If you’re kind of a big deal, you’re in the right place. I do not usually ooze confidence, nor do I usually take pride in how I look, but on Monday night, I felt like a celebrity for a few hours, and it was quite an experience. After hours upon hours of class (read: thesis editing) and doctors appointments, I rushed back to my apartment to get ready for date party in less than twenty minutes. For those who know me, I usually only take fifteen minutes to get ready in the morning anyway, but you know, you generally try to look better for date parties and formals than you do on any given day, especially when you’re a jeans and a t shirt kind of girl.

Aishwarya on Mondays: A Stressed Mess

I had perused Rent the Runway earlier in the week, per the usual, to try and find something fabulous to wear. Most of the time, I secretly wish it would just always be an occasion for a bandage dress. Why? I love Herve Leger. If I could have made a thesis out of reasons why I think he’s a miracle in the fashion industry, my past semester would have been infinitely more amazing. Anyway, I stumbled across the “Duplicity Contrast Dress” by Herve Leger and I just had to rent it. Shout out to the Vice President of Event Planning, Emily M., for making the theme broad enough to accomodate my fantasy—Pi Phis and Bowties for those of you who weren’t there.

Can I keep this dress forever? But actually...

I read all the reviews and it looked like just about everyone loved the dress, but as usual, I was faced with the most difficult question: what sizes should I order? I’m 5’10″, and for all my tall girls out there, the biggest problem is finding a dress that is at least somewhat conservative on the leg line. I’m also on the slender side, so that just further complicates the issue. Rent the Runway actually offers a chat service with Fit Specialists for this specific purpose, so before I even placed my order, I knew I would be able to comfortably wear this dress.

Aishwarya after placing her RTR order

Monday morning I tried on the dress for the first time. I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to pull it off. Like many of the people in my life, I found little reasons to complain about my body before I even got in the dress. Would the cheesecakes from Spring Break show up on my tummy? Would my legs look chunkier? Insecurities aside, I had to at least know if I would be able to zip up my dress. My friend Emily K., who has been featured on this blog before, came over and zipped me into the dress. Since it’s a bandage dress, once it’s on, it’s a little bit of a struggle to take it off.  When I looked in the mirror, I felt a little bit better about my appearance.

With Izzy (left) and Emily (right)

Okay, so maybe I’m understating how happy I felt in the dress. I actually felt like a supermodel for a bit. I mean, come on, who doesn’t love to throw on a pair of stilettos and go out dancing? That too, on a school night? I mean, what could be better than not doing work? If this is what it’s like to be a model, putting on amazing dresses and strutting around, I really should reconsider being pre-med, because wearing this dress was literally a dream come true for me. Truth be told, I don’t ever want to return this dress. It actually molded to the (limited) curves of my body and gave me a shape I didn’t know I had. More than that, I had confidence.

With Amanda, my grand-niece in Pi Phi (and Emily K. in the background)

If I could best describe my own personal theme for the night, I would instantly jump to saying that date party was about just being like a boss. If you take a look at Emily K’s face in the above picture, you know that sometimes it’s surprising how good you can feel if you just put in a little bit of time for yourself.

Until next time,

Aishwarya

Aishwarya is a Runway Rep at Johns Hopkins University. Though she's pre med, she has a passion for fashion, and loves haute couture so much that she would probably cut off all her hair just for the chance to walk in a show during Paris Fashion Week. Her secret goal is to cage dive with sharks one day, and to be discovered by an amazing modeling agency. She adores Rent the Runway and hopes to spread the love!
Aishwarya R. has 23 post(s) on RTR On Campus