Blue, green, purple and black, plenty of prom dresses ripe for the picking right off the racks at the Coco Key Convention Center. Digging through all the dresses to find the right one was a lot more fun with a friend, like these juniors from Lewis Central High School in Council Bluffs.

Was there a strategy being used? “No,” said Kimberly Thomas.

“If they look cute, like the color, you look at the color and if the style’s okay," said Becca Piercy.

Organizers of the event said after four years, the word has spread about this sale, $25 for a slightly used prom dress.

“It's our own little Omaha prom dress dash every year and so we're prepared,” said Lisa Walker Sekundiak, vice president of Max I. Walker, about the Ultra Chic Prom Boutique. “Anywhere from two to four hundred people to line up before the doors open and then it goes on throughout the day."

The girls continued to filter through dress after dress, armfuls full of hope. Ziadya Hirschman, a sophomore at Stanton High School, thought she found one. “Yeah!" After trying a few dresses on, she found THE one. "I like how it flows out and shows off."

Many girls like Ziadya will hopefully find a dress of their own and the more dresses taken off the racks, the larger the benefit for those in need.

“You know, just ‘cause you are homeless doesn't mean you don't have a prom to go to or you don't have a wedding or some event in your life that you would like to have a nice dress,” said Open Door Mission CEO Candace Gregory.

Like all types of shopping, this year's event also included shoes and handbags to accessorize with the dresses, but the big question, is it harder finding a dress or a date?

“A dress," said one shopper.

"A date." said another shopper.

Event organizers raised $8,600 for Lydia House. Any dresses left over will be donated to the shelter.