I am just new to following the fashion scene closely. All the androgynous modelling from last year was awesome for me. I really thought it was something new to the industry. That was what I thought until I leafed through a 1996 issue of a local fashion magazine.
Look at these photos!
I was on my way home from a job hunting trip to Makati when I saw Jag’s billboard along EDSA specifically in front of Robinson’s Pinoneer. I was looking at it absentmindedly, the whole big billboard. When I got to the boots Lindsay Lohan was wearing, I snapped out of the daze because I know I have seen it from somewhere. And yes, I do know the shoes. They are Walter Steiger booties!
Here is the advertisement.
Image Source: Google Images
I have never been a part of a photoshoot so I basically know “nothing” about it. However, having some people from the fashion industry being readily accessible through their twitter accounts or personal blogs, I have acquired ample knowledge on what happens before and during a photoshoot. Ive read it is one strenuous and taxing process. There are so many things to consider: the location, makeup, wardrobe, accessories, lighting, photographer, stylist, assistants and many other things. Not only are the aesthetics covered but also the representation meaning the brands that are in the shoot. Everything has something to REPRESENT! 
2 days ago, I had zero knowledge what or who Walter Steiger was. Again, because of the readily available materials from the people of the fashion industry, Ive read about the brand from The Bag Hag (http://www.thebaghagdiaries.com/2012/03/pfw-walter-steiger-aw-2012-13.html). She is currently in France attending the Fashion Week (or shall I say month?) and I have been following all of her posts and read her atleast once a week if not daily.
Here is a closer look of the booties.
Image Source: Google Images
Though my sister will dispute the statement, I just have to say my pictographic memory really works!!!
I cant remember where I found this but it was more than 6mos ago when I first laid my eyes on this cutie baby! How chica can a kid be?
I was rummaging through my files for my personal copy of it and when I cannot find it, I went for the dependable google-it-up solution. And I stumble into another chanel-wearing-cutie-pie!
How adorable are they!! I hope I will be given by our dear Lord the opportunity to have my own baby someday and the capacity to provide for her to allow her buy all the Chanel she needs (when you dream, dream BIG!). 
Two seasons ago I had this rough draft or list of trends that I wanted to talk about but then didnt had the time or chance to really write about it. I am not a fashion expert but then for the past few days, I have been nagged by 2 current trends that has been in the market for more than a season already. I am talking of color blocking and print-on-print.
Some say that there is a science behind making these trends work but as far as I know, the current trends does not follow the previously stipulated rules anymore. The fashion industry has gone rogue.
Notice how the current trends were being pulled by Camille Co, a woman with a lot of title under her wings and one of them is being a fashion blogger. With this passion for fashion, she tirelessly documents her daily wardrobe and share it to her readers. Let me share some to you whilst more can be read and seen from her personal blog.
COLOR BLOCKING:
Other than the color blocking, it can also be noticed that the materials are different. Texture blocking is also incorporated in the trend.
I once read about using the color wheel as a guide in doing the color blocking trend. I googled it up again, may not be the same as the previous one I read, and I got some of that initial information and more. Here are tips from http://fashionbombdaily.com.
You can make the following combos using the color wheel as your guide:
1. Colors directly next to each other (i.e. yellow and yellow-orange; yellow and yellow-green; violet and blue-violet, etc.)
2. Colors that form right (90 degree) angles with each other (i.e. yellow and red-orange; blue and violet-red; green and orange, etc.)
3. Colors directly across from each other (i.e. yellow and violet; blue and orange; red and green, etc.)
4. Colors that form a T (i.e. blue, orange, and violet-red; yellow, violet, and red-orange; yellow, blue-green, and red-orange, etc.)
5. Colors that form an X (i.e. blue, orange, violet-red, and yellow, violet, blue-green, and red-orange, etc.)
Since brown is a neutral, it will go with virtually any color on the color wheel. I love to pair a chocolate brown with cobalt blue or fuchsia or bright red—such a fun and bold combo. Of course white, black, and the hues of blue found in denim are also neutrals that go with just about anything.
I dont know if this really holds true anymore, because as I have said fashion has gone rogue. But that is my personal opinion.
PRINT ON PRINT:
Fashion continues to amaze me. Different prints and different textures and it worked!
Print on print, flowers on flowers and not even a single color in common between the two prints. It really helped that she accessorized with materials that had colors that can be found in both prints thus holding the top and bottom prints of the ensemble together.
This combination surprised me as much as it surprised Camille. Flower and animal print together? Wow, that was something! She said that she accidentally put these two together because they were what was readily available before she went on the trip and because she was on a hurry, she packed the things that she can put her hands on first.
This is another ensemble that really surprised me. 3 top prints and they went okay! Cohesive? Maybe not for all. What I really see here is that there wasn’t so much pattern in the 3 prints. 2 prints have horizontal lines and there are similar colors in there.
Other than color blocking, print on print and texture blocking, putting on different architectural cuts together is also in this season.
There are some looks that Camille really pulls that I know cannot be done by other people and this is one of them. It must really be because of her very fair and clean complexion.
This is another strong print on print combination that she pulled but I liked the flower on flower better than this one.
This is really cute, dots on dots just different colors. I am for the classic type so I dont really dig the shoes that she wore in this ensemble. A pair of pumps of the same color would have been better. Again, only my opinion. Sometimes, people in the fashion industry, in order to appear risque sacrifices the classy chic rule. But again, thinking about it, they have to do it in order not to be monotonous. Sometimes being always classy is boring.
She really pulled this one nicely. I love love the combination because the top and bottom appeared to be a single dress. I also like the shoes a lot.
She has a lot of rompers that I really envy her. I want one for myself but could not really find something that will fit me and that I can afford.
CLASSIC SILHOUETTE:
Camille is not always defying the classics that is why I like her and her sense of style a lot. Even her gown designs especially the one she made for her cousin was really beautiful.
The look above is more of the bohemian nature but the silhouette is really classic.
The look above leans a little on the rock-chic or hard edge nature with little bit of goth but the feminine touch is still there especially in the way how the outfit defined the contours of Camille’s body. I also liked it because black is love.
This is more on my alley. Lace on lace and totally speaks of class. I cannot say more but this is one of the best Ive seen so far.
I have talked a lot about the trends already and most of them we have never thought will work. But then again, there is one rule that we never forget thus totally pulling all the looks of the new trends together. Silhouette. For as long as there is cohesion in the silhouette of the outfits that one puts together and for the wearer or the stylist to have a little bit of an “eye” for the prints, an outfit that once can be considered an out of the world combination can really work. Attitude also has a lot to do about it. Having that confidence can also help pull an “outfit” together.
I have seen rose gold, in some of the blogs I follow, for two seasons already. Had an earring of that color but my Mom liked it so much that I had no other choice but to give it to her. She followed me while I was on my way out of the house, just to remind me of the earring! I had to give it away even though I really really liked it.
Anyways, this post is for another reason. A few days ago, somebody important to me told me that she was on the hunt for a good wedding band. I told her there is this new kind of gold in the market and its so pretty! She asked me what and I told her of the new gold, rose gold. She asked me what it was and i told her that it was pinkish gold. She begged off as soon as I mentioned pink. I forgot, she doesnt like pink.
Anyhow, even though she doesnt like it, I continued to do the quest because of my obsession with rose gold. And common, those close to me will know that I love JEWELRY!
I went on to google “Rose Gold Ring” and one of the offerings really caught my eye. Its not the first one on the list but rather was positioned on the bottom part of the first page. Here is that beauty I first saw in this site .
Folks, here is the Anita Go Gardenia Ring. 18karats of rose gold crafted into perfection encrusted with 2.05karats of white diamonds.
The girls I am most with these days may have observed that I really really like flower rings, especially rose rings. This one being rose gold and designed to mimic a rose in full-bloom makes me want it more! The little chunks of baby diamonds are like icing to the cake. What more can one ask for?
Love love love the details!!!!
This was the initial image I saw and immediately fell in love with it.
The size in not that small to go unnoticed and not that big to consume the person wearing it.
The back and bottom details shows that it was not just designed to be beautiful but sturdy as well.
I cant really afford this ring, that I acknowledge even without really knowing how much it costs. But who will stop a girl like me from admiring a beauty such as this ring.
PS: This is my very first page post under the new page I created a while ago. I hope to continue to do this for a very long time. Sometimes I really have to write about all the beauty I see around me or even on the virtually accessed world wide web. I had fun doing this post and I hope you did too while reading it!
Love love!
I was browsing through my pictures last night trying to find all my still captures of the babies whose lives I have been a part of. In the process, I was able to locate an album that was entitled “Partey Partey.” The compilation was made more than a year ago for the Emerson Network Power 2010 Christmas Party. The theme was rock and roll. Because most of the clothes in my wardrobe are more feminine than edgy, I was on the prowl for a good outfit peg, one which I can copy. All the credits of the pictures goes to their respective sites which I failed to take note of.
Because all that I saw were a bit pricey and more than my budget for the event and if there were within budget or a little beyond which I really liked, they wouldnt fit me. 
I ended up using a Celine dress I have had for a while now. I wore it with my Charles and Keith Leopard printed shoes. All I can say is I was pretty that day.
And then I did this.
A week ago I received this personal message from a friend. She saw pictures of the stuff I bought for some friends before. Because she has no time to do some personal shopping for her loved ones and at the very least for herself, she decided to employ my services to do those things for her.
I told her to do a “peg” board in order for me to see what her fashion aesthetics was. But it so happened that I was participating in a bazaar. And for the last week of it, I decided to take pictures of the items I was selling and post them online. I wasn’t expecting the response I got but more than 50% of the items I had were sold. This friend of mine got 3 from the lot I was offering. Because of this, I had a little idea of what things she really liked. She messaged me today asking how much she should pay me for my services. I told her that anything she deemed appropriate for the fare and the time I spent in buying for her will suffice. I haven’t really figured how much to charge in these cases I’m getting.
Later today, a friend/relative asked if I had more empire cut mini dresses or blouses. I offered to buy more for her. We agreed to see each other later this week. I will bring her the 6 items she wanted as well as some of the clothes I suggested for her to wear.
See, Im on a roll! Thus I decided to embrace these opportunities. A few hours ago, also in my facebook pagel, I made a great announcement. I am adding another title under my belt, Geevie Lou Palec – Personal Shopper for Hire.
Here is a copy of that announcement.
I have been buying stuff for friends and for friends’ friends in the past and even until now. I did not take the suggestions on becoming a real personal shopper seriously because who would pay me to do that? But now, I think I’m changing that initial decision I had.
I should have done this announcement earlier but as they say, better late than never. Friends, I am now a personal shopper for hire!!
If you are engulfed with a lot of Christmas shopping to do and you can’t do them all before the season ends or you really dont have the time to do the shopping, you can hire me to do that for you! PM me!!!!
When Kawen gave me the invite and with the knowledge that the theme was yellow, I immediately thought of this golden-hued dress I bought from the Celine store in Eastwood mall during their midyear sale. When I got home that day, I asked my sister where she placed the dress. She said it was under the bed. Still in its paper bag, the dress was really there.
Now I have a dress, the next thing to think about was what shoes to wear. I immediately thought of my leopard printed, open-toed sling back sandals. I got it last 2008 but they are still in good condition. When you really do take good care of your shoes, they will last longer. When I tried it on with the dress, it was a little bit too much. I was going for something simple this time. So I decided to wear my black strappy sandals, the one I wore in Nong Rex’s wedding.
On the “the” day, because of the incident with the hair iron, I decided to wear flats. With all that stress, I could not handle wearing high heels and even the necessary body shaper. So I went to the event wearing my flats and all my natural curves.
How the buffet line was organized was genius! The table numbers were called starting from the last to the first. After the numbers were announced, the guests occupying that table has to come to the front to have some photos with the couple. After which, buffet attack.
After the allotted time for the guests to eat, the customary wedding games started. They called in people. Initially I thought it was another photo opportunity with the couple. I really had no idea because if I was not eating, I was blabbering (read: my usual self). So I went to have my photo taken but while others weren’t looking, I got away! Hahhhahhaha! Yay for the stealthy me!
I left Rachelle there. Sorry girl! I had to! Here she is with all the girls. Each of them were given sunflowers. They passed them around while the music was on and they were stuck with the flower they were holding when the music was turned off. The winning girl was holding the flower with something in it. I cannot remember what it was. I really wanted it to be Rachelle because the guy who got the garter was really cute.
Rachelle said she wasn’t prepared to be chosen because she was not able to do a touch up prior to the game. Because of that she had some head shots taken with the daisy from the game without and with lipstick on.
Below is the picture of Matt taking the garter off Kawen’s leg. This part of the wedding program never fails to amuse the audience. But for me, what caught my eye was Kawen’s dress. It was beautiful beyond words!!! If ever I get the chance to walk down the isle, my dress has to be done with ostrich plumes.
Let me show you how obsessed I was with Kawen’s dress. Atleast four of the less than twenty pictures I have in my phone that day was focused on her and her dress.
Isn’t the dress lovely? Super!!!!!
The day was wonderful as whole. Let us just say that the dress was the icing on top of the cake. Witnessing two people come together to be united as one is one special thing. Seeing it happen with friends is another that makes it extra fabulous. Let me introduce you to the people that I was with all through out that day.
Mommy Mayet and Daddy IC.
Janey and Red.
You have seen the pictures of Rache above. Those were the only solo pictures I have of her. Here she is with me, Mommy Mayet and Daddy IC.
It was not only the dress which was the star of the last remaining minutes of the reception. See the flowers in Mommy Mayet and Janey’s ears from the previous pictures? They came from the center piece in our table. We decided to get them for hair adornment.
When we initially got to our tables, aside from the center pieces, we saw these souvenir items for the wedding. A two-photo collage of the couple.
And also, we were able to enjoy the photo booth in the receiving area of the venue and below are some of the souvenir shots we took home.
Photo booths are FUN! We were on it for a short while but it was great nonetheless.
To end this post, let me tell you something that happened before we were called to the buffet. Ill have you see the picture first.
The catering guy gave me this. Of all the people in our table, why me? Is it because I was a lot more healthy than the rest in the table? A little foul right? But what the heck, I totally embrace my curves.
To Matt and Kawen (Khaye), congratulations and best wishes!! May the good Lord bless you with a whole lifetime of happiness together and lots of beautiful kids to spoil. Mwah!!
Fashion in the Philippines has now improved so much. I don’t berate the sense of style of my people but as an observant for the last two decades, I have seen that we were always been behind. Recently, that is not the case. Filipinos have been abreast of all the trends if not ahead. I admit that I have not been aware of the high end brands before, but the times and the fashion scene in the country has opened up lots of information. Television, radios and the internet has made the spread of the information easier. Following the blogs and twitter accounts of people from the television and advertising industry as well as the designers and stylists have helped a lot as well.
Aside from being in tune to the tides of the worldwide fashion, Filipinos have become more risqué. This is very evident with the launch of the Esquire magazine. Those invited to the ball were all abuzz in twitter. Everybody was worrying on what to wear for that day. All were saying that a lot of skin will be shown that night and so it was as can be seen in the succeeding pictures.
I don’t know what may have caused this to be so. It can be that the US dollar is dwindling that is why people can now afford high end fashion. It can also be that the designers here have been trained better, went to the best fashion schools, thus their works are at the very least at par with the international ones. I can think of so many things that may be the possible reason why the local fashion industry is ablaze now but I can’t really put a finger as to which of it is the main cause. I don’t really care of which was it, don’t get me wrong. The truth is I am very thankful for all the changes that this industry is going through now because I am enjoying it so much. I just can’t put it into words how much.
This is a story of another experience I had with my sister and her friends, and by extension mine. I have been telling them of a restaurant that I went to in UP Diliman. You see, I was really fascinated by the fact that there is a very nice and cozy restaurant in the heart of a University. And they serve good food and great desserts!
I have heard of Chocolate Kiss the first time when I was brought there by my previous officemates. I was so enamored by it that from time to time, my sister and I go there to eat. The weekend of the great SM Megamall sale, I was thinking of things that I can do to avoid going to the mall. Initially I planned to watch PBA games, Saturday in San Juan and Sunday in Cubao. For some reason, I wasn’t able to go.
Saturday afternoon, I was told by my sister that I have promised her friends that we were going to UP the next day, Sunday. I was really tempted to beg off because I don’t have the budget yet but I didn’t have the heart to tell them. And so we went.
In asking for directions, I know better now how to get there. We rode the taxi from our place. Since we usually ride the bus to commonwealth and then take the UP ikot, we had to ask from the guards in UP for directions to the Bahay ng Alumni.
When we got there, I wanted to bring my friends at the upstairs restaurant but I just then knew that the place was for reservations and that we can only go to the one located on the first floor.
We wanted to order something for starters but since we were also ordering desserts, we decided not to. For drinks, I told them to order the iced tea, a special house blend.
The sweetener is diluted honey! You can have as much honey as you want since its refillable.
The following pictures will be the dishes that we ordered. There were four of us but only three kinds of dishes since my sister and one of her friends, Lene, decided to get the same entrée. Please excuse the photos; once again they were taken using my BB phone. [EDIT: Most of the pictures are Kamla's.]
They ordered the Salisbury steak. It was ground beef patty with mushroom gravy sauce served with mixed vegetables. You have the option to have it served with rice or mashed potatoes. Though the mashed potatoes in this place is divine, for this dish, rice is more apt. The patty is a little moist inside and is so full of flavor; it will be too much if you will have it with the potatoes.
Kamla had the Shrimp Pasta Aligue. It was shrimp sautéed in crab fat sprinkled with black olives and freshly chopped cilantro. Since I was not really into testing my allergy levels that day, I opted not to take a bit but Lene and my sister did. Up until today, Diane is still telling me that she really liked the dish and the next time that we go back to the place, she will have to order it.
What I ordered was the Hickory Smoked Spareribs. It was grilled pork spareribs served with hickory sauce and corn kernels. Again you have the option to have it with rice or mashed potatoes. That day, I wasn’t in the mood to eat rice, so I went to have the potatoes. My sister from the time my food was served got the first sample of my potatoes; she loved it so much she got more, multiple times.
The picture may not look that much tempting but believe me when I say that it was great for its super cheap price! The ribs dish was great and so were the potatoes!!
It was dessert time. I was thinking we cannot finish four desserts so I suggested we take three or just the samplers. But we ended up ordering one cake each. I decided to get the carrot cake since I cannot remember what it tasted like the first time we got it. My sister said that the cake was a bit different. The carrot design before was made of fondant but now, it was made of the same material as the icing. This was actually a part of the revisit of the carrot cakes I have tried before. The verdict was, I have tried a cake better than this one.
Lene got the famous devils cake. It was a chocolate cake inside with a generous amount of white frosting slathered all over it.
Kamla got the Oreo Cheesecake. It was great! I mean, the oreo base of the cake was evidently new. The cheesecake itself was moist, very good.
My sister got the blueberry cheesecake. Though the base was a little overdone, I am very partial to this dessert for every time I think of cheesecake, what always comes to mind is the blueberry cheesecake.
We had a nice walk from the restaurant to the sunken garden after the brunch. I love the place! I wasn’t wearing tinted glasses so I wasn’t able to do boy-watching that much. Hahhaaha! Next time! Hahahahah!
This was after we asked from a street vendor for directions going to the sunken garden.
This is the main circular road. The street where we were facing at is going to the oblation while that one on the back is going to the sunken garden. We just went to the garden and didn’t have that much time to go back for a photo-op at the infamous oblation statue.
I took a better picture. This looks more like a scene from another place. Look at the trees!
When we got to the sunken garden, we enjoyed the scenery and ofcourse had some picture taken. It wasnt us but the tree who starred in these succeeding pictures.
After the walk, we were supposed to go to Tiendesitas. Instead, my companions decided that we go to SM Megamall. We went to so many shops I can’t remember them all. Bayo, Celine, Charles and Keith, Payless, People are People and many many more.
Ofcourse we couldn’t miss the trip to Forever 21. While I was lining up to pay for my loot, Diane and Lene where sitting in some of the boxes where the mannequins were placed. Here is a photo of my sister trying on one of the blazers in the store. We are kind of into blazers now but the thing is, we only have an ancient one.
Here is a photo of a very tired Lene.
We went to Celine twice. The second time, Kamla was deciding on what color to get of the shoes she really liked but was having second thoughts when we were there first. This lovely grandma told her to get the peach ones because as she said, they looked “smart.”
And so Kamla did.
Look how cute she is! At that time, she was trying on a bedazzled wedge sandal. At this time when the photo was taken, she was telling the saleslady that she disliked the size because her soles were beyond the edge of the soles of the shoe. Super funky grandma, I love her!
