Fairytale Reality

Thank you all for your well wishes on my exams, and your wishes must have done something, because my French exam went by wonderfully.  My exam was on Monday, but I didn't blog at all this past week because grad was on Saturday, and grad prep takes time!  Grad is one of those times that most girls look towards as a time to transform themselves into princesses, and to go all out and release their inner girl.  Two girls from my school did end up looking like princesses with pink ballroom gowns and tiaras, and others surprised me with how they rid of their usual casual attire, and donned floor length dresses

However, I didn't end up getting the full dress shopping experience, as I actually borrowed dresses for both the ceremony and banquet.  I didn't want to spend a lot of money on grad (university itself is expensive enough), and so all in all, I spent a total of $16 on my entire grad look, which went towards a curling iron.

Even though I had a graduation gown overtop my dress for the majority of the ceremony, I still wanted to look put together underneath the gown.  For my ceremony dress, I went with classic black, but in a sexier way with a strapless, lacy, body-con dress.  Nonetheless, to keep it appropriate for the formality of the occasion, I put on a black cardigan and pulled on some black tights.

Dress: Unknown (Borrowed)

Cardigan: Prada (Gift)

Shoes: Tahari

Necklace: Unknown (Gift)

Crystal Earrings: Fifth Avenue Collection (Gift)
Tights: Unknown

My friends too, of course, took the occasion to dress up:

The grad ceremony, while long and drawn out, was a memorable moment of pride.  It was a culmination of three years of hard work into a precious couple of seconds on stage.  It was a celebration of all 704 graduating students, and it marked the beginning of each and every one of our future endeavors.

Despite the importance of the ceremony, all the girls were truly looking forward to the banquet.  The banquet was our chance to live our very own fairytale.  At the beginning of the year, I knew that I did not want the typical satiny, embellished, jewel-toned grad gown.  I had it clear in my mind that I wanted an angelic or ethereal dress.  My morning outfit was black and body-con, but my evening outfit would have to exude quiet, innocent beauty (somewhat of a reversal, is it not?).  So with that in mind, I went with a silver, delicately sequined dress.  The theme of my outfit was subtle sparkle.

Dress: Unknown (Borrowed)

Shoes: Feet First

Shawl: Tricot de Crayon

Clutch: Aldo (Borrowed)

Necklace and Bracelet: Unknown (Gift)

Earrings: Anne Klein

I wanted it so that you wouldn't quite realize the full potential of my outfit until you saw me moving underneath the light.  And it turns out that the idea worked, as I was complimented twice more on my dress as I danced later in the evening.  This idea extended to my nails as well; I decided to forgo coloured nails for simple, clear polish.  Again, it would only be up close before you realize the polish on my nails.  To pump it up and add a bit of colour, I went with purple accessories.  By the way, these are simply home photos, so the quality isn't at its best, and this was my first time curling my hair, so that's not at its best either.

You'll notice that I wasn't wearing heels, and that's because I couldn't find a good pair of heels I was willing to spend money on.  A lot of my friends were telling me to wear heels, but after I spent the evening dancing in my flats and then could still walk briskly back to my car, I was glad I didn't wear too crazy a pair of heels.  Below is a photo of my friend and chief editor of the school newspaper.  She's read all of my fashion articles this year, and when she saw me in flats, exclaimed that she was disappointed, knowing how I am.  Haha!

And then there was my friend who looked fabulous in a dress made by her mom, inspired by Versace's latest Resort collection:

But all my friends looked fantastic that night, with the majority of them actually in full length dresses!

After an entire year of anticipation, grad finally flew by in a day.  In a way, I wish grad could last and last forever, but no amount of time would be sufficient enough to make the last day of school with my classmates any less emotional.