And don't forget your ride to the event, the gut-wrenching "arrivals" process being one where folks go hard or go home, plus the pricey ticket that will score you a questionable three-course meal plus a local DJ who has cut their teeth on primary school events.

As nauseating as the haze of hairspray and spray tan that comes with the event, is the price tag. While it's a time when local businesses boom, it's an overwhelming expense for some parents and students funding their new formal shoes or salon visit with extra hours of part-time work.

In 2018, the pressure to make your high school formal a memorable one, is intense. But Canberra businesswoman Ana Anzani believes students shouldn't miss out.

"As we get older, we forget how much emphasis is placed on children to present themselves to a particular standard at their school formal. We fail to see the detrimental pressure that has on a child," Ms Anzani said.

"But everybody deserves a fairytale night after 13 years of study. Everybody deserves to feel their own kind of beautiful. Whether it’s an outfit, hair or make-up, I would like to help as many financially disadvantaged children as possible."

She's looking to pay for eight Canberra students who need a dress, suit, hair, or make-up. For over a decade, Anzani has donated formal dresses in Sydney. While inwards inflection is valuable, "turning to your outer self" can definitely make a difference to personal confidence, she says.

Born in Iran during the Iran-Iraq war, Anzani and her family immigrated to Australia in the 1990s.

"We struggled financially for the first decade, but for my parents, there was no price for freedom."

She remembers her primary school days in Sydney as the toughest of her life, suffering from PTSD, financial hardship and a loss of identity from not being recognised as Australian because of the colour of her skin.

"I was a depressed child. I didn't have any dresses, I had two brothers and I wore their T-shirts and pants. I was in year six when I had kindergarten students come up to me and ask: 'Why do you look like a boy?'

"This was one of the most significant things that happened to me. To realise the effect bullying can have on your life."

Year six was a turning point for Anzani. For her end of primary school dance, her parents pooled their funds from their 12-hour work days and surprised her with a polka dot dress from Miss Shop.

"My parents sat me down and said, 'While this dress will make you feel beautiful, you are the only person who will make yourself feel beautiful.'

"That's when I started to love fashion."

It was during her mid-20s when she encountered the story of a young woman which "brought her right back" to her 11-year-old self.

"On a night out, my friend was inconsolable. She told me about a young girl in year 12 she knew, who attempted to commit suicide. She was being bullied. This had been going on for years, but it was the fast-approaching formal date that tipped her to the edge," she said.

"She couldn't bear the backlash she would receive on what she thought was supposed to be a magical day for her, all because her foster parents couldn't afford to buy her ‘that dress’."

So Anzani offered to sew her a dress in one week, and to do her hair and her make-up.

"I also gave her the advice my parents gave me. Not long after, she was on the road to recovery. And we're still in touch," she said.

"It made me think about how something so small can have such a significant impact."

If you need help with your school formal, or know someone who does, contact Ana Anzani at formalhelp@kmelyon.com. All requests will remain confidential.