THE PREP

Tessa C. Petrich ’07 starts off FM’s fashionable competition by apologizing for her outfit: “I woke up at 7:30 today and had to be at work by 7:45. I just threw on a pile of clothing.” But this lover of fashion and executive producer of Eleganza won’t let a series of setbacks and disadvantages hamper her during the contest.

Petrich got off work at 5 p.m., starting two hours later than the rest of the group. With constraints on both time and money in mind, Petrich heads to Dickson Brothers. She hopes to find components of a look that she describes as “cool, classy, hip.” She walks out with contact grip liner and three feet of gold jack chain for the price of two`.

Petrich’s next stop is the Garment District, where she rummages through a sprawling pile of used clothing priced at $1.50 per pound. After considering and discarding a silver-lined aerobics bag, Petrich brings an office jacket and an oversized blouse to the register for $7.65. She treks back to her Cabot room to get started.

Despite her late-start, Petrich hopes to finish by 8:30 the next morning because of work. She spends most of the night sewing the outfit by hand and watching movies, and finally goes to sleep at five in the morning. So much for an early night.

“There are some things that I’m not completely happy about,” says Petrich as the 3 p.m. deadline approaches; the front panel, made from a striped women’s blouse, is “too wide” for her tastes. Twenty minutes before 3, Petrich adds two pockets to the front of the dress “to break up the pattern.” And by 2:46 p.m., she declares success.

But four hours later, Petrich still has to work to do—putting the design on her model, Anne E. Berndtson ’08, required a little last-minute finagling. The dress is backless save two gold chains, and Petrich has to apply tape along the bodice of the dress in The Crimson’s restroom to make sure that it stays in place.

At 6:48 p.m., with the outfit assembled, Berndtson, securely taped, and Petrich head up to the main event.

OVERALL SCORES

Aesthetics/Style: 9.25

Creativity: 10

Craftsmanship: 9.5

Je ne sais quoi: 9.75

Overall: 9.625

Designer: Tessa C. Petrich '07 WINNER!