29 January 2011

STYLE SCHOOL

Today's Style Session made me zero in on a fashion goal: I want to push my style limits. I'm very safe with my current choices. I hope it's possible to go out of my style box and still be me.


"Above all, remember that the most important thing you can take anywhere is not a Gucci bag or French-cut jeans; it's an open mind." -- GRB

A FASHION FANTASY COMES TRUE!

One of my fashion fantasies is to attend fashion school so I enrolled at the DFW: Designer Fashion Workshops (iAcademy, beside The Enterprise, Ayala Avenue, Makati). I'm living out another dream, YEY!

For the first day of Fashion School, we were told to wear our favorite style. I appreciate different styles but "classic with a twist" is most me. So I came to school wearing something very basic -- a LBD (Little Black Dress) with ballet flats (my footwear of choice). But instead of the usual classic accessories of pearls or diamonds, I wore my green necklace and emerald cocktail ring.

Above:
On my way to school, along one of the Makati walkways.
LBD, Zara
Ballet flats, Zara
Necklace and ring, Forever 21
Black tote, Liz Claiborne

Above: My emerald cocktail ring
(Promise, wala akong stiff neck, hahaha!)

Above: Mannequins galore.
Inside our classroom.


I'm taking up Fashion Styling under one of the country's top and first Fashion Stylists, Ms. Millet Arzaga (check out her site: milletarzaga.multiply.com). Due to the "confidentiality clause" of the workshop, I won't be able to share much about the course's content. But I'll be posting bits and pieces of my personal experience. *wink*

Today's class made me feel like I'm living out a mini-episode of "Project Runway" (minus the bitching I hope). As Ms. Millet said, our class is an interesting mix. Age range: 18 to 40. With backgrounds as diverse as accounting, photography, broadcast, sales; from fashion students to stay-at-home moms! Aliw!

I'm doing this for fun. For me. But if I eventually get the chance to earn from it, why not, chocnut? =)

DFW: DESIGNER FASHION WORKSHOPS

Today, January 29, Saturday, (Manila Time) is the first day of Style School for me! Too excited!

And I have to thank Chuvaness for the info on DFW: Designer Fashion Workshops. I first read about it in 2010. But due to sked conflicts I was able to enroll only this year.


I'm re-posting a part of Chuvaness' most recent entry on DFW, read on.


Designer Fashion Workshops is a group of respected industry experts that have come together to share their years of knowledge in the fashion profession. Jojie Lloren teaches Pattern Making and Draping; Pidge Reyes - Creative Sewing and Garment Sewing; Joey Samson - Fashion Design, Robi Lolin - Fashion Illustration; Millet Arzaga and Noel Manapat - Styling, and Lulu Tan-Gan lectures in Global Fashion and Knitting. Mentor faculty is Inno Sotto for Introduction to Fashion Design, while guest faculty is Roy Gonzales who teaches Advanced Draping.

Inno Sotto
Inno Sotto lectures

Workshops are designed for high school students who are interested in taking Fashion Design as a major in college, as well as fashion industry professionals who feel the need for additional technical development, such as draping, pattern drafting and basic sewing.

Joey Samson on a fieldtrip with students 2
Joey Samson on a field trip with a student

Now DFW is accepting enrollees for their January-March sessions.
As a special treat, mention Chuvaness to get a 10% discount off the tuition fee.
All sessions are held on Saturdays beginning Jan 29, 2011
at iAcademy, 5/F Philfirst Building, 6764 Ayala Avenue, Makati.

DFW Sched JanMar

27 January 2011

FUNNY FRIDAY READ

This blog entry from multi-awarded Filipino musician, emcee, poet, journalist, broadcast personality, and activist Lourd de Veyra made me laugh out loud.


Umasal Lamang Nang Ayon sa Ganda:

Published: January 04, 2011

Q: Bakit kailangan nito sa mga panahon ngayon?

Dahil sa mundong pataas nang pataas ang stress levels, dala ng banta ng climate change, kriminalidad, trapik, polusyon. Wala nang mas nakakakulo ng dugo kesa sa isang taong hindi umaasal nang ayon sa kagandahan.


Q: Ano ba talaga ang ibig sabihin ng pilosopiyang ito?

Ilang gabay, alituntunin, at halimbawa:

• Kung di naman kagandahan ang katawan (at lalo na kung tadtad ng kurikong ang balat), ‘wag mag-post ng mga Boracay pics sa Facebook. Polite lang ang mga kaibigan mo pero pinagtatawanan ka nilang lahat. ‘Yan ang mapait na katotohanan.


• ‘Wag artehan ang pananalita. Wag lagyan ng impit at kulot kung wala rin lang natural na impit at kulot ang dila mo—unless lumaki ka sa US, nag-aral sa mamahaling paaralaan, nakatira sa exclusive subdivision, o nanggaling sa pamilya ng mga panginoong may-lupa.


• ‘Wag magpumilit mag-Ingles kung di ka rin lang naman lumaki sa Forbes Park o nag-aral sa I.S. Mas lalong wag na wag kung mali-mali rin lang naman ang Ingles mo.


• ‘Wag mag-sleeveless kung maitim ang kili-kili. ‘Wag na ‘wag mag-sleeveless kung maitim na nga ang kili-kili, pamalo pa ng dalag ang mga braso mo. Mas na mas na ‘wag—nakikiusap kaming lahat lalo na ang mga tropa ko dito sa Project 2—lalo na’t lumalabas ka pa sa TV. Alam naming karapatan ng bawat tao sa mundong itong magsuot ng sleeveless, pero tandaang karapatan din naming laitin ka nang bonggang-bongga.


• Kung di rin lang naman kagandahan, wag magti-tweet ng “WALANG GUWAPO DITO” dahil masaklap ang tatalbog sa iyo na paghusga. Wag rin magti-tweet tungkol sa kalidad ng wine lalo na’t bisita ka lang. At kahit na may training ka sa oenology, ‘wag manglalait ng wine ng ibang tao—lalo na’t pinapasuweldo ka ng taong bayan.


• Kung ka-edad mo na si Madonna, wag nang labanan ang makinarya ng panahon at isipin na ikaw pa rin ang seksing haliparot noong 1985. Kahit cultural icon ka na. Ang pagsuway dito ay magdudulot lamang ng matinding bangungot sa mga milyong-milyong tao tulad ng sa latest mong music video.


• Kung ‘di rin naman talaga model, huwag tangkaing mag-model—maliban na lang kung ang produkto ay hollow blocks o kaya’y Pigrolac. Sinadya ng Diyos na bigyan ng angkop na tangkad at ganda ang ibang tao para sa trabahong ‘yun.


Q: Ano ang kinaiba nito sa “Kung ‘di rin lang kagandahan, wag mag-inarte?”

Wala masyado—magkamag-anak nga sila, in fact. Pero masyado namang garapal itong nasa itaas. Pero ‘yan ang masakit na katotohanan: marami talagang hindi umaasal nang ayon sa ganda.

“Things that are pure within themselves evoke pleasure, thus beauty,” ika nga ni Socrates. Sa Tagalog, naaalibadbaran tayo sa di-kagandahan. Lalo na’t nag-iinarte pa.

Ang di pagsunod sa batas na ito ay nagdudulot ng mga di-kanais-nais na pakiramdam sa mundo. Basic human courtesy lang dapat, di ba? Hindi tayo umuutot at pinapaamoy sa katabi natin. Hindi natin dinuduraan ang pagkain nila. Pag humihikab tayo, tinatakpan natin ang ating bunganga. Ang pag-ebs ay isang pribadong aktibidad at hindi natin ipinagmamalaki sa ibang tao.


Q: Bakit marami pa ring mga taong hindi kagandahan na hindi likas na sumusunod sa pilosopiyang ito?

Hindi ko rin alam. Bakit ba may mga taong nagnanakaw? Bakit may mga taong pumapatay? Bakit may mga mahilig manood ng child pornography o kaya bestiality? Bakit may mga opisyal sa gobyernong nakaw pa rin nang nakaw kahit na sobra-sobra na ang mga pera nila sa Switzerland?

“Good nature will always supply the absence of beauty; but beauty cannot supply the absence of good nature,”ika nga ng Briton na si Joseph Addison. Ang mahirap ay kung pangit ka na nga, maarte ka pa at masama pa ugali mo. Yung mga ganoon ay wala na talagang pag-asang lumigaya sa mundo kahit ilang hamster o pusa pa ang alagaan nila.


Q: Ano ang karaniwang nangyayari kapag hindi umasal nang naayon sa ganda ang isang tao?

Wala naman sigurong direktang koneksyon ang stress at ang mga di-kagandahang billboards sa Edsa, pero tingin ko yung kay Joel Cruz Aficionado ay isang ehemplo ng hindi umaasal nang ayon sa ganda. Ang isa pa ay yung kay Ellen Lising ng Ellen’s Aesthetic Surgical Center (Naaalala ko bigla yung The Crow. O kaya yung Joker ni Heath Ledger sa Dark Knight). Naiintindihan ko na karapatan nila ang ilagay ang mga pagmumukha nila sa mga naglalakihang tarpaulin sa bawat sulok ng Maynila. Pero magkaiba yung pag-promote ng negosyo sa pananakot sa kapwa tao.


Q: Ibig sabihin ba nito: Ang mga pangit ay wala nang karapatan mag-inarte?

Kung magdudulot ng pagtatalo sa magkakaibigan, argumento sa magkaka-opisina, suntukan sa bar dala ng kaartehang ito--- oo, wala silang karapatan.
Pero, nasa demokrasya pa rin naman tayo. Kaya, sorry na lang ako.


Q: Totoo bang pinagpapala o mas sinesuwerte ang mga taong umaastang sapat lamang sa kanilang natural na ganda?

Higit pa sa pagpapala ang ihahain sa iyo ng langit. Kabit-kabit kasi yan. Una, hindi maiismiran ang iyong dangal. Hindi ka pagbubulungan. Hindi ka pagpipyestahan ng kritisismo at tsismis. Kung walang maipipintas, walang papasok na panlalait sa aura mo, walang magnet ng negatibo. Despues, gagaan ang buhay. Tiyak na ang pagpasok ng swerte sa buhay.


Q: Magbigay ng mga halimbawa ng mga taong umaasal lang nang angkop sa kanilang ganda.

A. Buti na lang marami pa sila. Si Lucy Torres Gomez ay isang halimbawa nito. Kung tutuusin ay may karapatan siyang umasta sa anong paraang nais niya—dahil siya naman talaga’y diyosa ng kagandahan. Pero kahit na ganoon ang sitwasyon ay hindi niya kailanman inabuso ang pribelehiyong ito. Alam niya kung anong asta ang bagay sa kanya. Laging nakangiti, mabait ang pakikitungo sa tao. Hindi binabalandra sa madla ang kanyang mga mamahaling damit at pabango.

Shalani Soledad, maganda at sikat pero hindi rin nakitaan ng angas. Simple lang siya. In fact, siya pa rin ay larawan ng lumanay kahit sa gitna ng ingay at gulo ng game show. Masdan at pakinggan kung paano siya magbilang ng “…One… two… three… Goooow!”


Q: Bakit naman ito pa ang napili nating pag-usapan sa pagpasok ng bagong taon at hindi ang mga hula-hula at mga pampasuwerte sa buhay?

A: Dahil wala akong bolang kristal at wala ka ring makikitang turban sa ulo ko. Umaasal lang ako ayon sa aking ganda.

Artwork by Warren Espejo.

http://www.spot.ph/newsfeatures/47318/umasal-lamang-nang-ayon-sa-ganda

22 January 2011

NEW HAIR COLOR

To welcome the New Year, I had my hair colored, from black to mahogany. Did it on January 2, before the new year's work week started. The new hair color's supposed to mark all the new things I'm looking forward to this year.

Above:
Me with my mostly black-haired office sisters.
Photo by Rene Mejia

It was my very first professional hair color experience. My Mama used to be the one who helped me do it at home (our last DIY coloring experience was ten years ago). With her living in another country now, I headed to the pros -- to Piandre, Trinoma.

The entire process took 2 hours, including the quick eyebrow dye (but of course, dapat pantay ang color ng hair and eyebrows). Mahogany was recommended by Piandre's Senior Stylist (Thank you, Rosalie. Hope I got your name right). We did a patch test 48 hours before th actual coloring. I'm allergic to certain foods so I really had to take the patch test, just to be sure. Fortunately, I had no allergic reaction to the dye. So it was all green and go. Cost: Php2,500.

I'm on the pale side (aka maputla) so the color helped brighten up my complexion. I'm happy to have once again tried something new. Hooray for all risk takers!

15 January 2011

FASHION'S NOW IN FASHION

From Preview's Jan/Feb 2011 issue...

Above:
Local Tinseltown's Top Stylist Liz Uy
(I think it's the first time that a Stylist
and not a Model / Actress made it to the cover.)


"Oh, how long I've waited for this! You cannot imagine how many times I prayed for this day to come. When I started at Preview ten years ago, there weren't very many people who were interested in fashion, let alone knew what a stylist was. A career in fashion journalism was certainly unheard of... It wasn't something you thought of as a career. I felt the wind shift roughly five years later at a Super! event, when it hit me that little girls had begun saying, 'When I grow up, I wanna be a fashion editor.'

The Internet, along with the high street shops, has done a lot to spark this new interest in fashion from a public that's had its fill of jeans and tees.

There's a whole new generation out there who's never known the fun of dressing to the nines. Now is the time to make the most of it." -- The Fashion Bandwagon by Pauline Juan, EIC, Preview magazine


Me: As a "student of style" (as stated in my blog profile), I'm excited with how fashion is evolving in Manila. We're still far from being Tokyo or Hong Kong or Paris or New York but we're now seeing more fashion-forward choices. I'm one with Preview's celebration of this evolution! Cheers to Pinoy fashionistas!

The article's so timely and personal for me since I'm attending fashion school very soon! Too excited! I'm heeding Pauline's call to "Climb aboard because fashion is now in fashion!"

SPOTTED!

Spotted: The Longchamp Le Pliage to a formal event.
Do or Don't?
Definitely a Don't for me!

It's too casual to go with your gown or cocktail dress, honey. For formal events, it's best to go with an evening bag, a minaudiere or a clutch. The Le Pliage is meant for more casual occasions like traveling and shopping. *wink*

05 January 2011

FAB FILIPINIANA

I remember a time when Filipiniana meant "Ninang fashion" or pang-Linggo ng Wika. Very costume-y, bordering on dated. But thanks to our very talented Pinoy designers and fabulous fashionistas, Filipiniana has evolved with the times.

The Traditional Filipiniana Styles

Above: Maria Clara-inspired


Above: The Imelda Terno


The Modern Filipiniana Styles
Hooray for Pinay fashionistas!

Above: Senator Cayetano's modern twist
to the black and white Maria Clara style.
So chic!


Above: Congresswoman Lucy Torres Gomez
wearing a periwinkle terno.
The surprise is in the color!


Above: Assunta de Rossi in a stand-out terno.
Love the pop of yellow and the origami detail!


Above: Bianca Gonzalez in a very chic interpretation
of the Imelda sleeves!


Above: Daphne Paez, also in a modern interpretation
of the Imelda terno. Love this! So fab!
The color's so Chanel.


The last time I wore Filipiniana was during my High School Graduation. Our entire batch wore Patis Tesoro creations (Lovely!). I'll try to find a photo.

Recently, I attended a wedding with a Filipiniana dress code. To make sure I'd wear a modern version, I sought my designer cousin's help. Her creative and practical fashion advise: an Imelda sleeves-inspired bolero, in hot pink. Loved it!

Above: My hot pink Filipiniana bolero
with Czarina Villa's signature rosettes.


Above: For the sleeves to look younger, more now,
we opted for them to be low and puffy versus Imelda's tall and pointy style.

Above: The ensemble.
No need for me to buy an entire outfit (yey!).
My black skirt and top are existing items from my wardrobe.
They served as the backdrop for the hot pink bolero.


Above: At the wedding reception.

02 January 2011

WHAT TO WEAR NOW - DAYS 6,7,8

Happy 2011! Believe that every day is worthy of your dresses, your red lipstick, your blow dried hair. Have a fabulous year (and new decade) ahead!

Hectic holidays = late blog entries. Here's an overdue update on another personal challenge: I've successfully tried 8 of the 11 In Style Holiday suggestions.


In Style Look # 2: Go For Pastels!

"Toss all the old rules of what colors to wear when—
pretty pastels provide a much-needed pick-me-up in fall and winter.
For evening, look for beaded styles that offer a bit of coverage at the neckline,
like Eva Mendes' Christian Dior lavender dress.
Another alternative is an iridescent fabric similar to Kate Bosworth's
shimmery Calvin Klein with 3/4 sleeves."
PRETTY IN PINK?
Above:
Powder pink cardigan, Zara.
Beige tank top, F21.
Pearl strands, Greenhills.
(I don't like my smoky eyes interpretation hence the pink bar, hehe.)



In Style Look #7: Switch to Lace Stockings

"Shake up your stockings drawer by adding some sexy lace tights—
a stylish update of opaque black.
Show off shapely calves like Paz Vega by wearing them with a below-the-knee dress.
Feeling a little more risqué? Taylor Swift brings the focus up to her thighs
with lace stockings, a flouncy mini skirt and tall boots."
BLACK LACE
Above:
Black shift dress, Celine
Black lace stockings, Marks & Spencer



In Style Look # 10: Try a Sequin Jacket

"Sequin jackets aren’t just for showgirls anymore—or nighttime for that matter.
For a causal look, try one over a silk shirt and dark jeans like Elle Macpherson.
For a cocktail party, steal SJP's style and wear a longer version over a minidress."
POLKA DOTS FOR THE NEW YEAR
Above:
Studded jacket, cheap find
Black tank top, F21
Gold Loops, PRP
(I don't own a sequin jacket. And I have no plans of buying one.
So here's my version of the look. It's sparkly enough, hehe.)