In The News

Today is a very important day for all of our Roo Girls: It's International Women's Day! In case you've never heard of it before, it's all about celebrating us: women! Many argue that the world is still an unequal place, and Women's Day seeks to bring a greater awareness of women's equality. Each year there is a new them, and this year's International Women's Day 2015 theme is "Make It Happen." This means that while International Women's Day is great because it brings awareness to an important cause, awareness simply isn't enough. We must actively make the changes necessary to bring gender equality into the world.

Since our main goal at Rissy Roo's is to help make each girl feel as beautiful as they are, we wanted to give our Roo Girls a little inspirational quote for today! There are so many powerful women out there that we should look up to and be inspired by, and one of those women that we're a big fan of at Rissy Roo's is Oprah Winfrey. She's made an empire around inspiring, educating, and empowering women, so she is definitely a women that should be looked up to. So, below is one of her famous quotes that every women should keep in mind every day:

"Think like a queen. A queen is not afraid to fail. Failure is another stepping stone to greatness."

-Oprah Winfrey

So, think like a queen, not only today, but every single day! Even though gender equality may still need to be worked on, being a women is something to be proud of, so hold your head high every single day!

If you want to learn more about International Women's Day, make sure to check out their website at InternationalWomensDay.com. There, you can learn about the cause and how to you can start promoting change in the world. There's also been a lot of support for International Women's Day from other companies and sites this year, so be on the look-out. One of our favorites are YouTube's #DearMe campaign, which you can watch below. It's all about what advice you would have given your younger self. You can even GIF your own #DearMe message at: http://youtubedearme.com.

http://youtu.be/AbqT_ubkT0Y

So, we'll end with a important quote from the YouTube #DearMe video:

"Don't let anybody else try to bring you down or make you second guess yourself."

Work towards being a strong woman, today and every day, and be proud of yourself no matter what! And, teach the other women around you to be just as proud of themselves! Happy International Women's Day from everyone at Rissy Roo's!

Celebrity promposals have become quite the trend lately, and we have a new one to share with you! This past January, Instagram and Twitter user Hannah Delmonte had a unique promposal for Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Emmanuel Acho. She asked Acho to maker her "the happiest girl alive" by taking her to prom. She did so by proposing that he take her up on her request if she were able to get 2,000 retweets. Acho countered her promposal, saying that 10,000 retweets would be the magic number. Well, Hannah's obviously a very determined young girl and she did not let a mere 8,000 more retweets get in her way!

In case you couldn't tell from the photos, Hannah did it! Not only did she get 10,000 retweets, she made it to over 13,000! So, Emmanuel said "YES" to Hannah's promposal, went tux shopping, and surprised his fan at her high school with a custom Eagles jersey as a prom present. The jersey had the number 15 on it, "PROM" written on the back, and was signed by Emmanuel with a special note. So cute!

The Eagles linebacker definitely made Hannah's perfect prom night (and day) come true! We definitely think this Emmanuel Acho promposal is one for the books. It's always so impressive to see celebrities taking time (and money) out of their busy schedules to go to prom with some of their most die hard fans. Even with how popular celebrity promposals have become, it still surprises us every time we hear about one. Acho has proven to be yet another celebrity we're adding to our all-time favorite list of celebs here at Rissy Roo's! If you could take any celebrity to prom, who would you take? Leave a comment below and share with us!

Robin Williams passed away on August 11th, and we still miss him so much. He brought an unprecedented amount of joy and laughter to this world that nobody will ever forget. From more serious movies like Good Will Hunting and Bicentennial Man, to laugh-out-loud funny movies like The Birdcage, to kids' favorites like Hook and Night at the Museum, Robin had an amazing talent and personality that will always stay in the hearts of his fans.

Even with everything the late comedian did, two words that we never thought we'd hear in the same sentence were 'Robin Williams' and 'prom,' but the actor managed to have some prom fun during one of the last movies he filmed, Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb...and with another famous comedian, too... Ben Stiller! Skyler Gisondo, who plays the son of Ben Stiller's character in the film, was a senior in high school at the time that the film was being shot. Even though he was away from home filming Night at the Museum, he still was planning to go to prom and had a special person in mind that he wanted to ask to be his date. So, he asked his co-stars Robin Williams and Ben Stiller to give him a hand with a prom proposal! The two stars not only agreed to help Skyler in his promposal quest, but they had quite the enthusiasm to share!

http://youtu.be/9WCEQy1-msE

"All morning, Robin was pitching more ideas," Skyler told The Hollywood Reporter. "He was saying, 'Can I say this? Would it be appropriate to say this?' You're Robin Williams. You can say whatever you want! It turned into this three-minute, ridiculous thing. A prom-posal. I realized that was the most awesome three minutes of my life and I've accepted it will go downhill from there."

In the super cute video, which you can watch above, Robin and Ben advertise all of the great 'benefits' of dating Skyler, and even pretend to have a whole special performance ready to go for the potential date's (Hilary's) pleasure.

This all happened back in May, but the video is timeless for so many reasons, and shows how great (and funny) of people both Robin and Ben are. In his interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Skyler even said that his time working with Robin was "invaluable."

"Robin was the bottomless reservoir of kindless and hilarity," Skyler told The Hollywood Reporter. "It was just so special to work so closely with this guy whose movies I've grown up with and watch his preparedness and his kindness."

Most importantly: the Robin Williams Ben Stiller Prom-posal totally worked and landed Skyler the prom date with Hilary!

We hope you enjoy the video as much as we did, and that perhaps it gives you some inspiration for your own promposal! Rest in peace, Robin - you continue to bring us so much joy.

"The Bachelor" star Chris Soules kicked off Season 19 this past Monday by kicking out eight women already! While we're sad to see eight go so soon, all of the girls looked so stunning in their dresses! You may have even recognized some of the dresses; we sure did. A few of the girls wearing Sherri Hill dresses!

Do you see the Sherri Hill dress in the photo above? The girl that's three in to Chris' left, Amanda, is wearing one of our most popular Sherri Hill dresses: Sherri Hill 11068! The brilliantly designed evening gown that Amanda wore features a beaded high neck sleeveless crop top and a long slim skirt that features a beaded waist. It couldn't have looked more stunning on her! We especially loved the black color of the gown against her blonde hair; a perfect way to stand out.

That's not the only Sherri Hill dress on the show, though! During the pre-show one of The Bachelor woman wore Sherri Hill 11151. This stunning evening gown features a sheer high neckline with lace embellishments and a long flowy chiffon skirt.

If you watched the season premiere on Monday, did you catch the Sherri Hill dresses in the show? With such an intense first episode of The Bachelor 2015, we can't wait for the next episode to air!

If 2014 was anyone's year, it was definitely the year of Taylor Swift! She rocked the year in every way possible, from touring to releasing her new album 1989, which quickly topped the album charts. Tay totally knows when and who to give thanks for all her amazing feats, though - her fans! In November, she made the news when she gifted fans some holiday goodies and stopped by a local Starbucks to take selfies with unsuspecting fans that were in the store. But, that wasn't all Taylor had for her fans this holiday season! She ended 2014 with a gift to let ALL of her fans get a little peak into exactly what she did this holiday season by posting a super cute and touching video!

The video is called "Taylor Swift's Gift Giving of 2014," and the video consists of exactly what it was named - Tay documenting herself wrapping presents for her fans, and then the after math of the fans getting those presents! The description of the video says:

"2014 was the year of many wonderful things for Taylor and her fans.

Shortly after the massively success release of 1989, fans on social media began to experience another phenomenon. After something that became known as #TayLurking, whereupon every detail of a fan's likes, job, whereabouts was studied intently... A single Santa emoji would appear on their socials.

From one Taylor Swift.

...these are their stories."

So, without further ado (or spoilers!), grab a tissue and sit down to watch this epic video of Tay wrapping presents, some words she has for her kittens, and her fans opening them!

http://youtu.be/j3yyF31jbKo

Super cute, right?! We definitely teared up a little bit (or a lot). Tay may very well be the sweetest celebrity ever! If this brought a smile to your face, make sure to share with your family and friends!

We love the song All About That Bass by Meghan Trainor here at Rissy Roo's - not only does it have a great (dance) beat, but Meghan sings about such a positive message. In a world where it's difficult to find pop and dance songs with breakthrough meanings and messages to believe in, Meghan brings to the forefront a body positive message that all girls should keep in mind.

Well, if you've been following the song at all, you know there's been some controversy behind it. So, Canadian singer/songwriter Natty Valenia took Meghan's smash hit song to a whole new message of positivity and inclusiveness by re-writing some of the lyrics! Natty made the song a little more inclusive for girls of all shapes and sizes...including girls without curves (as Natty mentions she is one of those girls).

Here are some of the body-positive lyrics that Natty re-wrote the song to be:

It's not about your waist
'Bout your waist, don't settle
For a guy who has no taste, has no taste, don't settle
It's time that you embrace
You've got grace, don't settle
It's not about your waist, 'bout the size of your waist

So perfect, right? She even re-titled it "Not About Your Waist." Listen to the whole All About That Bass parody cover and Natty's reasoning for writing it here:

http://youtu.be/dVyJL8UM6mI

If you've never heard the original song "All About That Base" by Meghan Trainor (or just want to re-listen to it), here it is for your listening and viewing pleasure:

http://youtu.be/7PCkvCPvDXk

We'll be waiting patiently for more songs from both Meghan and Natty! They both have a lot of positive messages to share, so we can't wait to hear more. What do you think of the original All About That Bass and Natty's re-write? Leave a comment below and share your thoughts!

Dress codes at homecoming and prom dances have been a hot topic over the past few years, and in some cases we can understand why dress codes need to be enforced, but there are many occasions where dress codes are either enforced too strictly, unjustly, and/or unfairly. Well, we recently read a story of some girls that experienced what we believe to be all three of those things at their homecoming dance in South Jordan, Utah. FOX13 Salt Lake City covered the story. You can read it below in its entirety, unaltered as originally reported on, so that you can decide whether or not these girls were treated unfairly or not.

Tayler Gillespie was turned away from her homecoming dance at Bingham High School Saturday, and the teen wasn’t the only who expressed frustration over dress code enforcement at the dance.

“They said I either have to go home and get something to go under, or I’m not allowed in,” Gillespie said. “So I just decided to leave.”

And she wasn’t the only one

“They pulled me to the side and asked me to twirl around to see if I was immodest, then made me sit against the wall,” Erika Shepherd said. “And while I was sitting against the wall there was about ten other girls that were sitting there being embarrassed.”

Erika showed us her dress. It spills onto the floor, but Erika said those who were in charge of the dance told her: “It’s too low in the back’ and I needed to get a jacket or go home and change clothes.”

FOX 13 News reached out to assistant principal Janalee Taylor, who was at the dance. She declined an on-camera interview but told us the school’s dress code for dances is very clear. She said it’s on the schools website, is sent out as a reminder on a paper attached to dance tickets, and is reinforced in the annual school standards assembly.

It states in part: “Hemlines should go no higher than mid-thigh when seated.”

That’s the reason Tayler said she was asked to leave.

“It’s been the same standards assembly for three years, they always have the same power point,” she said.

But she said dresses worn in past years were scrutinized this year, and not allowed.

Tayler also said she was never asked to sit to see where her hemline would fall.

“They just took a wild guess and said, ‘You’re not admitted in.’”

Veronica Perhson, Tayler’s mother, spoke about the issue.

“I understand the need for a dress code, but I think it needs to be applied straight forward,” she said.

Tayler’s parents went to the school to speak with those in charge Saturday night, but they said they had a hard time getting answers.

“I asked them why they turned her away and then showed them a picture of her on the phone I’d taken myself of her sitting down where the dress meets her knees,” said Tayler’s father, Chad Perhson.

See the video above for images of the dresses mentioned in this story. Maddi Rowley is another student who was upset about the situation, and she emailed FOX 13 News a picture of her dress as well as her comments.

She stated: “Other girls were admitted into the dance wearing my same dress in different colors. I was in high heals (sic), as you can see, and I am a taller girl. I am very angry, especially because my date couldn’t get his money refunded. Surely you can understand the injustice. I’m nearly an adult, and my parents allowed me to go out in this dress.”

-FOX13 Salt Lake City

Here's the picture that Maddi Rowley provided to FOX13 Salt Lake City that the news channel posted:

It's always hard to get the full story on something, but it definitely seems like something went wrong at the dance. We're glad to see that the parents are stepping in to defend their daughter, especially since it seems as if they did in fact follow the dress codes that were in place. And, it's always a good sign when parents 'approve' of their daughters' outfits - they're usually the strictest critics, after all! Not only that, but from everything we see at Rissy Roo's parents are usually very involved in the picking out and purchase of their daughters' prom and homecoming dresses.

What do you think of this homecoming dress code enforcement? Is it too strict? Have you had a similar experience at your school? Leave a comment below and let us know!

Source: FOX13 Salt Lake City

South Jones High School senior Mary Kate Smith is one busy girl. This Fall brings on her Homecoming Dance, where she's the reigning homecoming queen, dedication to her Mississippi school's soccer team, oh and one more thing... the new kicker for her school's varsity football squad!

Already a star on her school's soccer team, she's bringing her golden foot to a new team - she's the first girl to make the school's varsity football squad. Her response if someone tells her she plays like a girl? Here's what she told TODAY.com:

"I'm me, and I'm not trying to be anybody else. I'll take that as a compliment."

TODAY.com got the whole scoop on this talented girl who proudly wears two things on her head: a homecoming crown, and a football helmet. TODAY.com explained that her football coach, Corey Reynolds, said one of his assistants, Matt Smith, the strength and conditioning coach for Mary Kate's soccer team, suggested Mary Kate be the kicker that'd sought all summer long. Corey explained, "It just turned out to be a blue-eyed, homecoming-queen soccer player."

Corey said he was amazed at the way Mary Kate could kick a 40-yard field goal in practice, calling her "one of the most highly competitive athletes - male or female - I've ever seen."

Mary Kate said field-goal kicks are in theory easier than kicking a soccer goal because the ball is stationary in football, but "the pressure is 10 times worse [in football], with big guys running at you who outweigh you by 200 pounds."

Sounds pretty scary to us, that's for sure!

Of course, Mary Kate's parents are so proud of her! Her dad said, "Here, in the South, where traditional values are very traditional, we were a little concerned about how well she'd be accepted. We've been pleasantly surprised by the support that the community has shown her. We've got a renewed faith that things are equalized for her, and for girls like her." Check out her friends cheering her on, all wearing "We <3 Mary Kate Smith" shirts!

Mary Kate's got a lot to be looking forward to when she graduates from high school and moves onto college. She's planning on playing Division-I soccer next fall at the University of Souther Mississippi and considering a career as an orthodontist. Good luck as South Jones High School's Homecoming Queen Football Kicker!

Source: TODAY.com