Acts of Kindness
Teen spends 1 month hand-painting her graduation gown
She had a vision of what she wanted the dress to look like and she executed it perfectly! My favorite part is the vibrant pops of color she added.
Kristin Danley-Greiner
02.21.20

Picking out the perfect prom dress, or graduation ball dress, can prove tricky. Many teenage girls have something special in mind and sometimes it’s nearly impossible to find that dress.

After endless hours of shopping, trying on gown after gown, only to have nothing jump out as “the one” can be so frustrating. Ciara Gan of the Philippines couldn’t bring herself to face such disappointment.

She had a vision of just what she wanted her graduation ball dress to look like and there was only one way to make it happen.

YouTube/Ciara Gan
Source:
YouTube/Ciara Gan

As an artist, Ciara decided to take the plunge and paint her gown, making it all her own. Her mom encouraged her to handpaint her dress with the design she’d already imagined.

“My inspiration came from my mom, who pushed me to make the dress. Because I love to try new things, I thought why not? It was my last big event for school and I had about a month of graduation practices, so I’d be able to focus more on making my gown without worrying about schoolwork.”

YouTube/Ciara Gan
Source:
YouTube/Ciara Gan

Ciara started her project by sketching out a rough draft on paper of what she envisioned her dress to look like. She hired a designer to create the dress body, but didn’t like the results.

So she worked on the base of the dress herself, then purchased 13 yards of fabric, crinoline, boning and Swarovski crystals.

YouTube/Ciara Gan
Source:
YouTube/Ciara Gan
With the help of her mom, they sewed each panel of the skirt separately, then tied everything together. A Harry Potter fan, Ciara chose green for the color of the dress for House Slytherin.

“I recently reread the book Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson (which touched my heart) and then decided to paint the orange florals. I strayed away from basic roses and dainty florals because although they’re pretty, they don’t reflect my personality. I love the vibrancy of loud colors like orange and green — they speak more about who I am.”

After creating the dress, Ciara began painting the floral design. She spent five days drawing and painting 80 flowers that flow across the gown.

YouTube/Ciara Gan
Source:
YouTube/Ciara Gan

When she entered her graduation ball wearing her design, her classmates were stunned. They could not believe she’d made it!

“When I first showed up at the event place, my one classmate took a double-take to make sure what he was seeing was right! He told me, ‘I thought it was printed!’”

Realizing that her handmade dress truly was a masterpiece, Ciara decided to post pictures of her gown on social media. People from around the world commented about how elegant and beautiful her design was.

YouTube/Ciara Gan
Source:
YouTube/Ciara Gan

Suddenly, Ciara was sought after by people who wanted her to design custom gowns and murals for them, too. One person even requested that she create her wedding gown!

“What I appreciate the most about this whole thing is the requests for commissions and artworks. It really warms my heart to see people appreciating my art.”

Watch the video below and learn about Ciara’s design process and see how her beautiful gown came to life.

Please SHARE this with your friends and family.

Article Sources:
To learn more read our Editorial Standards.
Advertisement