But if wearing someone else's dress was the only way Vierra could afford to attend the King Kekaulike High School junior prom on March 12, then the 17-year-old was willing to give it a try. Now she feels like the belle of the ball.

"You think 'used' and you think of dirty and raggedy clothes that look used," she said. "But when I saw the dresses, they were all really clean prom dresses that had only been used once or twice."

Vierra picked out a champagne-colored satin number that reminds her of the ball gown worn by Belle in "Beauty & The Beast," but without the bows. "It's just really pretty," she beamed.

She even found shoes to match at Becca's Closet, which operates out of a vacant room at the Pukalani, Maui, campus.

The original Becca's Closet was started by 16-year-old Rebecca Kirtman, a cheerleader and honor student at Nova High School in south Florida who was killed in a traffic accident on Aug. 30, 2003. As a freshman, Kirtman launched a dress bank to provide gowns and formal accessories to high school girls who couldn't afford to purchase dresses for their prom or homecoming. She single-handedly collected 250 dresses.

The King Kekaulike chapter, the only one in Hawai'i, held its first dress drive in December, and with prom season approaching, more and more girls are calling to make after-school appointments to look at dresses.

School PTSA president Juliana Massenburg and fellow parent Madeline Powell said they first learned of the original Becca's Closet last year, and then discovered there were students at King Kekaulike who might not be able to attend the winter ball or spring prom because they couldn't afford to pay up to $400 for a new dress.

The PTSA decided to sponsor a campus chapter, and Powell encouraged daughter Corinne to step in and lead the student-run organization.

"I think it's a cool way to help people and it's fun, too, because you get to see all the pretty dresses," said Corinne, a National Honor Society member and drama club vice president.

The 16-year-old junior and her cohorts already have racks filled with about 200 dresses, most collected from individuals. Several bridal shops have donated new dresses, and a shipment of 40 gowns just arrived from the Florida headquarters of Becca's Closet. Corinne said she's hoping other high schools in Hawai'i will start their own chapter of Becca's Closet, adding that dress donations are tax-deductible.

The King Kekaulike chapter also has purses, shoes and other accessories, and even formal wear for guys, although selection is limited.

The Maui chapter was started to serve King Kekaulike students only, but is now open to anyone with a student ID. There is no paperwork to fill out or proof of income required, and girls get to keep the dress they pick out.

One of the first girls to visit Becca's Closet came in with her mother, Massenburg said. "Just the thrill on their faces — they got so excited. The mother even hugged us," Massenburg said. "We felt just like fairy godmothers for Cinderella."

Vierra said getting a gown from Becca's Closet "meant that I could actually go to the prom." She was surprised to find a dress to fit her curvy 5-foot-2 frame that didn't need alteration or hemming.

She had been trying not to think about the prospect of missing her prom, an event she and her friends rank second only to having a wedding.

"I put the subject in the back of my mind. I just knew if I couldn't find a nice dress I would have to borrow one, and I didn't want to do that," she said. "Buying a new dress and shoes, especially, would have been hard. To wear it only once and spend that much money on it, it's ridiculous."

Vierra is encouraging other students in her position to give Becca's Closet a try — no shame, really.

"A lot of my other friends wouldn't humble themselves to get a used dress. Some people are snobby and wouldn't do it. But it meant a lot to me," Vierra said.

It also meant a lot to her mother. "It makes me cry every time I see her," said Tina Vierra.