There is a very tense moment before I pick something up at the tailor. I worry that it has gone all wrong, that the drawings were bad and the dress will come back total garbage.  All of my gross self-doubt bubbles up and I lose confidence in my designs. So this past Saturday, when I picked up my final draft of the Marine Ball dress, my nerves were up. It was 1:30, on the day of the event (nice planning, me), and there wasn’t time for alterations. It had to fit.

Thankfully, the tailor has serious chops and the cut was on point. Just enough slit to show a little leg, but not go full Angelina.

The ball was great and exactly what you would expect from an old-person prom.  I’m not even kidding, they played The Macarena. I was surrounded by great friends and a fair amount of Prosecco so I didn’t really care that the DJ was lost deep in the bad part of the 90’s. Besides, I spent most of the night shimmying from place to place because I liked how the flowy skirt and sparkly top made me feel like a goddamn princess.

Tiff took some pretty photos this morning in our office of the final product, and she did a great job of making me look less awkward than I felt. In case you were wondering, it DOES feel weird walking around in black tie in a shared office space on a Tuesday morning in the hot hot heat.

All photos by Tiffany Tsang. Please request permission for use.