thenearshore | [closed] one perfect day

Entry tags:

[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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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.

Yeah... they all have their good points, huh?

[He steps back, rubbing his chin in thought as he looks them all over. And after a moment, he looks toward the girl.]

Any of 'em jumpin' out at ya now that they're all lined up?

[The girl is already putting a hand to her own chin with a very serious look of consideration. It's a difficult choice, and for now, Maria's defering to the girl's preferences. After a long minute of looking them over and walking around the rack, the girl pulls off the simple green and white dress and the loose-skirted dark green one and sets them with the "no" pile before returning to the rack, looking over it for another few seconds, and doing the same with the single vine sleeved one. After that, she turns to look at the three remaining on the rack.]

It's these three I'm having the most trouble choosing between, I think. They're all really nice in their own way.

[Maria laughs quietly.] That's always the problem, isn't it?

I think any of 'em would look great. It's just down to what kinda vibe you wanna give off.

[Barry's definitely on board with letting the girl make the final choice.]

[She seems to think about that for a few moments, weighing up the dresses before sighing a little and rubbing the back of her neck.] I think that's kinda the problem too. I have this image of "regal" in my head, but these all pretty much fill that in their own ways, so it's hard to pick just one.

[Tapping her chin a little, Maria looks over the remaining options again.] I can see the problem...and they all are definitely good options for it, but they'll also all have very different end looks to them. So it really is down to what impression you want to make.

[After another few moments of hesitation, and an equally unsure initial reach of the hand, the girl picks the green and white mermaid dress off the rack and also puts it on the "no" pile.]

...I really do think I want something with that more natural look.

Gettin' there.

[Barry smiles, nodding in support as the girl moves the dress. At this point, he's sure she'll make a great impression.]

You wanna try each of 'em on again?

[Since there's just two left now, the girl nods in agreement with that pretty quickly.] Yeah, since there's so few to choose from now. If it's just these two, it shouldn't take me very long.

[She glances over to Maria, who nods and unhooks the two dresses.] Alright then. We shouldn't be as long this time, so that's one good thing for having to wait on us.

[Smiling a little at Barry, she leads their charge into the changeroom.]

Take your time. We wanna make sure to get it right.

[He's got his phone. He can watch idol videos while he waits.]

[While getting it right is important, having done it once already today pays off, and they don't really take any longer than last time. It's the very pale green dress they come out in first, with the intricate patterns down the skirt and arms.

The girl does a few more experimental motions in it this time - stepping, spinning, bending. As she makes sure she can move properly in it, Maria circles her with a critical eye.]

That is definitely one of the nicest of the ones we picked out, but how it stacks up against that other one...what do you think so far, Barry?

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