Rude Awakening

Was still wiping the sleepy cobwebs from my eyes when I woke up at 6.30 am to check on a certain package I had sent last Wednesday.

I took this package to the post place Wednesday at 6pm. I forgot the fedex hub in Subic had been closed.. which is why the package only started moving the next day at around 3pm. What it is, is a fashion design drawing, a flat pattern drawing and fabric swatches for a contest I am joining to be held in Japan. I just really really hope it gets there before this day ends.

Clicked absentmindedly on the Stumble button as I waited and landed on this nothing website with a post about Michael Jackson passing away. It seemed a mean-spirited joke. And just to make sure I checked on ever reliable TMZ. And I couldn’t believe it. He really is gone.

I believe the first bit of news out was that he suffered a cardiac arrest. And the things people said!

“Cardiac arrest? He shouldn’t have looked at the man in the mirror!”

“His nose fell off!!!!!!!!!!!!”

“I think he’s been anorexic for many years, this probably had something to do with it..”

“I just read somewhere else that he has been pronounced dead. Overdose of sleeping pills. Apparent suicide.”

“Let him rot.”

And as a commenter said, “This could be very serious. I cannot believe people would be that cruel. Fan or not, have compassion for a fellow human being.”

Michael Jackson concert tickets for an arm on ebay. Maybe they could turn them into a tribute concert instead.

He went to the Philippines way back in the 90’s I think, but I was too young to be allowed. All I remember was seeing that concert on TV and that there was a lady with glasses who got up on the stage with him but was quickly escorted off. I always thought I’d see him in concert, not anymore. Rest in peace Michael Jackson, there are no users, no papparazzi in heaven.

“Dame Elizabeth Taylor is too devastated by the passing of her dear friend Michael Jackson to issue a statement at this time.”

Elizabeth Taylor first dubbed Michael the King of Pop

on michaeljackson.com

Dreamy as Puberty

yummy hats and fascinators on women at the recent Royal Ascot 09.

this black crochet lace hat won at the inaugural ‘Who Wants To Be A Millin-aire.’ Roman is a professional milliner from London.

there’s just nothing you cannot put on a hat

I’d love to do something like this, Karl Lagerfeld designed ballet costumes for the English National Ballet’s tribute season to the legendary French ballet company the Ballets Russes. (L-R: Dying Swan costume, ballet dancer Elena in Chanel haute couture seen in Harper’s Bazaar June issue.)

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pretty although the feathers around the neck is a bit awkward and i don’t LOVE how the bodice makes her look thick and ungraceful.

The Guardian’s Judith Mackrell called the tutu “the one fake note” of the opening night. It was, she said, “conceived with cavalier disregard for the ballerina’s working body – the line of the neck broken by an egregious, fluffy ruff, the waistline broken by a too-high skirt.

I agree….

local divers dressed as mermaids in a tank at the Manila Ocean Park

The first perfume by Van Cleef & Arpels, Feerie. How dreamy is this bottle, with the fairy on a twig. It smells wonderful, too. If I were to be a perfume, this scent would come nearest. I heard the first whif was a bit too sweet for some, but I love it like it is, it gives way to a more woody smell after a while and the trail is just pure fantasy.. The real bottle doesn’t look as good as I expected it to be though, the metal-looking twig is just plastic. But I got to take home a tester and a discount card for it at the Fabric anniversay, and speaking of which, the entry and photos for that will come soon.. Just collecting the good pictures! =)

Never stop dreaming…

Crazy Cupcake Fairy

Photos of the cupcake-inspired dress I made for my Pattern III class a few terms ago. I did this photoshoot for my portfolio. You can look at my new online portfolio here. I always update it with the better things I’ve done related to fashion.

My model is my sister and two of our dogs Natassja and Santi! I was going for a fun, nostalgic, childhood dream-like mood with a bit of noir twist. Whatever that is! haha but these are the photos that came out of all the nonsense. I basically told my sister to go nuts around the house. Some of the photos we had to do while mom wasn’t watching *cough, when she was climbing tables and chairs, cough*

cupcake fairy meets garden fairy

wanna see a cupcake do a cartwheel?

cupcake + water don’t really mix.. maybe a strawberry shake instead.

climbing not just walls

Santi licks the cupcake fairy

Kinatay (Butchered), Indeed

It was unexpected that the director of the film Kinatay was awarded best director, but not so unexpected are the red carpet wins and fails that go hand in hand with every awards ceremony.

Zhuo Tan and Michelle Yeoh both in Cavalli.

Models Claudia Schiffer in D&G and Lily Cole in Alberta Ferretti

Dita in couture Christian Dior and Jean Paul Gaultier

Rachel Weisz looks stunning in this green Versace. And while Paris Hilton could have worn just this already overwhelming gown even without shoes, it looks like the poor girl piled on all the rock and metal available to her that day.

Two of the best, Natasha Poly in Cavalli and Eva Herzigova wearing a rocking black and pink tulle frock. I love frou frou.

And two of the worst. Alison Lohman attending the “Drag Me to Hell” screening, I guess a bit too literally. Maria Isabel Lopez also inspired by the movie being screened “Kinatay” (Butchered), in a bloody dress without lining but with an inexplicable scrap of hacked fabric hanging across one shoulder,

And the best dressed, to me, Devon Aoki in ALberta Ferretti.

DENR Eco Night

This was made for the Department of Environment and Natural Resource’s Night – Eco Fashion Show for the Environment. The fashion show is part of the 5th Eco-Products International Fair

We were tasked to create wearable fashion out of sustainable resources, recyclable materials and indigenous products.

I used plastic, melted and sculpted and some left over fabric.

Photos of other creations: stylebible.ph article
Full story: article on DENR.gov website

Chinese New Year Fashion Show

at the Heritage hotel as part of their Chinese New Year celebration. Some students and teachers from school were asked to design and sew modern Chinese inspired outfits for a fashion show during the event. We only had one week to make the clothes. Our models were the hotel’s sales/marketing representatives. The real bodies (as opposed to the standard model sizes) were a good challenge for us. My garment originally was supposed to be peach with charcoal trims but peach was hard to find apparently and so I was given old rose and silver satin. I got inspiration from an ancient Chinese dress called shenyi, more specifically the quju form of it. It was worn by women and I tried to do a more modern version, incorporating other typical Chinese clothing elements like frogging (those lovely swirly buttons) etc.

Photos from the show: (you may hover over photos to see the captions or adjust slide speed)

Mad about photography

Happy New Year all!

One of the items on my 101 list is the 26 Things photo scavenger project. There is a list of 26 words and you take a photo for each word, and that’s it. Pretty simple. =) The newest one is going on this January ‘09. And I’ve already started. Another one I’m doing at the same time is one of the lists from before, the 26 alphabets (you take a photo for each alphabet) because it seems fun. All the photos are here and I’m constantly updating it as I take more photos.

New photos:

Haruki Murakami

This is one photo for the 26 Alphabets photo challenge of which I have yet to make a page for. Taken from one of the pages of a Haruki Murakami collection of short stories.

Letter “T” for.. can you guess?

In Lieu of a New Years Resolution

I’ve never really made a new year’s resolution. If I have done before, it probably was something we were told to do in class or a list of quickly scribbled, vague, random things on some paper that I knew I’d misplace soon. So I found this meme thing on ze internets that I think would be a lot better than a classic new years resolution. And after completing the list, I’m even more convinced. My list looks a lot more focused, decisive, measurable and realistic than any new years resolution I can ever write. And I’m not waiting til New Year either.. =)

The original meme can be found here: Clickie! And here is mine: (Also on a separate page permanently on header to keep track of easier.)

101 Things to do in 1001 Days

The Mission:
Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.

The Criteria:
Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on my part).

Some things on my list:

3. Watch 100 Must-See Foreign Films
6. Paint a triptych for my room.
15. Finish 26 Things and 26 Alphabets
16. Make solid perfume
26. Finish designer portfolio
29. Join a Christmas bazaar.
38. Go back to Europe
40. Attend Burning Man Festival
45. Make 1000 paper cranes
48. Lose 35 pounds
52. Study Capoeira
54. Keep my bag clutter-free for a month (see if it becomes a habit)
68. Make an outfit or headgear for Natassja, Igor and Santi
72. Feed some ducks
74. Participate in Earth Hour
93. Find and get okenite
95. Participate in Gimme Your Stuff
100. Piece together a charm bracelet

My full list here: Clickie!

The gold house..

Since we don’t have street names yet, as this village is new, it gets interesting how people tell visitors to get to our house. Ours is usually described as (at night) “the house at the end, the gold one with all the lights.” I guess our orangey walls and warm lights make it look golden. I think warm lights are much much better than stark white lights that wash out all the colours at night.

Mom and dad were walking Igor and Tassja earlier and passed by some landscaper/gardeners. Mom talked to them to find out their rates.

Mom: Which houses here have you worked on?
Gardener: *describes the houses for which they’ve done landscaping for*
Mom: To work on our garden, what would your estimate be?
Gardener: Which house is yours?
Mom: The golden-orange coloured one.
Gardener: Oh you live there? We thought Jericho Rosales lived there! (Btw, Jericho Rosales is a local celebrity.)
If it was me the gardener was talking to: *toink* huh? Ew no.

And our place being a bird sanctuary, there’s a lot of strange bird calls and cool looking birds. Before taking Santi for a walk, I saw this one on our wall: