Saskatoon charity gives graduates a princess moment

Fifteen years ago, Sarah Lozinsky didn’t think she’d make it to her high school graduation.

“I was going through some troubled times. I was homeless,” she said.

That’s when she met Ainsley Robertson, who asked if she wanted to come to the Princess Shop.

The Princess Shop is a non-profit organization founded by Robinson to provide programs and support for female-identifying graduates facing financial or social barriers. One of those is the dress-loan program, which provides graduation dresses to girls celebrating that special milestone.

At the time, Lozinsky said there were only three dresses to choose from at the shop, and one of them was a peach-coloured dress she nicknamed “peach cobbler.” She said the experience was an amazing one.

“I got my hair done. I got makeup done. I got to feel like a princess. It was somebody more than I was at the time, and it felt good,” she said.

Lozinsky walked across the stage and received a drama award during her graduation. She said she felt proud of herself that day, and wouldn’t have been able to do it without the Princess Shop.

Executive director Christine Thompson said the shop now has around 1,200 dresses available in a wide array of sizes, colours and styles. Even ribbon skirts are available, with the aim of making sure every graduate can feel special on the big day.

Thompson said she’s grateful to community members and local dress shops that have donated hundreds of dresses to the non-profit group throughout the years.

Graduates can book appointments through the Princess Shop, Thompson explained, and the experience is tailored to the needs of the shopper.

“Some grads know exactly what they want. Some have no idea; they’ve never tried a dress on in their life,” she said.

Every year, the shop assists around 150 graduates, and Thompson said the charity is looking to add a virtual experience for girls living in rural parts of the province.

It was a full-circle moment 15 years later for Lozinsky, when she returned to the Princess Shop and found her wedding dress.

She said only one word described how she felt when she put the dress on: “Speechless.”

Lozinsky’s advice for graduates was to allow themselves to feel like a princess.

“You only graduate once, and you might as well treat yourself to something you normally wouldn’t be able to.”