A rainbow of gowns, shoes, suits, ties and jewellery will be on sale at Kingsford Smith School's fourth annual Formal Op Shop.
While year 10 and 12 formals are an occasion to make memories and celebrate with friends, they also come with a hefty price tag.
Between purchasing the ticket, transport, hair, make-up, shoes and clothing, students and their families can be spending hundreds of dollars on the special night.
English teacher Marina Leko said the annual Formal Op Shop started four years ago to help their own year 10 students get decked out for the occasion.
Since then it's grown to Belconnen schools, then north Canberra schools to this year being open to all students in Canberra.
"We know the financial pressure that comes with these events, particularly you know at the moment with the cost of living crisis and all the rest. So it's kind of why we started it," she said.
"Knowing that we're able to provide an affordable option to those families, I think is really important."
The school has partnered with Vinnies to get an array of formal wear to suit all styles. Kingsford Smith School will also accept high-quality donations at their front office.
All items will be priced from $3 to $5. The op shop will be open on two days: August 28 from 3-6pm and August 29 from 9am-1pm. The school will also hold a bake sale during the event.
Ms Leko said there were 20 containers of stock ready for the sale with more on the way from Vinnies.
"We're very lucky. We have a partnership with Vinnies, and they support us every year with a large portion of the stock, so really ... It wouldn't be possible on this scale without the support of Vinnies."
Year 10 student Tim Robb said students could get a good quality piece for a bargain while also supporting local charity Roundabout Canberra.
"Now that we're opening it up to other schools, it creates more of a chance for the school to make money off it and give it to the charities that we give it to," he said.
"Often formal wear sits in your cupboard after a long time after using it just once. So it's good to just have it and then you can give it back and someone can use it the next year."
Fellow year 10 student Yewong Selden said opting for a vintage or pre-loved outfit was also better for the environment and can make sure students have something unique to wear on their special night.
"There are a lot of good, colourful dresses. I'm sure that'll be popular with everyone. And the heels, they look really good quality," she said.
"Something good about these kind of items is that ... instead of it being fast fashion, where it breaks after one use, this is something that you can keep on using. So it's really sustainable and that also means the quality is really good for the cheap price."
Ms Selden said going to the school formal was an important milestone and people shouldn't miss out because they couldn't afford it.
"It is a really important memory in adolescence, especially ... it feels like it's like a privilege, but now it becomes more like a right because everyone deserves to have a formal and everyone deserves to have fun."
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