So, it’s your first formal? Here are some do’s and don’ts that some young women use in preparing for a formal.

Lights, camera, ACTION! Before you start taking pictures in the bathroom because of the AMAZING lighting, you need to first look over this . We all spend hours prior to the day of the formal looking over what to wear, and looking at who’s on the attending Facebook list. But we never take into consideration that going to a formal is like going to a wedding, you can never be too prepared.

Ladies, here are the DO’s:

1. Before you grab your mom and bombard all the sari stores in Scarborough, it’s important you figure out what kind of sari you want to wear. It has to be unique, and at the same time suit you. So before you start saving pictures of Shreya with the latest saris on your blackberry and iPhone, try to remember if you’re doing it, then 300 other girls attending formal are too, and seeing another girl wear the same sari as you is quite embarrassing.

2. Book your sari blouse sewing lady out in advance. So your friend told you her neighbor makes blouses. If she’s telling you, it’s most likely that she and 10 other friends are also getting their blouses made there.

3. Thirdly, if you know how to put on a sari properly, you are a very talented soul.  If not, make sure you have someone to dress you on the day of. Remember formals happen on sporadic days so expecting your mom to be home on a Thursday at 3 pm because you have a makeup appointment at 4 pm at MAC is not realistic.

4. PINS PINS PINS AND MORE PINS! You never know what’s going to come apart with one single dance move so it is very important to be prepared.

5. Make sure you have tamed eyebrows; you can get it done for under $4 at any local plaza, so no excuses.

6. Delete all pictures of you on Facebook if you are repeating a sari. Thanks to technology, girls can be at the table beside you looking at a picture of you on Facebook wearing the same sari and pointing at it and saying “see, I told you she wore it before”.

7. Make sure the night before you keep your sari, jewelry, shoes, clutch, ticket and make up in a corner in your home in a safe place. This way you don’t need to be throwing things around to find all these details.

8. Before you leave your house, take a couple of pictures in the washroom mirror. Make sure you clean your mirror, and take off the flash for an awesome picture. Once this is done, set this in your BBM or Live profile display so everyone can have a sneak peak of what you look like.

9. When you arrive at formal, make sure you hug and run up to all your friends like you haven’t seen them at school hours before and take a picture with EVERYONE you see. There is no point in going to a formal if there aren’t pictures that you can profile pic on Facebook the next day.

10. Have an awesome time! Be responsible, and make sure you have a ride home.

DON’T!!!!! 

1. Try a new hairstyle the day of, it’s not going to work unless you’re completely awesome with hair.

2. Put seven different eye shadow colours on, you’re going to a formal not a carnival.

3. Forget to put on deodorant, it’s not appealing to look fairly attractive and smell awful at the same time.

4. Wear heels you can’t walk in for 5 minutes in. If you can’t walk in it, you definitely can’t dance in it.

5. Add people you met on formal on Facebook right away. Facebook has this weird feature that states that A and B became friends after attending C’s formal, and then you’ll be nicknamed the formal adder.

6. Not be caught without lip gloss or chap stick, trust me you’ll need it.

That concludes the segment of your very own survival guide to formal. It is understandable that different people have different rituals.  The most important part is that you don’t forget your tickets and ID, and that you are safe and responsible till you get home safe. Hope you enjoyed it!