Duct tape suit stuck in his mind

Randel Metzinger prides himself on being different.

Randel Metzinger wears a pink duct tape suit that he made for his school prom. "Even at school, I try not to have myself classified as anything,'' Randel said. "That just makes me stand out of the crowd and be my own person.''

Randel certainly stood out of the crowd at the Pine Forest High School prom. It's hard not to stand out when you're wearing a hot pink suit emblazoned with black flames at the sleeves and cuffs. It also helps if that suit happens to be made of duct tape.

Randel wore that get-up to the prom, which was held April 24. He doesn't regret his choice of attire a bit, even if it was a little hot under all that sticky tape. Randel, said his mother, Marian Metzinger, is "very artistic.'' He plays more than 10 instruments, including trombone, trumpet, keyboards and guitar.

So when it came time to decide what to wear to the prom, it wasn't surprising that Randel decided to get creative. The duct tape idea had actually been in Randel's head for years. When he was in the eighth or ninth grade, Randel and a friend came across a Web site for a duct tape manufacturer.

The site offered a scholarship to the student who created the most inventive duct tape suit. The idea, well, stuck with Randel. When prom time rolled around, Randel revived the idea of the duct tape suit. "It was just one of those things - 'It would be cool to do this,''' Randel said. "I'll pretty much do anything for a laugh.''

Randel had the full support of his mother, who marvels at her son's creativity. "I told him, 'rock on,''' Marian Metzinger said. Randel used the lining of an old thrift store suit. He had to order the duct tape online - you won't find hot pink duct tape at most Home Depots. It took two layers of tape to get the effect Randel wanted. He used seven rolls of pink tape and two rolls of black for the flame designs on the jacket sleeves and pants cuffs.

To complete the outfit, Randel wore a black shirt and a pair of hot pink duct-taped loafers.

The result was a blindingly bright suit that you could envision Elvis Presley wearing in the 1950s - if Elvis had a thing for duct tape. Needless to say, Randel's duct tape suit got lots of stares at the prom. "Surprisingly, I heard no negative comments, at least to my face,'' Randel said. "None of them were that surprised, because they know me. They expect me to do something different, they're just not sure what.''