Derek Neary
Northern News Services
Monday, June 11, 2007

IQALUIT - High school graduates want to look like a million bucks for their big day, but where do they go to find formal wear when they're thousands of kilometres from the nearest dress shop or tuxedo rental place?

At Nasivvik high school in Pond Inlet, where the grad ceremony takes place Tuesday, Ena Mucktar has been busy fashioning her own dress since April. While she has sewn a parka before, this is her first time attempting a gown.

"When I get frustrated I don't touch it because I want it to be nice," she said. "I want it to be perfect for me."

The burgundy taffeta dress is from a pattern design that a friend helped her find on the Internet, she said.

Her friend also picked up the materials while on a trip south. In Qikiqtarjuaq, where graduation was held on June 1, teacher Susie Hawkins said one student ordered a dress from Sears, another borrowed a gown that a friend wore to a wedding a year ago and one young man borrowed a shirt and tie from a buddy.

As well, a teacher's mom sent a dress that she found at a second-hand shop in the south and it fit one of the young women just right, according to Hawkins.

Fitting perfectly is not guaranteed, of course, whether borrowed or ordered through a catalogue or online.

"This year was weird, everything just fit. It was really strange," Hawkins said, laughing. "But basically everyone in the community can sew anyway, so that's never been an issue. If anybody orders anything that doesn't fit, alterations are never an issue."

Sears is a life saver for some of the students seeking stylish attire in Cambridge Bay, too. Korinne McDonald, a teacher at Kiilinik high school, said mail-ordered dresses and suits are common.

However, she knows of one student and her mother who flew all the way to Edmonton specifically to go shopping for clothes to mark the big occasion.