thenearshore | [closed] one perfect day

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[closed] one perfect day

Who: Maria and Barry
When: July 19th
Where: Various fashion/beauty shops in Dublin.
What: Prayer #47, making someone stand out for their school formal.

[It's an odd prayer for Maria to receive given her role here - a request from a private school student who wanted to look her best for her months-away debutante. But she had sounded desperate to have this one last chance to shine, and Maria can't help but take pity on such a sincere and innocent request. Organising something perfect to be executed on the night when it comes is more than within Maria's means, after all.

Given Barry is another resident expert on making people shine, she's brought him along for this one, as well as the student herself, who had seemed quite excited at the prospect of being invited out to explore the possibilities. Maria watches her study the dresses in the nearby shop windows with a rather fond smile before turning her gaze to Barry and giving it a more serious edge.]

Alright, this will be her last chance to shine to the people who know her, and we have to set it up perfectly so she can debut the look when the dance comes in a few months. Where do you suggest we start? I have my eye on a few shops already.

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There was one with a similar sort of look that i think would cover more, though. We can try that one. [With an encouraging smile, Maria leads her back into the changeroom.

This time, when they come out, the dress is much less of a risk, but it certainly keeps the more natural look, with vines and leaves seeming to curl up around the bust and arms. It's another one the girl looks quite happy in, and she spins quickly to show it off. It drops quite sharply at the back, but it's still quite acceptable for the function.]

This one's better, yeah. And more comfortable. [With another nod, Maria looks to Barry for another opinion.]

I think I'd put this one as a "yes".

Now that's more like it. It's like the last one, but classier. Looks like it'd be pretty easy to move around in, too.

[Because clearly she needs to dance the night away at this thing, otherwise what's the point.]

Big 'yes' from me too!

Alright, so we're agreed on that one too. There's just one more from this pile, so we'll set those choices aside after this.

[They head back into the changeroom, and it takes a little bit longer this time for them to come out again. The sight of the dress might explain it once they do - it's a very exaggerated example of the cut, with the skirt flaring out massively at the bottom. There's diamantes scattered up the bust in a natural sort of styling, and Maria hums a little as she looks it over.]

I could go either way on this one...

[The girl turns around, looking a little indecisive herself.] Maybe a little heavy on the "queen" and not as much on the "fairy"? This'd be hard to dance in, too.

Yeah, you said it. Real queenly. Good for sittin' around and lookin' elegant, but probably not so much for movin' around in.

[Barry's not entirely convinced this would be a good choice.]

I dunno. This one's up to you, kid.

Yeah...I'm not feeling this one as much. We should probably leave it. [She still sounds unsure, but since it's not a definite yes like the others that had gone to that pile, Maria nods in agreement anyway.]

It doesn't sound like you're all that taken with it. I think that's the right choice.

[With that, she brings her back in, then comes out a short time later by herself to set the three "yes" options back next to Barry and hang the "no" options on the rack outside the fitting rooms.]

I think we might just do the other half of them all together now. It'll probably make it easier. [Maria moves to carefully lift the second six dresses.]

Good idea. No sense takin' half measures at this point - not when you've already got some real knockout choices on the pile.

[Barry nods to the girls.]

Sounds good to me. Keep 'em comin'!

Of course. [Maria grins a little as she gets the other six dresses into a respectable grip and carries them into the changing room. Compared to some of the dresses they were trying before, this one isn't too difficult a change, and Maria already looks rather satisfied when they come out. The dress is intricately patterned with leaf motifs, a pale green rather than white, and though it has the sheer element, it's much more tasteful than some of the choices they had before.]

I like this one way better than the last already. [The girl is grinning merrily at this choice as well, extending an arm to accentuate the leaf-like patterns down it. Maria gives a soft, pleased laugh.]

I have to agree.

Looks a little more snow queen than forest queen under this light, but I like it too.

[He's a fan of the more vibrant colors.]

Fair enough. Though a little of both could still be a workable look. I think we'll call it a yes for the moment and focus more on that later.

[With that, Maria and the girl head back in, and a few minutes later come out once more. This time, the dress is much simpler, the leaf motifs reserved to one arm. The girl seems thoughtful about it already.]

This is the kind of thing that would be good for accessorising or creating a more complicated look around it, right?

[Maria nods a little.] It's simple, but I don't think I'd call it too simple. It's still one we could work with.

Yeah, you could go a lotta different ways with that. It's almost like a blank canvas.

[Barry shrugs, shooting a smile in Maria's direction.]

That's really more your thing, though.

Well, if I had to sell it right now... [Maria reaches over to gather the girl's hair and coax it to one side, falling over the shoulder without the leaf accoutrements.] We could take advantage of the asymmetry and put some kind of leaf decoration through the hair as well. Keep the jewellery on the other arm simple, but themed the same...bronze, probably, to keep the earthen colours, though burnished gold might work too. Does that sound good?

[There's a pleased smile from the girl, and she pulls her hands through her hair a bit as if imagining it straighter than it is.] It does to me.

[Barry nods approvingly, punctuating the reaction with enthusiastic clapping.]

That's Maria for ya! I knew you'd come up with somethin' nice.

Then we'll put that one as a "yes" as well. [With a confident nod, Maria leads them back in. This time, it takes a little longer for her and the girl to come back out, and the dress when they do is rather different in style. The green skirt is very large and wide, more like a gown than anything, and the top part is patterned with flower prints.

Maria's already humming a little, though it's not quite disapproving.] I like it, but I think it might be more on the side of cute than elegant...

[The girl dusts down the skirt a bit.] I picked it out because it looked cute, but yeah, it might not be the right thing for this time out.

Hmm... yeah, this one's a little too Disney princess. Got a real good little sister type look to it, but I don't think that's the kinda impression you wanna make. You gotta show up lookin' like a knockout!

[Hey, at least he's honest.]

That's what I was thinking. Maybe next time. [The girl doesn't seem disappointed, since it's in favour of having a more cohesive and stunning look in the end. Nodding in agreement, Maria glances back towards the change room.]

And I think there was one more we were already a little indecisive on, so we might get that one out of the way next. [Once they head back in this time, it takes them a much shorter time to come out. This dress is an odd one, short and very pale green in the body, with a longer and darker green veil at its back.]

This is the one we were tossing up on. It's nice and it could be elegant if it was done right, but we're thinking it might not be worth that trouble when one of the other dresses could lend itself to a better look more easily.

Hmm... yeah, I see what ya mean. You could jazz it up pretty well with some jewelry and stuff, but I think a few of the others look nice all on their own.

[A glance to Maria.]

Whaddaya think?

[Maria hums a little in agreement with both observations, looking like she's still coming to a conclusion on it herself. Eventually, though, she shakes her head.]

I think you're both right. It's not quite the look we're going for, and it's a bit much to rest it on everything else making it look more elegant when we could just go for something that's elegant in the first place.

[It's not a bad dress, just not the best one for this kind of occasion.]

So... is that it? How many did we end up with?

[Barry glances over at the pile, visually taking stock.]

There should be just two left now - we had twelve at the start, and we've gone through ten.

[Maria heads back towards the changeroom to confirm that number, and nods a little once she checks past the curtain.] Yes, it's definitely just the two. After that we can sort out which one to go with from the ones we thought looked good.

Full speed ahead, then! Let's see the next one!

[Big thumbs up at Maria and the girl.]

I can tell already you're gonna really knock 'em out at the dance, though!

[That makes the girl grin, and it's a lot less awkward than what she'd been doing at the start of this.] That means a lot. I think just doing this is helping a lot too, so thanks. Both of you.

[With a gentle smile in return, Maria starts to lead her back towards the change room.] Come on, then. Just a little more to go, and then we can pick one.

[When they come out this time, the dress is a lot simpler, white with green leaf edging and patterning. Though it's not quite as natural a look as some of the others, Maria finds herself nodding a little in approval.]

It's a much more down-to-earth one, but I think it has a nice, traditional look to it as well. [The girl nods in agreement, turning on the spot again to display it.]

Yeah! It's like that 'Say Yes To The Dress' show!

[Except instead of a gay dude there's Barry. So maybe not exactly like that. But he seems in good humor all the same, and at least he's got plenty of helpful opinions.]

That's actually pretty nice. Got kind of a 'pure' look to it, y'know?

It is a bit like that, isn't it? I could see it going well with some kind of shawl or veil over the shoulders as well, to add to the effect.

[Maybe make it a bit airier...and a bit warmer, depending on when the event is. Either way, it seems like a solid option to Maria, and she nods after a few moments.]

I think we'll keep that one on the shortlist. Just one more now.

[They head back in, and then out with the last dress, a brighter green with leaf patterns down one side. The girl and Maria both look a little thoughtful, and Maria spares a glance over to the pile of "yes" options they have already.]

There's nothing wrong with it, but it's not doing anything another of the dresses isn't doing better, I don't think.

[The girl laughs a little.] So it's not just me, then.

I like the darker shades better anyway.

[It's unanimous, then. That's another option eliminated.]

Okay, that's all of 'em! Let's go over what we kept and see if we can find the one.

They do suit this a little more, I think. [Particularly bright shades don't really look natural enough for what they're going for.

With a nod, Maria leads the girl in one last time to change back into her normal clothes, before she comes out and grabs a rack to hang their current "yes" choices on to look at them properly. There's the green and white mermaid-cut dress with flower accoutrements, the darker green one with loose skirt and similar, but more subtle leafy decorations to the first, the vine-inspired one with the straight skirt, the intricate and very pale-coloured one, the one with the single vine sleeve, and the very down-to-earth green and white one.]

We've ended up with quite a variety here...though that's better than having six of almost the same dress.

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