Becky Friedman & Joe Schafer
Staff Reporters

Traditionally, girls are accused of spending ridiculous amounts of time on their makeup, hair, and outfits when it comes to getting ready. But is it all true?

As dances and weekend nights come around, there are differences between how each gender gets ready to go out.

In an Oracle-conducted survey, the majority of girls claimed they spent 20 to 30 minutes on their makeup. Guys overestimated that number by 20 minutes. Girls said they thought that guys spent 10 to 30 minutes getting ready, and they were about right.

The survey also revealed that the usual schedule for girls involves showering, getting dressed, doing something to their hair, and putting on makeup, while the average schedule for guys entails showering, getting dressed, and possibly shaving before going out.

Girls take more time to get ready to go to school as well.

Sophomore Jenny Lewin said, “It takes me somewhere around a half hour to an hour [to get ready] if I’m actually trying to look nice, but it could take like 10 minutes if I need to get out of the house quickly.”

On the other hand, some think the amount of time that it takes girls to get ready is unnecessary.

“Fashion is so superficial,” said an otherwise anonymous Jeff.

Some boys, too, spend a little extra time getting ready.

“Well, I blow dry my hair,” sophomore Dylan Ungaretta said. “Not too many guys do that.”

Out on the town

The amount of time students take to get ready to go out on a weekend is also affected by what they are doing that evening.

In the survey, 74 percent of students can get ready to hang out with friends in half an hour or less, compared to 55 percent of students that can get ready in the same amount of time for dates.

Sophomore Benjy Wax said, “I will usually take longer for a date because I put more care into [getting ready].”

Sophomore Nikki Wlodarczyk said, “It differs; if I’m out with my friends, I get ready as usual since there’s no one to impress, but if it’s a date then I might take some more time to impress the guy.”

All dolled up

For a school dance, makeup and hair are obviously not the only elements to getting ready however. Shoes, dresses and suits also play an enormous role. Also, the amount of money spent on outfits varies according to gender.

Sophomore Joe Jablonski claims he never buys a new suit. Most other guys at South buy suits, but not with the frequency that girls buy dresses.

The majority of males said they reused their suits along with their shoes. Some attribute this to not caring about how they look; others claim their outfits are not remembered as girls’ are. Girls said that they would typically spend $200 to $300 on a prom dress.

“It’s a special occasion and only happens once a year,” junior Ashley Cummings said. “You wouldn’t want to look like a scumbag.”

Additionally, another concern about looking good at the dance was all the pictures taken.

“Pictures will be taken and people will remember how you looked that night, especially when looking at… Facebook or in other places.” sophomore Kathy Giudice said.

While many girls share this sentiment, others feel differently.

“It’s a social contest to some people and they flaunt their looks, their dates, and whatever else they have so they can impress others,” an anonymous male senior said. “It’s the rare chance that they’ll get to do so and feed their ego.”

On a more lighthearted note, junior Neil Carson said, “I just like dressing up. It’s fun, I guess!”

The Oracle asked two seniors, one boy and one girl, to describe their typical routine for getting ready. Below are their answers.

Compiled by Becca Spector