Let’s get down to the last business and last work opportunity of the Senior Year – the most awaited Graduation Ball. I was witness to the grueling efforts of the Student Council in making this event possible as this magical night took months of preparation. Thankfully, the school gave us the go signal to make this event happen. As luck would have it, I was part of the program committee and I’m thankful that I worked with my friends. We tried to get the best of everything – from the location, food, photographers, arrangements. Our planning went full swing. We initially thought of producing a Fairy Tale or a Masquerade themed promenade but that’s too cliché that’s why we ended up with Royal Glitz and Glam. Hence, the name Regalia 2018. Kudos to all of us who made this last gathering a memorable and a magical one! Enough with that, let’s now focus on my preparation!
The day I’ve been waiting for months has finally come and I couldn’t be any happier. All the efforts, waiting, and preparation comes down to this special night. I single handedly slayed Regalia 2018, wanna know how? Read on!
Searching for Inspiration and Conceptualizing – The search for the ideal outfit started in November. I remember having lots of ideas running in my mind that time. “Should I go for the classic look? What about starting a new trend? Or recreating a look? What color suits me? What style should I adhere to?” I actually even thought of wearing a trench coat but that would be so hassle and it would cost an arm and leg! And the event’s happening in March! Long coats? For summer? Groundbreaking.
These are the initial designs and looks I collected from the internet. I browsed David Gandy’s portfolio and I also searched for similar styles in the fashion campaigns of Balmain, Gucci, and YSL. I don’t want to wear something that looks exactly the same as the ones posted online that’s why I did a looooot of modifications. Want to know what happens next? Continue reading.
As expected, I also considered Korean fashion as my look. Lahat ng Korean models and actors na fino-follow ko sa Instagram, sinave ko lahat ng looks nila just to get inspiration. Gong Yoo, Ji Soo, and Lee Dong Wook are among my pegs! I am so amazed by the creations of this guy above, follow him @look.ds! I even thought of wearing a plain shirt underneath because that just looks so casual and classy at the same time. He also gave me the idea of wearing a long coat but I eventually decided not to because it’s totally unnecessary.
The look above was my second choice but I decided to stick with blue. And I expect a lot of people wearing the same colour so I didn’t go for it! This common style doesn’t look convincing at all. But who knows I might wear this next time?
These were my first sketches but I made alterations later on. I didn’t put that much effort because it’s just a draft.
💥 Graduation Ball Preparation of Andrei Paras : A Thread of His Extraness 💥
— Andrei Paras Talks (@DreiTalks) February 20, 2018
Physical Preparation – And of course, preparation is always key. I posted my Graduation Ball preparation on @DreiTalks and that’s just a bit of the actual preparation I’ve done. I kept other things to myself and promised my followers that I’m sharing them once the event is over. And this post, my friends, is the real iceberg that I’m referring to.
What’s do these tweets of mine have in common? 🤔 Can you see it? BLUE HEARTS.
BRB, I’m gonna mess with your minds first by tweeting TSwift lyrics about different colours.
And as expected, I wore blue. Props to Taylor Swift for giving me the idea and for the subliminal messages I post online.
Also, I intentionally curated my feed to make it blue. I also left photos with hints of gold or yellow because that’s my color combination!
The Chosen Color – This is one of the Top Secrets. I kept it a secret until the day itself. I never told anyone about it, only me and my parents know what color I’m going to wear. I left it to my social media followers to decode my tweets! I casually drop hints like using blue hearts, adding a shade of blue to my IG stories, intentionally making my feed bluer than blue. I love leaving clues!
It was in late January that I decided to wear blue. I was so torn because I have no idea which shade would best fit me – navy blue, royal blue or dark blue, but I chose what’s available on the day I bought raw materials. And lo and behold, I found the perfect shade. It was aegean blue. (Search niyo sa google! Haha!) I went for blue over maroon because duh, Blue is my favorite and my lucky color. I almost (emphasis on this) went for Maroon because I thought of introducing a new color in my wardrobe but nope, it’s not happening. I decided to stay away from mainstream colors and styles such as the classic black & white tux, and the odd colours like green and burgundy.
Oh, little did you know that people were going nuts about this because I kept it a secret for so long. There were rumours circulating that I’m wearing emerald green, that they know my designer, that I’m gonna wear a cravat, that they saw me in my fitting, among others. I never dismissed them though, ’cause I love seeing people get entertained by baseless gossip. I know that they’ll be surprised once the day arrives. And they did! Basically, I’m like: “Jokes on you guys!”
The Outfit and the Designing Process
Perhaps the most exciting part of it all! I chose to wear a Double Breasted Suit because I haven’t seen anyone wear it to prom and I want to start a new trend ’cause I’ve never seen guys wear this style! The original plan was to search for a designer. However, I didn’t want to ask local designers to create one for me because one, chances are, it will be overpriced; and two, I want to hone my fashion expertise so what better way to do that than designing my own creation, right? Behold, I am wearing Andrei Paras for Regalia 2018. Shocks, I feel like a legit designer! Haha! I can’t fathom how I am wearing my first ever design! Dream come true! Just a disclaimer: just because I designed it doesn’t necessarily mean I made it. Hahaha! I have my own tailor!
The raw materials include yards of fabric (obviously!). My tailor asked me to examine his different swatches and I wanted a light and a matte fabric so the best choice would be Armani. It’s the common material used for coats. Choosing velvet and satin was never an option! I made my way to the local market to buy all the things I need. Lahat ng tindahan ng tela sa Plaridel inisa-isa ko hanggang mahanap ko yung type kong texture, ganung levels ko talaga kinarir ‘to. Hahaha!
Let’s talk about the designing process. I’m going to discuss the modifications and all the little details that I made for this outfit!
I used these guides I found on Pinterest. They were a big help in the designing process!
- Peak lapel for the coat – I want wide lapels because they give so much personality. And I want the whole outfit to have a different vibe. Ayoko ng common.
- Classic collar for inner shirt – my only choice because I chose a classic look. And the other collar styles don’t complement the overall appearance.
- English cut – I chose this specific cut for a slimming effect so that my height would be further emphasized. I also asked for shoulder pads because I’m lanky.
- Buttons – Here’s an interesting fact about my look: the buttons were originally brown until I spray painted them gold. I can’t find the perfect buttons for this so I had to improvise! Oh, and the cuffs were intentionally at the back (not on the sides) because why not? Haha! As you can see in the first draft (from the first part), 2 pairs of buttons are useable but in my final design, ginawa kong isang pair na lang kasi masyadong covered kung apat yung nakasara.
- I almost used a black or red necktie but I had to match it with my shoes which were brown so I settled for brown. (The MK tie was color black and the Tommy Hil was red! I posted it in black and white because I don’t want to reveal the colours! Hahaha!)
- This was my final design and the rest is history.
- This is how the outfit looks on me. I made sure it fits like a glove so that it will look better in pictures, and most importantly it will look good on me. It just looks so perfect, I’m in awe. Words can’t express my delight the first time I saw my design turn into reality. I was staring at it the whole time when I brought it home. Legit kilig! Hahaha! I wish I had nicer photos though. 😦
Oh, you think that’s it? There’s more!
Being the practical person that I am, I made sure that I get more than what I pay for. I did everything just to minimize my expenses in the process of creating a nice outfit. With the cost cutting I did for this event, guess what? I SPENT ONLY P6000 for the WHOLE OUTFIT. That includes the coat, shirt, pants, the shoes, the grooming and styling products I used. Everything. Most of the accessories I used were my dad’s! You don’t always have to spend tens of thousands just to look good for a few hours. My friends, this is the real fashion. This just goes to show that if you have the passion and the talent, you will always find a way to make things work. Fashion isn’t always about expensive and branded clothing and it’s about tickling your inner creativity and putting your talent into good use.
I hope I inspired you to do the same! If you enjoy fashion and if you have the talent, go and start creating your own brand. Use the internet to your advantage and make good use of your talent and your connections! Can’t wait to design another outfit next time! That’s it for this post and I wish you enjoyed reading! Don’t forget to leave a comment and subscribe!
Grooming & Outfit by Andrei Paras. All credits go to their respective owners.
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