Fyora's Dress: Behind the Scenes

The dress. All Neopians await the day of the Faerie Queen's Royal Jubilee, on the 2nd day in the month of Relaxing, just to catch a quick glimpse of the gown. This dress is always unlike any dress: its changes every year and its beauty is only surpassed by the next year's dress. This is the dress of Queen Fyora herself. On her special day, she has one especially beautiful and elegant dress made and although these dresses are only ever worn once, they are saved, held in a secret tower where only Fyora herself can find them. It is also rumored that half of the profit gained all year from the Hidden Tower in Faerieland is invested to hire the top designers for this singular dress.

The Designer: The honor of being chosen to design the dress for Fyora is the highest honor any Neopian Designer can achieve. By doing so, the designer would be all over the Neopian News, and their stores would be overrun with customers and completely sold out. They may even be approached by the Neocash Mall to debut their latest collection in the Neopian Collectors Album or even in the Elite Boutique! At this time of year, all bets flee from Poogle Racing and fly to 'Who will design Fyora's Dress'? Will it be a well-known faerie designer? Or maybe a new rising star? The thoughts this year, though, are that, due to the Fall of Faerieland, the designer may not even be a Faerie, which could cause controversy in the clouds. However, this is just a rumor. The honor of designing The Dress could go to many faeries: it could go to Delina, the young new Dark Faerie who specializes in crafting rather than use dark spells, or it could go to Illusen, who has awaited the honour of being chosen for many years and has secretly had a dress already designed and made, now hidden away in her Magical Glade (Could it be that all those quests were to create this masterpiece?). Regardless of which faerie designs The Dress, though, it is always a work of art.

Having anyone other than a faerie design The Dress irritates some, but could it be beneficial for other Neopian Worlds show their talent? Princess Amira is just one of the many non-faerie designers that could create a beautiful dress for Fyora. This gorgeous Royal has shown her sense of style frequently over the past year; could this be her chance to show that she is more than a rich princess?

Or perhaps, the Lutaris could be this year's designer. Their hidden Island and secretive nature is exactly what the Faerie Queen looks for in a designer. Their island could be holding the gown as we speak and maybe Lutari's flee from the pound as they know that the gown must be finished in time and reinforcements must be called.

The Material: The gown must only be made of the most delicate, rare and expensive materials in all of Neopia. The Queen's associates search from the Lost Desert to Altador for the finest quality material. No expense is spared, no clothing or fabric shop left unsearched.

A high contender for this year's dress is Qasalan Cotton, imported from the Lost Desert. This material is the most expensive in Neopia. Anyone wishing to make an outfit from this cotton, would have to buy it at 2,000,000 neopoints per metre! Let's hope the Queen decides not to have a fifteen meter train! Shed from Desert Babaa, and woven by trained scarabs, this material is the softest a Neopian can find (and one would think so for that price!). Will this softest be what the Queen is looking for this year?

Altadorian Silk is another rich quality material well-suited for The Dress. This pure white, delicate cloth, priced at 1,250,000 neopoints per meter, is not as expensive but just as soft and beautiful as Qasalan Cotton. This silk is rarely used, as it was made by Siyana the Light Faerie and is not only one of a kind, but limited in quantity. Altador will only sell this material for extravagant occasions, and Fyora's Jubilee is certainly extravagant enough for this pricey material.

Another likely material for this year's dress is Spyder Silk, one of the few beauties made in the Haunted Woods. Spun by Faerie Spyders in Neovia, they are the latest craze, used in almost all high-fashion dresses nowadays. But this silk doesn't come cheap. Do to the high demand, it is said that the silk sells for more than 2 million neopoints per meter, and it is so thin and delicate that twice as much fabric is needed to complete an outfit than if any other material was used. However, the resulting gowns are always worth the next effort and cost. Will this be the material of this year's gown?

The Accessories: Queen Fyora obviously won't be leaving her tower wearing the wristbands and headband she wore when she was doing her pre-Jubilee workout. She will obviously be wearing the finest Faerieland Jewels! She will definitely wear the Queen Tiara, made from the strongest magic and containing the powers of every Element: fire, water, air, earth and dark. The staff also plays a large part as it starts the Jubilee when Fyora waves her Staff and begins the celebration. The Staff and Tiara are the only parts of her outfit that does not change from previous years.

All other accessories do change to match that year's gown. She might wear radiant rubies, brilliant diamonds and pearls, dazzling sapphires and emeralds, or stunning gems. Let's just hope that the JubJub ball from JubJub Power Bounce didn't use all of Neopia's gems to make his prizes! Occasionally, Queen Fyora is also seen wearing Glittery Faerie Dust which, priced at 12,000,000 neopoints per 200ml bottle, is not your average faerie dust. This dust can bedazzle any dress and leave it sparkling for all eternity.

So, enjoy Fyora Day and the Queen's Jubilee, but when you see this year's dress, keep in mind all that went into making that one outfit. An outfit without parallel, worthy of most powerful Faerie in Neopia: a role model, philanthropist, Hero and a Veteran to the Neopian World. We love you, Fyora!!!