Polytechnic student, stressed out about being underdressed in school, wins makeover contest

Polytechnic student Renushri Pillay won the Urban and Marina Square Spring Makeover Contest on Friday, April 25, after she ditched her regular T-shirt and jeans combo for a chic minidress and black booties. Her glasses were also nowhere in sight.

The bubbly 17-year-old was among eight finalists to be selected from a pool of 100, after a call for entries was made in March. Her win was timely, too - for months, she had been thinking of a way to get out of her style rut.

"In secondary school, I never had to worry about how I looked. Uniforms made things so easy. But after I entered polytechnic, I constantly felt underdressed in my polo T-shirt and jeans. There are so many girls who make an effort to dress up for class. It's not about vanity, I just want to be stylish and presentable," says the Temasek Polytechnic culinary science student.

She was chosen as the winner based on votes by Urban readers. More than 1,000 votes were received for the contest.

As the winner, she won $2,000 worth of shopping and dining vouchers from the mall.

The first runner-up was student Arina Rafiyah, 20, and the second runner-up was Ms Chua Tse Lyn, 24, a property officer. They won $1,500 and $1,000 worth of shopping and dining vouchers, respectively.

Renushri says that she will be using her vouchers to spruce up her wardrobe.

"I've developed a liking for prints," she says, "so I think I'll start looking for nice floral dresses."

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