Happy Mothers' Day!! Love, YSL

Happy happy Mothers' Day to everyone's moms!! :-) And to the best mom ever -- my mom!! She takes care of my and stays overnight in the hospital when I get vomit-attacks, medicates me when I get sick and panic about it, helps me staple hearts together for my Valentines' Day display, paints characters and letters for my Back-to-School one so I can sleep an hour more at night... I love you mom!! :-)

During our one month of ultimate bonding in our Spain trip last year, we spent an exotic week in Morocco. A definite highlight was our visit to the Majorelle Gardens in Marrakech, a plot of land that houses a variety of Mediterranean plants and birds. First privately owned and initiated by Jacques Majorelle, a French painter in retirement in Morocco, the Gardens were then purchased and maintained by two more Parisians, Pierre Berge and his lover, and someone whom my mom is a big fan of, Yves Saint Laurent.

YSL himself retired in these gardens and used them as inspiration to paint, some of his work marking his years in Morocco. His ashes were also buried in the area, and a section is gated from the public as Berge still resides there.

My mom's favorite place in Morocco where she probably took pictures of every plant, funny-looking or not! Hahaha!

Happy Mothers' Day again to everyone!! May we all cherish these golden moments with them! :-)

Pictures from a small gallery in the Majorelle Gardens as well as around the area. The blue house is where YSL's painting room is! :-) But it wasn't open so we could only get an exterior picture. For information on the gardens, you can visit http://www.jardinmajorelle.com/en/.

Why I Love Emmanuelle Alt

I was never a girly kind of girl. I only really decided to learn how to wear (and not to mention, move around in) a skirt until after college, I still don't wear make-up (even if I'm trying to be a make-up artist, terrible!!), and I don't particularly favor jewelry.

For some reason though, everyone around me does! Every other girl I know has mastered getting in and out of SUV's in skirts, finds the time and discipline to put on a new face every morning, and can maintain a manicure for more than three days.

So for someone like me, who runs around in jeans and t-shirts, and walks out of the house with messy hair, and a hairtie around my wrist as sorry excuse for a "bracelet," there are so few fashion icons to look up to for style I'd actually take after.

But there is --- Emmanuelle Alt!! She not only takes charge of the fashion pages in French Vogue, but also influences people like me -- the un-girly girls -- and shows us that the usual jeans and t-shirt can in fact be one of the most stylish outfits!

I love love love her trademark blazer look too! I probably own too many for my own good.

I think I reached a point of superficial frustration sometime ago, venting to my close friends about how I wished to be a manicure-maintaining, heels-wearing, jewelry-collecting, poised girly girl. Being covered in paint and sawdust all day, running around in rubber shoes and feeling sticky during shoots, I'm clearly far from leading the most glamorous lifestyle ever.

But I love Emmanuelle Alt for showing me that there is hope in the un-girly girl's wardrobe. There is style in the most well-fitting jeans, perfectly loose t-shirts and plain, make-up-free faces. There is hope for me! Hahahaha!

Here pictured with Carine Roitfeld, Editor-in-Chief of French Vogue

And tonight, I gathered enough courage to wear heels! Yes, I survived my first night out in heels! Hahaha!

Photos from Tommy Ton of http://jakandjil.com/, one of my favorite fashion blogs!

Three Day Weekend

It's a three day weekend here in Manila! I'm so excited for another break, even if it's just for a little while. A new wave of work is about to pass, but before that comes, I took some time indulging in online window shopping. Thankfully there's Looklet!!

I've been a user since last year, but only found some time again to make more imaginary outfits. There are so many more pieces, models, and backgrounds to pick from now! And hopefully tomorrow, I'll get to do some real life shopping...

There's not much in it, but you can visit my Looklet account here: http://looklet.com/user/108639. For stylists like me, it's also another way to put together pegs! Hehehe :-)

Boy. by Band of Outsiders

On this day of love, I will blog about something I absolutely adore: MENSWEAR. More specifically, I love menswear made in versions for women. My favorite label, Band of Outsiders, has come out with only a couple of seasons worth of a feminine counterpart (ironically or not?! named Boy.), though still maintains their preppy aesthetic. Band of Outsiders is practically the reason I love menswear as a whole!! Their repp ties and vintage polo shirts are a reflection of their founder, Scott Sternberg's, own personal look, and also the main reasons I fell in love with the brand. At the same time, I will always want to own the women's suits and blazers they come out with. Though the line is not available in this country (and though I can only dream of affording their clothes!!), I continually watch out for pieces from other stores that imitate their look.

This Spring Summer, they got Leslie Mann, Dave Franco, and Donald Glover, to front their promotion, and have adapted a nautical theme for their campaign. I love every picture and only dream of that wardrobe in mine!! :-)

This is my favorite look from Boy!!

The double-breasted white blazer and that cute skirt!

I will definitely be looking for a blazer like that in local stores...

And another thing to love about Boy! Binki Shapiro in their clothes.

By Lauren Dukoff for L'Uomo Vogue

Pictures from the Band of Outsiders and Boy. campaigns from their websites: http://band.bandofoutsiders.com/ and http://boy.bandofoutsiders.com/. Featuring Leslie Mann, Dave Franco and Donald Glover. Shot in and around Marina Del Rey, California. For more of the campaign, visit the websites! And for their season lookbook, visit Style.com. They're worth a click. :-)

So excited for the summer!!!

I was NEVER a spring-summer kind of person. I have always loved dressing in dark colors and shimmery fabrics and layering tights over shorts over jackets over tops. But taking a look at all these Spring Summer 2010 collections (most found from my one-stop site for fashion, Notcouture!) has made me so excited to dress in pastels and wear sundresses!! I can't wait for all the khakis and florals to come out and for all the light weight materials to wear! :-)

Spring Summer 2010 Collections from (top to bottom): Calla, d a c e, Esther Perbandt, H&M The Garden Collection, and Chris Benz. Images from the websites linked. Enjoy!

Living in the Sky with Diamonds

Last year, my friend Camille from Metro Society magazine asked me to do some set pieces for a fashion shoot. The editorial was to feature dresses by Cary Santiago, a Filipino designer based in Cebu and Dubai.

Cam wanted a cold, almost winter wonderland-like set, but composed with simple pieces, so as not to take attention away from the dresses. It was our first time working together in our two years of working in our respective fields! I have to say, it was a lot of fun working with someone who was not only one of my closest friends, but also someone who was on the same creative wavelength as I am. We thought of almost the same set pieces, and I was definitely happy with what I made for the editorial.

This picture has to be my favorite of the bunch.

The flowers look like water-lilies, and the model, a floating goddess!

The dresses were amazing! Cary Santiago's couture goes for such high prices in the Middle East, and taking a look at his collection, you'll understand why. Through his pieces, he's shown his mastery of skills and design, and ultimately, pushes Philippine talent to the next level. Just the night before the shoot, Metro Society held its anniversary party, with his work as the main spectacle. Here are some pictures of the backstage madness, enough for you to see how much detail went in to every dress!

"Living in the Sky with Diamonds" can be found in the Metry Society Dec 2009 - Jan 2010 issue. Styled by Camille Aguilar. Photos by Jason Penaloza, shot at Kwannon Studios, Eastwood City, Libis. Set Design by Victoria Velasco. Make Up by Jomar Nebriaga. Hair by Raymond Ko of L'Oreal Professionnel. Modeled by Jasmine and Ria of Mercator.

Backstage photos of the Cary Santiago fashion show at the Metro Society anniversary party from Style Samurai. For more from the show and from Philippine fashion in general, visit http://stylesamurai.blogspot.com/.

Pocket Full of Posies

Wedding to attend + Formal dress needed + Panic! = DIY Posies belt! :-)

Thank God my sister let me know of an easy tutorial to follow! It's simpler than it looks to make. Try it out! http://fashionista.com/2008/04/diy_yo_yo_ma_headband.php

Next project with posies: a bib necklace! I can't wait. :-)