Dresses of every color and fabric grazing the ground, man-to-man bow tie readjustments, last minute lippy touch-ups by teary-eyed mothers, clinking champagne glasses, plenty of giggles, a confused medley of perfumes and colognes intertwining in the air and a luxuriously limitless line of (parent) photographers armed with DSLRs, each keen to capture their children bearing smiles that outshine the whirlwind of lightning-like camera flashes. I can now proudly speak from past experience when I say that those clicking cameras and mile-wide smiles simply do not cease until the wee hours of the long and lovely evening that is prom - or, as our school calls it, Grade 10 Formal! Here is the product of what was an incredible night filled with good food, excellent company, crazy dancing, and of course, beautiful dresses: A relatively comprehensive photo-diary, which took me ages to narrow down from a crazy excess of photographs!
Getting ready for Formal was stressful but definitely enjoyable. I got my mani-pedi done the evening before to avoid last-minute rushing and freaking out - a lovely pale pink on my fingernails to match my dress and nude on my toes (I was contemplating not painting my toenails because no one would see them anyway!). I ended up rushing like mad the night before formal though; getting shoes, earrings, rings and bracelets 24 hours in advance is not advisable. I bought a lovely gold bracelet from Lovisa which I especially liked - it was a thin, elastic bracelet adorned with abstract floral and organic motifs such as delicate gold leaves and dusty pink petals. I was far too sleepy at 10pm on a Wednesday night to be fussed with finding the perfect pair of shoes that no one would even see under my long dress anyway, so I picked up a comfortable nude pair from Mango which I will definitely get future use out of.
The morning before Formal was a blur of facemasks and makeup (I did my makeup myself and was very proud of how natural it looked!) before heading off to Visage Salon at Delfi Orchard to get my hair done. Because I have naturally thin, limp and very straight/boring hair, I knew I couldn't leave it down and expect even the tightest of curls to stay put for the whole night. Ask any stage-mom or hair stylist that has dealt with my hair: no matter how much hairspray is used, curls do NOT stay in my hair. Before deciding on the exact hairstyle I wanted for this special night, I formed the following set of criteria: I wanted something mature, fuss-free, at least half-down (to avoid the bald egg-head look in photos taken from the front), something a little bit curly/more voluptuous than normal, and well suited to my dress. After speaking to my hairstylist Dominic, we agreed on a side braid pumped up with plenty of volume. To achieve that, all my hair was curled into tight ringlets and covered in hairspray to create volume and those curls were then braided loosely into a plait that fell over my shoulder, with plenty of curly tufts here and there. It was perfect and completely fuss-free!
And now, the most important constituent of any girl's prom night: her dress! I was super late on the dress-hunt; many girls began posting pictures of their dresses in our girls-only Facebook group (created to ensure no dress clashes!) months ago, and my dress only arrived in the mail less than two weeks before the big day. Nevertheless, it was perfect and I loved it. It was BCBG Maxazria's Avi Pleated Gown in Talc, and the moment I saw it I fell in love with it. It was everything I wanted my formal dress to be: geometric, flattering, comfortable, and just the right balance of "girly" and "statement." I knew from the start I didn't want a dress that was all one tone/texture/color - I wanted some form of diversity WITHIN my dress, but I wasn't quite sure how that diversity should be achieved for such an event (I was skeptical about overdosing on too many colors, too). This dress fulfilled that criterion perfectly through the marriage of different fabrics and textures in a geometric explosion that comprises the body of the dress. With interlocking lace (both with and without underlayers), pleats and fabric segments, distinguished in subtle variations of the same "talc" color, an understated pattern is created on the upper half of the dress to accentuate the torso, nip in the waistline and fall elegantly and loosely on your hips. It wasn't overly girly and it wasn't a neon geometric statement free of femininity either - the muted hue served to soften the definition that such an architectural dress boasted. I love the fact that it wasn't strapless as well; while I initially thought going strapless would add a sexy, feminine edge to my outfit, my dress allowed me to dance the night away without once readjusting/pulling anything up, so I'm glad I didn't let a strapless dress create constant problems on what was a very special night.
And the last aspect of my outfit - my bag! This gorgeous blush-toned scalloped portfolio clutch courtesy of Dorothy Perkins was the perfect match; it accentuated the pink tones in my dress and added a more glamorous splash of gold to my otherwise matte outfit. The scallops served to soften the straight lines and edges of the details of my dress while retaining the geometric flavor of my outfit. It was a tad on the larger side, but that worked to my advantage by making more of a statement and fitting all my essentials for the evening!
It's tradition to have Pre-Drinks (known as Pres) at someone's house with a bunch of friends before the event itself, where parents are also invited to sip champagne and take as many pictures of their kids as they want. My best friend Camilla invited a handful of us over to her place for Pres where most of the picture-taking took place. It was so nice to gather with some of the most wonderful people before one of the biggest nights of high school - I couldn't be more grateful for these guys. Note the parent-paparazzi picture above!
All in all, Formal was an absolutely amazing evening. Held at the Fullerton Hotel's Grand Ballroom, a spectacular venue, the evening went very smoothly (much to my relief: being on the Formal Organizing Committee was a LOT of work). There were two big projector screens on both sides of the ballroom where Eventstagram ran a live feed of every Instagram photo posted with a certain #hashtag, allowing everyone to enjoy each others' pictures and letting each of us have our five seconds of fame up on the big screens! A couple of talented student musicians in our grade got up on stage and performed, awards were given out, tons of bad dancing happened and a lot of food was eaten. Formal was also the perfect way for me to say goodbye to a lot of people, because as some of you know, I'm heading off to boarding school in the UK after the summer and won't be returning to my previous school, which has been like a second home to me for 10 years. Thanks to everyone who made Formal 2013 such a great night, and to all my beloved friends, teachers and peers who have shaped my 10 years at this school and made it infinitely fulfilling and worthwhile.
