Any school dance has the potential to bring about cat fights between teenage girls who have the misfortune to wear the same dress. This year, however, junior and senior girls don’t have to worry about duplicate dresses at Junior Ring Dance or Senior Prom.

The senior and junior classes both have Facebook groups where the girls can post pictures of their dresses for the dances. Both groups are private, however, so that only the girls in each grade can view the posts.

These groups are awesome ideas. No one wants their special night to be ruined when they see another girl wearing the same dress. These groups allow girls to “claim” the dress they choose to buy.

Besides claiming dresses, the groups allow for a relaxed environment to ask questions about the dances. In the ring dance group, girls have asked questions like where everyone was buying their dresses or whether parents come to ring mass or not. Everyone seems comfortable enough within these groups to be open and have fun.

In addition to preventing repeat dresses and getting referrals, these groups are great ways to get opinions about dresses girls are thinking about purchasing.  On the Ring Dance dress page, junior girls flood each other with nice, feel-good comments about possible dresses. With no negative comments, these groups are proving to be confidence boosters.

These groups also bring girls closer together. People are giving fashion advice and compliments to classmates they don’t normally talk to. Something as simple as a dress for a dance is bringing about class unity.

While some girls might not be completely genuine when they tell other girls that they like their dresses, the concept of these groups is sincere. If girls don’t like a certain picture that was posted, they don’t have to like it or comment on it. These groups are a fantastic opportunity to be positive about junior and senior dances as they bring the girls of the classes together before the event itself.

Emily Clarke is a Managing Editor for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com.