Prom night is one of the most awaited moments for high school juniors and seniors students. During this time, ladies are the most excited because they would have to pick their promenade dress and some are willing to spend a huge amount of money just to stand out at the prom.
But for Tricia Jane Asuncion, she sees this opportunity not only to stand out but to represent her heritage. She wore a terno Filipiniana gown which is a traditional dress worn by women in the Philippines and is well-known for its iconic butterfly sleeves. It is sometimes worn during formal occasions, like the president’s annual State of the Nation Address.
“Being that this is our senior year, we decided to go big for prom. We thought that there was no better way than going cultural, so that is what we decided to do. All our friends went traditional,” Tricia said in an interview with TFC Balitang America.
Not only did she decide to wear their traditional dress, she also convinced her date to do the same and also their classmates join the fun too. They wore dresses that represented their diverse cultures like Cameroon, Nigeria, India, China and of course, the Philippines.
“My classmates really loved the idea. When all my friends showed up at prom we got a lot of compliments saying how beautiful we looked and how handsome my date looked,” she added.
Not only did they capture the hearts of everyone at the prom, they also amazed the people on the internet. Her tweet gathered over 1,700 retweets and 8,000 likes from people all over the globe.
Netizens praised the teenagers for their unique concept of wearing their cultures during prom and in the right way. Some netizens would also love to do the same on their prom night.
“I’m just really happy about all the positive feedback I got on Twitter. I received a lot of messages from other fellow Filipinos telling me they are going to do again next year too. So, I’m really happy I had that positive impact representing my culture,” she said.
Tricia said that she was overwhelmed and felt really happy representing their own culture.
“It means more than just a dress. It represents what we stand for as a culture as a community and as a country. So, before you wear something off handedly, you should realize where it comes from,” she said.