Suited For Success

"I used to be somepony! I used to be respected! I made dresses - beautiful, beautiful dresses! But now, everypony is laughing at me! I'm nothing but a laughingstock! *sob*"

- Rarity

Suited For Success is the fourteenth episode of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, season one. In this episode, Rarity wants to make party dresses for her friends for the upcoming Grand Galloping Gala.

Summary
Rarity was busy preparing a dress for herself for the upcoming Grand Galloping Gala with her cat Opalescence "helping" her (involuntarily, to be exact). As she was making the finishing touches on it, she was then interrupted by Twilight and Applejack, who the former came to ask her to fix a button on her gala dress. Seeing Twilight's clothes too old to be worn anymore, Rarity insisted on making her an entirely new dress instead, as well as one for AJ. Although the farm pony preferred to wear her work clothes, she was reminded that the party was a formal event, prompting her to have them appropriately "spruced up". After seeing Rainbow Dash crash into her workshop, the elegant unicorn had an idea. She offered to make them all new party dresses, including ones for Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy, then decided to set up a fashion show in Ponyville to show them off. While AJ and Twilight were unsure of her making such a promise, Rarity assured them all that she can handle it.

After a days worth of gathering, sewing, measuring, and detailing, she invited all of them to show them the finished set. Each of them were made to match their own personality. They were surprised at these amazing new dresses, but something was... wrong. Hesitant to find the right words for their criticism (although Dash stated that hers wasn't "cool" enough), Twilight overall concluded that the ensembles were "not exactly what they had in mind". Rarity was disappointed in hearing this, but the courtly unicorn kept a straight face and promised them that she was willing to make them all "110%" satisfied, planning to make a new, new set, as opposed to the ones she declared as a "first pass". When they wanted to make sure they weren't going to cause any problems, she once more insisted that she wanted to make them all perfect.

Time passed and, this time, she invited each pony individually to check on their new dresses. Fluttershy tried on hers and said she "loved" it and thought it was "nice". When Rarity told Fluttershy that she should just tell her what she really meant, the confused pegasus quickly said that she "liked" it. Frustrated with her friend not able to make a solid opinion, Rarity pushed her into saying what she really meant; if there were any problems with it. Hesitant at first, Fluttershy finally bombarded her with some surprisingly specific details about what was wrong with the dress she was wearing, concluding that the whole thing was not "Haute Couture" ("High Fashion"). In the end, she reminded the unicorn that "whatever she wanted to do was fine". The others were also told to give some details on what they would want for their clothes: Twilight wanted perfect constellations, Pinkie wanted balloons, candy and streamers, Applejack wanted her clothes to be weather-friendly (asking for galoshes to boot), and Dash simply wanted hers to be cooler or, in her case, "20% cooler". While Rarity was following their instructions to the letter, she was becoming increasingly more stressed as the time of the show was drawing near.

When she finally finished, she believed that the new dresses were downright ugly. And she still needed to finish hers...

Thankfully, her friends were satisfied with the "perfect" dress set, meeting all their expectations. Rarity seemed doubtful of her accomplishment (even her cat knew that she didn't like them), but was glad they loved them. Just as she was relieved that her job was done, Spike arrived to bring her some exciting news: a major representative of the fashion world from Canterlot, named Hoity Toity, has heard about her fashion show (Spike confessed that he may had mentioned it to him), and was coming to check it out. A positive feedback from a hot-shot pony critic would mean big business for Rarity's shop. This should have made her happy. Instead, she was completely horrified that such a guest was coming to see her latest work, and with good reason: a negative feedback from him could end her fashion career in an instant.

It was the night of the show, and the pony critic has arrived in front of the stage, along with everyone in Ponyville. Rarity was already on pins and needles, but believed that if her friends liked it, so would he. This was not to be, however, as the crowd was shocked to see that the styles of the "perfect" dresses were... not what anyone had expected, and even more so of the pony who made them. Rarity's friends proudly strutted across the stage, but after noticing the audience awkwardly staring in confusion, while looking at themselves in the process, it was clear that they might have gone overboard on the specifics. Hoity proceeded to make the harshest form of criticism possible, going as far as to describe them as "a piled-on mishmash of everything but the kitchen sink" (the sink, itself, Rarity decided not to include before the event). He deemed the outfits the ugliest he had ever seen. Rarity's fashion show was an absolute disaster, her career was unraveling before her eyes, and somehow, she feared all that would happen.

She locked herself in the the bedroom of her shop for the next few days, racked with shame and humiliation from the fashion rep's review and Ponyville's citizens laughing at her. Unable to get her out of the room, they tried to figure out what to do to save their friend from, in Pinkie's words, "becoming a Crazy Cat Lady" (despite the fact that she had one cat at the moment). They then noticed Rarity's unfinished dress inside her workshop.

While Rarity began contemplating leaving Ponyville in self-exile, she saw her cat stuck in a tree. She rushed outside only to discover Dash had placed the cat up there to draw the depressed unicorn out of hiding and show her what they were up to. Thanks to Fluttershy's knowledge of sewing, she and the other ponies finished Rarity's dress as a way of apologizing to her for what they put her through. Rarity was surprised but happy of the quality, saying that it was exactly how she imagined it. They even managed to convince Hoity Toity to come back and give their friend another chance. During a private fashion show, Rarity used her "first draft" ensembles for her friends to wear. The pompous critic was so impressed with this particular set, he offered to feature her work for his Canterlot boutique... and asked to make a dozen of each one in at least a week.

Rarity learned that she can't always please all of her friends, and Twilight learned to appreciate a friend's gift and not be overly critical about it.

Major Events

 * Fluttershy revealed that she has a "freaky" knowledge in sewing.
 * Rarity hosted her own fashion show with the first one failed but the second one being a success.
 * Rarity's pet cat Opalescence is introduced in this episode.
 * Rarity was offered work for Hoity Toity's Canterlot boutique.
 * The dresses which the ponies will wear to the Grand Galloping Gala are made in this episode. They will appear occasionally throughout the rest of the season, culimating in the season finale where the gala itself occurs.

Quotes:

 * Rarity: IDEA! I'll make you an outfit for the Gala, too, Rainbow Dash.
 * Rainbow Dash: Outfit for the what now?


 * Applejack: So all you have to do is make a different, stunning, original, amazing outfit for one, two, three, four, five... plus yourself, six ponies? And "lickety split"?
 * Rarity: *laughs* Oh, Applejack. You make it sound as if it's going to be hard.


 * Applejack: (Seeing the dresses) They sure are... uh... somethin'...
 * Twilight: Yes! Something!
 * Pinkie Pie: I like "something"! "Something" is my favorite!
 * Fluttershy: It's... nice.


 * Rarity: If you don't like it, you should just tell me.
 * Fluttershy: But I do like it.
 * Rarity: Like it, or love it?
 * Fluttershy: Um... both?


 * Rarity: Tell meeeeeeee!
 * Fluttershy: Um... no. It's fine...
 * Rarity: Tell me.
 * Fluttershy: (nervous) I-I-I like it!
 * Rarity: (frustrated) Tell me tell me tell me tell me TELL ME!!
 * Fluttershy: All right. Since you really want to know... *inhales* The armscye's tight, the middy collar doesn't go with the shawl lapel, the hems are clearly machine-stitched, the pleats are uneven, the fabric looks like toile, you used a backstitch here when it clearly called for a topstitch, or maybe a traditional blanket stitch, and the overall design is reminiscent of prêt-à-porter and not true French haute couture... But... uh... you know... um... whatever you want to do is fine...


 * Pinkie Pie: More balloons! Oh no, that's too many balloons! More candy! Oh, less candy! Oh, wait! I know! Streamers!
 * Rarity: Streamers...
 * Pinkie Pie: Whose dress is this?
 * Rarity: Streamers it is...


 * Rainbow Dash: What?
 * Rarity: Aren't you going to tell me to change something too?
 * Rainbow Dash: No, I just want my dress to be cool.
 * Rarity: Do you not like the color?
 * Rainbow Dash: The color's fine, just make it look cooler.
 * Rarity: Do you not like the shape?
 * Rainbow Dash: The shape's fine, just make the whole thing you know, cooler ... It needs to be about 20% cooler.


 * Rarity: Hoity Toity? He's coming here? To see... these dresses?!


 * Rarity: (nervous) WHAAA! What's wrong with the lights?! Ah! Oh yes... That means the show's... starting. Good...


 * Spike: Since the beginning of time, the Elite of Equestria have longed for pony fashion that truly express the essence of their very souls. Patiently waiting decades-- No! Centuries-- for the perfect pony gown. Today, at long last, Equestria, your wait is over. Let's hear it for the breathtaking designs... of Ponyville's own... RARITY !


 * Hoity Toity: Oh those amateurish designs look like a piled-on mishmash of everything but the kitchen sink! It's a travesty, that's what it is! Those outfits are the ugliest I've ever seen! Oh, for shame! Who is responsible for objecting our eyes to such horrors?! Not to mention, wasting my valuable time!


 * Twilight: You're not a laughingstock, Rarity.
 * Rainbow Dash: *rather loudly* She kinda is!
 * Twilight: Shh!


 * Rarity: LEAVE ME ALONE! *sob* I vant to be alone! I want to wallow in... whatever it is that ponies are supposed to wallow in! ...Do ponies wallow in pity?... Oh, Listen to me! I don't even know what I'm supposed to wallow in! I'm so  PATHETIC !!!


 * Twilight: Now what do we do?
 * Fluttershy: Panic?
 * Rainbow Dash: That's your answer for everything!


 * Pinkie Pie: She'll become a crazy cat lady.
 * Twilight: She only has one cat.
 * Pinkie Pie: Give her time...


 * Rarity: Exile... I guess, technically, I'd have to move away to live in exlie. Where will I go? And what would I pack? Oh, it's going to take be forever to do all of that packing. What are you supposed to pack when you go into exile? Are you supposed to pack warm?


 * Rarity: *muttering* HUH?!
 * Pinkie Pie: We all finished your dress for you!
 * Applejack: Thanks to Fluttershy's freaky knowledge of sewin'...
 * Fluttershy: Do you like it?
 * Rarity: Like it? Like it?!
 * Fluttershy: Uh oh. She doesn't like it...
 * Rarity: No, I DON'T like it... ...I LOVE IT!

Trivia

 * The title of this episode has a double meaning; the word 'suited' here both refers to the original phrase dress for success as well as the meaning of 'being appropriate'.
 * Because this episode mentions the Grand Galloping Gala, the event most likely has not yet taken place before the episode "The Ticket Master". This could also mean that the Grand Galloping Gala is an annual event, and that a significant amount of time has passed since the beginning of the series, considering one of the preceeding episodes took place in the winter.
 * Rarity's song "Stitching it Together (Art of the Dress)" is based on the song Putting it Together by Sondheim, from the musical "Sunday in the Park With George." The original song is about an artist complaining about people interfering with his work. It is also the first song sung by at least all the core ponies since "Winter Wrap-Up".
 * Toile is today a reference to cheaper cloth used by designers to test a pattern; in the past it meant "linen cloth" and could include painting canvas. Prêt-à-porter refers to "ready to wear" clothing, while haute couture refers to custom-made clothing, which is what Rarity does. The last explains her reaction to Hoity Toity's "order" at the end of the episode.
 * The sequence where Rarity has locked herself in her room and says "I want to be alone" is a likely reference to actress Greta Garbo, who is associated with the phrase.
 * The "Crazy Cat Lady" reference Pinkie Pie makes might be alluded to the Crazy Cat Lady character, from The Simpsons.