Published by Roel Angelo C. Argana
Date Published: December 23, 2022
Time Published: 12:55 PM
Category: Prose
Synopsis: Clover never truly experienced the rich life, yet her desired profession seems to be all about that decadence. Can her final project go against the norm despite it all?
(The referenced dress for this piece is a design from Gunnar Deatherage, who makes shorts about his process towards making stunning outfits and attention-grabbing dresses).
Clover kins it to royal ballroom dances with their meticulous and esoteric rules for posture and manners. Kins it to old money’s fancy parties, and its unmatched opulence and generation-spanning decadence. Kins it to someone’s once-in-a-lifetime prom night—that one night where they can wear their most splendid gowns and luxurious tuxedos.
She isn’t rich, nowhere near it. The 23-year-old used to live in a modest neighborhood in the suburbs. It's a far cry from the bustling metropolitan city and its dwarfing skyscrapers. Her parents can afford her some luxuries, but these are few and far between a year’s worth of holiday presents. Now, she’s at college and away from their comfort. She hates worrying about her monthly rent, budgeting her money for food, and working two part-time jobs alongside school.
To put it in her own words, “It’s hell.”
Yet right now, she feels most lavish as she walks down this runway wearing her final project. It took months, many frustrations, hair strands pulled, and a hefty price to sew.
Her feet feel light despite walking on pumps as if her elated spirit made her weightless. Her strides are taken with pride—complimenting her feminine elegance. A smile is etched on her face as she stops a foot away from the judges.
The three judges sit behind a long glass table covered with a ruffled white tablecloth. One lifts her clipboard from the sequence-studded table and flicks her pen up and down the list of names. She’s one of the last to show their work—the rest of her classmates leisurely watch the show now that they have nothing to worry about anymore.
“Ms. Pisces...am I correct?” Ms. Brinsley asks. Despite being her homeroom professor, the elder never remembers her students’ names. Clover replies with a polite nod. She can’t deny her teacher’s prowess in the craft, so she never takes her forgetfulness personally.
“Please describe your piece’s theme, fabrics used, seams used, and inspirations,” she states, scribbling the beginning of her critiques onto the empty text box next to clover’s name. The other judges—a professional gay fashion designer from the east coast and a business mogul looking for promising fashionistas—follows Ms. Brinsley’s lead.
“Yes, thank you. So, introducing the soon-to-be newest trend in fashion,” she boisterously quips while posing all over the catwalk. One thing she’s learned in this industry is that if you can’t take a room’s attention with just your voice and demeanor alone, you’re bound to become a flop and lose clients. “Menswear meets Womenswear! The combination of wealthy Victorian era noblemen and modern sleek women's aesthetics turns into the perfect Frankenstein dress for the fall season,” she twirls slowly to flaunt the dress. The layered skirt bounces softly, its ombre of fall colors shining thanks to the spotlight focused on the blonde.
“Before making the dress, I made the coat first and foremost. It was stitched from thick brown sheep wool to emulate the texture of Victorian suits. Its collar is off the shoulder to add a flair of femininity. The lapel falls to the side as well to add more dimension. For the sleeves and placket, I chose to use brown covered buttons to really give off that Old English look,” she explains courteously.
Clover rehearsed this presentation hundreds of times, adding attention to giving off the vibe of a demure woman from the 1800s. After all, she shouldn’t let her nerves mess up the most important moment in her life.
“The dress’ skirt is made with soft tulle netting. They are sewn to have ruffles and fall neatly onto each other. I used the colors of fall for my skirt—yellow for the top, then light orange, then dark orange, and finally a dull shade of red for the bottom. Finally, the bodice is made from this tangerine ribbon fabric, which I sewn into ruffled strips,” she finishes explaining the dress.
The judges all nod as she talks, alongside the occasional glance at her form here and there but mostly writing their comments onto their respective clipboards. “The bodice is conservative and frilled, the norm for Victorian women. In contrast, the skirt is more modern with its shorter-than-the-knee length and patterns becoming more mainstream in the mid to late 1900s,” she elaborates, a hidden sigh of relief escaping her red-tinted lips when she receives a nod and smile from Ms. Brinsley.
“My inspiration came from looking through old concept photos of dresses in the 1800s while I was on an all-expenses-paid trip to France with my friend a year ago. Near the library where I found these catalogs were boutiques with gowns as far as the eye could see. My third eye opened that day, and I left my friend on the busy street and started writing down my notes instantly when I came back to our hotel apartment,” she tells the final part of the presentation with brevity in her story. Frankly, there were a lot of elements she didn’t tell the judges (namely that she was somewhat drunk at the time).
She swears there’s something about being drunk that unhinges the mind’s creativity and lets it all flow out. “I see…well, darling, the outfit is great. I’m curious as to the price of this entire ensemble, though. Sheep wool can be expensive, y’know?” the professional tells her. “I was a broke fashion student at one point too, and resourcefulness is part of the criteria for becoming a great designer.”
She giggles lightly. “Yeah, the wool was a hefty hit to my wallet. However, I found it necessary to see my theme fully play out. The ribbons and nets for the dress are cheap in comparison, they cost me around $150 combined—I think? The wool—if shipping is taken into account...about $400 more or less.” The business mogul claps. “That’s the dedication to the want for the authenticity of product yet still finding efficient ways to be frugal. That’s a great mindset for business, young lady.”
“Thank you!” she says with a sweet smile. “The other judges seem to be satisfied quickly with your dress, Ms. Pisces. Your concept is interesting, and your execution is great. Construction and quality will be tested, as you know.”
“I’ll send the dress to be inspected tomorrow,” she replies to her professor whose tongue can be sharper than an eagle’s talons. “Let elders finish speaking, young lady. But since you understand the next part of your project, you can now change. Thank you, and you may leave or stay to continue watching the rest of the students present,” Ms. Brinsley finishes writing the final comments on Clover’s paper before ushering her to get off the runway.
Clover complies, yet before she goes to the changing room, she sneakily glances at her professor’s comments on her dress. “Good imagination, and the talent to come alongside it. Has potential if given time to work harder,” the clipboard says. Clover rushes away to avoid suspicion, a grin on her lips and a skip replacing the heavy beating of her heart.
She’ll have to thank her home. The frugality, the hard work, the imagination…all came from a sense of self. An ambitious yet realistic project is what she chooses, what she’s always done. To say this is only the beginning is an understatement, but to her, it’s a journey that she’s happy to walk despite the struggles. After all, they’re expecting them all to make multiple outfits for each semester after this.
Clover can only hope she finds more inspiration somewhere.
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