My beautiful gown
I only have one gown, the one I wore when I became a ninang to my cousin during his wedding in June, 2006 and I still think it beautiful! It is long (very long!), flowing, simple yet very elegant yet it is just there hidden in my closet after the event.
Late last month, we were told by our cluster head that we will have to wear a white gown on the last day of our international conference. I told her I have a gown but it is off-white and she said yes it will do. On one of our subsequent meetings she told us that it could be a white long dress or blouse and long skirt instead or if there is no skirt even a white pants will do but the preference is still a dress. I have no white dress, nor white pants so I asked her if there will be people wearing gown and they said for sure. I said okay I will wear my gown!
On the first day of the conference, we received our kit with the schedule of the activities and summary of the talks, they also announced the dress code… white dress, no more mention of gown… but I was looking at the talk and activities in the kit and noted that on the last day was like a wedding ceremony… a commitment.
I still did not have a white dress. I could rush to buy one especially since I though that wearing a gown would make me overdressed and I’d surely stand out since I’m tall but I asked some from our group and they said they would wear their ninang clothes also so I did not consider buying.
Still the night before, I was thinking if I should just be conservative and just wear a white blouse and a black pants or even a beige skirt since people will surely look at me if I am in gown and might even laugh or talk about me being overly dressed, however, deep down I feel that I wanted to wear my gown because it really was a special event – a commitment to the Lord! Never mind if I get talked about or even laughed at.
So, I went with my group, we rode a hired jeepney, 4 of us were in our ninang gowns while the rest were in their white blouse and pants. The gates of the stadium were not yet opened when we arrived and the women were all in white (pretty neat sight!) most were in pants though (but still pretty neat!)… we were the only ones I’ve seen in our gowns and true enough people looked at me. I don’t really know what went in their head but I just smiled… inside I could actually feel my heart giggling – thinking that I was overdressed yet feeling happy because I was really looking forward to the ceremony. I was seated far from my group but the sisters with me who were from different provinces were nice since the start of our convention that was why I did not bother to find ways to move with my group. I was the only one in gown in my box but it felt okay.
The day started great! The Eucharistic celebration special, the talk was good, the sharing welled our eyes, the ceremony wherein our partner (the sister beside me) placed the headdress in our head as we professed our commitment was solemn… then our mini praise fest fantastic.
After the event I changed to my t-shirt, slippers and knee-length shorts. The gown is back in the bag, then to the cleaners and soon back in the closet but I’m sure that like me, it too was happy to experience the joy of the event! :-)
Late last month, we were told by our cluster head that we will have to wear a white gown on the last day of our international conference. I told her I have a gown but it is off-white and she said yes it will do. On one of our subsequent meetings she told us that it could be a white long dress or blouse and long skirt instead or if there is no skirt even a white pants will do but the preference is still a dress. I have no white dress, nor white pants so I asked her if there will be people wearing gown and they said for sure. I said okay I will wear my gown!
On the first day of the conference, we received our kit with the schedule of the activities and summary of the talks, they also announced the dress code… white dress, no more mention of gown… but I was looking at the talk and activities in the kit and noted that on the last day was like a wedding ceremony… a commitment.
I still did not have a white dress. I could rush to buy one especially since I though that wearing a gown would make me overdressed and I’d surely stand out since I’m tall but I asked some from our group and they said they would wear their ninang clothes also so I did not consider buying.
Still the night before, I was thinking if I should just be conservative and just wear a white blouse and a black pants or even a beige skirt since people will surely look at me if I am in gown and might even laugh or talk about me being overly dressed, however, deep down I feel that I wanted to wear my gown because it really was a special event – a commitment to the Lord! Never mind if I get talked about or even laughed at.
So, I went with my group, we rode a hired jeepney, 4 of us were in our ninang gowns while the rest were in their white blouse and pants. The gates of the stadium were not yet opened when we arrived and the women were all in white (pretty neat sight!) most were in pants though (but still pretty neat!)… we were the only ones I’ve seen in our gowns and true enough people looked at me. I don’t really know what went in their head but I just smiled… inside I could actually feel my heart giggling – thinking that I was overdressed yet feeling happy because I was really looking forward to the ceremony. I was seated far from my group but the sisters with me who were from different provinces were nice since the start of our convention that was why I did not bother to find ways to move with my group. I was the only one in gown in my box but it felt okay.
The day started great! The Eucharistic celebration special, the talk was good, the sharing welled our eyes, the ceremony wherein our partner (the sister beside me) placed the headdress in our head as we professed our commitment was solemn… then our mini praise fest fantastic.
After the event I changed to my t-shirt, slippers and knee-length shorts. The gown is back in the bag, then to the cleaners and soon back in the closet but I’m sure that like me, it too was happy to experience the joy of the event! :-)
posted by elizabeth | 11:29 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home