Belle of the Ball

Hi Fashionista Friends!!! I'm back from a 4-day hiatus...

I've been busy towards the end of the week. Had a Banquet to attend and an award to receive... and I only had a week to have my gown made (talk about leaving everything to the last minute)... It was a formal gathering and the ladies had to wear evening gowns so I was busy shuttling to and from my dressmaker during my free time, as a result, I had to sacrifice my blogging-time.



So, back to the dress... I initially did not have this gown in mind. I saw it sometime ago (ok for those of you who have keen fashion eyes... it's time to prep them up for some style spying) ...on TV and on the internet, but for this occasion I had something else up my sleeve -- Though I was hesitant to wear it in the midst of engineers, executives and expats... either something Egyptian-mummy-inspired with lots of equal cloth strips here and there... or a serpentina gown with structured cuts and masculine-influenced designs...

But, my dressmaker refused to create the gown in such a short notice... so, since I was on the verge of giving up and just purchasing a ready-made dress and risk being somebody else's twin...I had no choice but to rip a page from my magazine and beg her to come-up with PLAN B (no more add-ons,etc. -- I was in panic-mode... so my mind failed to think) she had to take it or leave it -- and make it in 6 days.

And because, to her I am one of her sweetest customers (their design shop made my wedding gown and entourage gowns)... I got plan B!

Ok fashion spies... look closely....does this gown look familiar??? Ok... the sepia-tone will give you a clue... it's a season back... notice the ruffles...



I prefer the pictures above which were taken by some of the company photographers... the sepia ones taken from my point-and-shoot camera (evening purse = small = small camera's only) were to shiny.., though my dress wasn't shiny...booo. But most of them were either group pictures -- and I have absolutely no idea how the people I was with on those pictures would like being seen on my blog... or pictures of me and hubby -- hubby on my blog = is totally out of the question... he would go berserk! So for now, these "shining-shimmering-splendid" pictures will do (I had hoped that making them Sepia-toned would help).



And my hair... which took 2 hours to make...resembled the satin roses on my neck. The make-up guy was so meticulous with my eyes (he did a great job though.... given that I have the palest skin which is very difficult to "paint")... then he forgot that the hairdresser wanted to let my full-bangs loose instead of pulling them all up... (poor make-up-guy)!




Ok for the shoe-shot... big bling-bling shoes that were good enough to dance on.

Evening Gown: Custom made
Faux Croc Skin Stilettos: People are People
Faux Croc Skin evening bag: F21
Lace Gloves: US Online Find

So, have you all guessed my "dress-inspiration"??

Remember the Big Gossip Girl wedding?? Remember Serena's bridesmaid dress?? Think Ralph Lauren Spring Summer 2008 Collection...

Bug-a-Boo

I know SATC movie is so "yesterday", but I still am loving SJP's looks, especially her Dior heels that stretched from complementing daywear to eveningwear... even formalwear, and because od that, I decided to allow my Dior-wannabee cutout gladiators to see the light once again.

I love my frilly dress... which I got for only a little bit more than $10 at a local department store...topped it off with a cotton vest from Old Navy... my dress had ruffles all over and I felt like a peacock or a colored flamingo wearing such a fluffy ensemble with 5-inch heels...

Oops... watch out for that little draft Marlyn!!

One of the main reasons why I decided to wear those heels today was primarily because I knew I wasn't going to do a whole lot of walking... I know I love high heeled shoes so much but I end up being miserable once my ankles and feet start feeling sore... but as all stories go... there always has to be a TWIST of some sort that messes it up.
Hubby, being the superhuman that he is, decided to ignore his tummy-ache and he ended up with a mega-aching-tummy-attack when while we were away from home, and after a few hours of contemplating on whether it was a "oh that's just gas" tummy-ache or a much more serious one.. we went to the ER to have him checked, and spent most of the evening/wee hours of the morning there due to clinical examinations left and right.

Hubby is ok, they found some infection caused by a stomach bug going around... so he has to take some antibiotics and pain-killers... poor thing... BOO TO BUGS... but other than that, thank heavens he's a whole lot better!

So back to the heels.....

And what do you think was the fate of my toes???

As clinical studies would go: None or Minimal discomfort ONLY.

Surprising!!

Good thing these two babies were in their "comfiest best".

Monday BLUEs

I have been feeling a bit under the weather all weekend. I was so sluggish and lazy to even go get some sun... so hubby and I stayed indoors (we cancelled appointments left and right -- booo lazy!) and took much needed rest all Sunday.

Monday came... and my Monday Blues surely greeted me! I had to meet up with my dressmaker (and I cancelled it), had to go to the bank (I postponed it), had to go have some hair treatment (I guess you know what goes inside these parentheses already -- yes, I cancelled it!)... and the list goes on and on...
As guilt was slowly creeping into my system, I brushed it off and said to myself: "Doesn't it feel so nice to spend time lazing around all day at home without doing anything at all??".
It sure did!!!
But towards the end of the day, I had no other choice but to move my lazy bones and get dressed!
So I decided to wear sapphire blue to contrast with black... I love the bow and the back detail (I forgot to have a picture taken though), paired it with a really old skirt (I couldn't find my favorite black high waisted skirt and was...yes.. LAZY to look for it) -- but I loved how flowy this one was and then I put minimal pearls as my accent accessories... I hope I somehow concealed how LAZY I was feeling with this outfit.

And before I call this a post, allow me to introduce you to my little friend, CARROT. She's a cellphone dangler, and though my phone has no provisions for these crazy Asian danglers, I stuck it to it's rubber protector, Hubby and I found this cute little toy while doing our regular supermarket shopping! Now I have another thing to love about grocery stores -- little surprise knick-knacks like this one!!



Top: Shopaholic
Skirt: Rustan's (Local Department store)
Bag: Chanel
Belt: WetsealShoes: Nine West

The Perfect Chemical Lab Experiment

I fell in love with this Zara cardigan as soon as I saw it... and didn't mind if they only had a size XL left, figuring out that it would be slouchy anyway and it would turn out ok. So I purchased it and went home only to find out that it looked like a Lab Gown on me (I remembered high school days when we all had to wear uniformed white gowns with our names embroidered on them for Science laboratory classes..... eww... leaving me with daydreams that often went: "If I could only just sit under the trees, chat with my friends about Teenbeat and Seventeen while enjoying Dunkin Donuts and milkshake..."), in short IT FIT LIKE A BIG WHITE KITE!!




But since I am on a strict (yeah) clothing/shoes/bag ban...promising to exhaust magic from the many unworn clothes laying around in my closet, I looked at it again today with some mustered positivity and gave it another try.

So I paired it with a simple tank, dark jeans, and some studded heels which I haven't even worn yet.
(Take a closer look at the shoes... look at those pretty gold studs.....I'm currently obsessed with them, round, square, diamond... anything that has studs is LOVE!)
And my lucky necklaces from my trip to Nashville's Opry Mills Mall back in August. It has a clover, a heart and an Ace of Spades card.

A waisted belt and my white pebble leather purse... and what do we come up with??

A Lab student.... with an attitude!!!


Tank: Zara
Knitted Long Cardi: Zara
Skinnies: Mango
Waisted Belt: Topshop
Shoes: Online Find
Bag: Coach
Necklaces: F21
Watch: Kenneth Cole

Flower Power, TAGGED!

... Feeling like a Freesia flower (waiting to confuse a butterfly)...in a sheer chiffon dress and cut-out heels with tassles that reminded me of those penny loafers I used to wear back in Grade School when I had to wear a school uniform.
Ok... since I have nothing much to say about the outfit.... I've also been tagged by the gorgeous girls... Issa and Roz from We Wear Things. Yeeey!!!


here are the rules:
(1) Link back to the meme creator: Caz
(2) Link to the person who tagged you: We Wear Things
(3) Link back to the originator of the positive SA movement (as this is how this all started): Cheap Thrills

(4) List five reasons you love your state (I find Tennessee a special home to me, but I live in Manila, so I will talk about... you guessed it right....Metro Manila!!!).

1_ The Sunsets are always majestic! Think: Manila Bay, recognized all over the world for the best sunsets! I love staying at Sofitel (Formerly Westin Philippine Plaza) because apart from there great food...I get to view the sunset.

2_ Shopping! Manila has been a hub of both designer goods (I'm happy a lot of European brands have opened up stores here...think: Greenbelt 2 & 5) Chic brands (Think Zara, Topshop, Promod), export overruns sold in bazaars and night markets, local designers with such superb work (think: Archaeology Wing in Powerplant, The Ramp and Multiply) the choices are simply endless! Think about this, we have the biggest mall in Asia and "Malling" may already be considered as a sport here... heehee

3_ Food! Manila has a mixture of diverse cuisine. For a person with an erratic palate like me, it's so easy to find a place when I feel like having say Nasi Goreng for Lunch, French Macarrons for dessert and Sashimi for Dinner.

4_ The People. You'd be surprised to see how stylish Manila's crowd can be. Well, there are always tacky dressers... but if you have a keen eye, you can spot quite a handful of chic figures. Back in college, I used to be a night owl and a sucker for parties and hip clubs all because it felt so nice seeing so much well-clad people in one venue. It's also very fulfilling to have meaningful conversations with fun-loving people who are well-bred, well-read and already exposed to the world around us.

5_ Old Manila. Try googling Intramuros, Luneta Park, Chinatown, Paco Park and the like... since the Philippines boasts of such rich history, being conquered by Spain for hundreds of years...Old Manila gives us a snapshot of life back in the Spanish period... cobblestone streets, massive Spanish houses, lavish churches and courtyards. Manila was also once the trade hub of Asia, thus we have many Chinese (wooohooo for me!) migrants who have made and preserved Binondo (Chinatown), giving us a refreshing escape from the urban lifestyle with a glimpse of the rich Chinese tradition.

(5) Tag five people

I noticed many of you were already tagged so I wanted to expand this selection to different countries/locations and I decided to tag:


Rachel of Kaleidoscope Dreams

Allison of The Daily Alygator

Stella Wants to Die

Gossip Style's Zori

Trust Me It's Paradise's Dane

Dress: given as a gift
Heels: F21
Sling Bag: Mango
Watch: Guess

These Booties Are Made For Walkin...

It's Monday again... I Hope you all enjoyed the weekend as much as I did (I hope we had more days instead of having just 2). Surprisingly, though we went to a total of 2 malls in 2 days... I never bought anything yet (hurray! ok I cheated a teensy weensy bit... I totally forgot about it when hubby got me a pair of platform pumps which I was just trying on for the heck of it (they were on sale) as he was busy fitting some pointy loafers... I told him it counts as a "purchase" a "new thing" but he told me it was a lot better getting that pair than ending up thinking of them all night.
Boo to me!!

On to better things, here's an outfit which I wore last week (talk about being a slacker!). I wanted to highlight the red booties so I wore them with a dress in a much more subdued tone. The shirtdress had tiny white pinstripes all over and I found it really comfy, though it tended to hike up so much whenever I sat down.

I paired this outfit with my deep red Coach suede purse (not in photo), to make the reds pop!
My workmates gushed and told me they totally loved my shoes, though I told them I felt like Ronald McDonald because they were shiny little vinyl red things, but they were really comfy and I liked them a lot too. And one of them said only a person like me could pull-off something like this (I told them a whole lot of fashion bloggers will pull it off better than I do!).


Shirtdress: Betty Brand
Booties: Online Find from my recent Us trip
Bangle: Bazaar Find
Red Faced Watch: Hubby’s DKNY

In Living Color

Wore this outfit to work, and loved how the colors popped! I've been a great fan of bright hues and on lazy days like this one, I just wore a dress that fitted me like a drab nightgown... and then let the accessories do the magic!

I'm addicted to these waist-cinchers (I already have them in 7 colors after snagging them each time I see one!). I love how they instantly jazz-up an outfit, with a 40's kind of vibe...

To break the monotony of the aqua color, I added a white purse and white hoop earrings, to match the ivory buttons on the dress.


I got these shoes from my recent US trip... and got them to match my ceramic F21 watch.

It looks like espadrille wedges from afar but when you look closely, it's sides are made of a lined-up garter-like material which I found really cute. They reminded me of those garter dresses which I would have worn in a heartbeat, if only I had the guts to do so.


But I don't, and that's a different story, so for now... these shoes will do.

Let's go paint a rainbow, shall we???


Dress: Dressing Room
Belt: local department store
Shoes: US Online find
Watch: F21
Enamel Earrings: Mango
Small Hobo Bag: Coach