By Beverly Murry, Business Manager
It’s the Monday before prom. Everything is in order — dinner plans, pictures, what to do afterward.
Just one issue: Your dress is currently a roll of satin yellow fabric tossing around in the back an iridescent VW Bug. Welcome to the hellish week senior Victoria Hobbs experienced before the big event.
Hobbs began planning her own unique design over a month ago, incorporating the prom’s theme, Starry Night, into her gown. Her original idea was to add colors from the artwork itself: yellow with hints of blues and blacks in the skirt. She also wanted to create a dress that would set her apart from a sea of similar styles.
“(It was) the fear of having the same dress as somebody else. I can do everything exactly how I want it,” Hobbs said.
Through help from her mom, YouTube, and a family friend doubling as a seamstress, she was able to learn techniques that would guide her in constructing the largest project she has ever undertaken. However, time got away from her, and that led to issues in the design of the skirt.
“I had done it one way thinking it was going to be OK, and then I tried it on and it just did not work. I had to completely scratch that skirt and start over,” Hobbs said.
Although time was not necessarily on Hobbs’ side, she had prepared herself for the worst. If all her hard work with designing and sewing failed, she had constructed a backup plan to save her dream of having a unique dress.
“I picked up a dress from the thrift (store). If completely making my own dress doesn’t work out, I can take the dress I bought and revamp it to make it how I want it,” she said.
Flash forward to the day of prom. Hobbs is rushing to redo and touch up her dress. While she wanted to stick close to her first design, time got away from her. But she’s still proud of the product.
“A lot of people were shocked that I completed it in two days,” Hobbs said. “It was one of those things like, ‘Oh yeah, I did that!’ ”
Junior Beverly Murry can be reached at murrybe0316@daretolearn.org.
