dress, whether for your next party or for Prom 2015, don't forget that today is the final day of our End of the Year Sale. There are so many dresses at deep discounts right now, so have fun browsing and finding that dress you've been looking for at an incredible price.

Happy NYE 2015!!

Remember on Monday how we posted about a chic black cat Halloween look, matching chick nail art, a little black dress, cat ears, cat eye makeup, and cat eye glasses all together? Well, we have more information to help you finish off that black cat look! Seventeen Magazine recently posted a step-by-step video on how to create that perfect black cat makeup look...from the classic cat eyes to a cute black nose and even whiskers! Check out the black cat makeup tutorial here:

http://youtu.be/9KQxaANch48

Such a cute look! Lupe, known as naturallybellexo on YouTube (who works with Seventeen), decided to create her black cat look with a black romper, rather than a little black dress, like we mentioned earlier this week. Both styles work so well for a black cat look, and both are so easy to take from Halloween to any other night out or event you go to.

If you want to rock a romper like Lupe, we love Shail K style 3464. This hand beaded, sparkling one piece will make you look so sexy, and the silver accenting throughout the romper reminds us of stripes on a cat! We especially love the sparkles on this romper - they're a perfect way to stand out in the crowd on nights like Halloween, a Holiday party, or New Year's Eve. The romper also features a sweetheart neckline, defined waist, and unique open back design. If it's a cold night out (like Halloween or the Holidays usually are), don't be afraid to pair this look with black tights - rompers look great with tights and is perfectly on-trend.

A black cat is a classic (and SO Roo Girl!) choice for Halloween, so you definitely can't go wrong with this look. And, you can always find unique ways to add your own personal style to the look by adding jewelry.... and choosing between a romper vs. a LBD, of course! Are you planning on being a black cat? Do you have any tips, tricks, or ideas on how to finish off the look? Leave a comment below!