Sketchy Stories: The greening of the Philippines

Sometime in May, Ate Bullet told me that she was invited to be a godmother at the wedding of my nephews' former tutor. This came hot off the heels of her Tagaytay wedding last March, so she was more than happy to oblige.

She talked to me about what she wanted to wear. The theme of the wedding was Filipiniana, but she didn't want something too traditional, costume-y or expected. What she wanted was a butterfly sleeved terno, but she wanted it to look modern.

Also, she said that the godmothers had a color choice between Emerald Green, Champagne and Gold. Being a huge fan of jewel tones, I suggested the first color, to which Ate agreed.

After all the parameters were set, the sketching began. And with "Emerald-Green-Modern-Filipiniana-with-Butterfly-sleeves" as a handle, this is what came about.

As a fan of mixing fabrics, I chose two luxe fabrics for the gown - lessage lace and silk gazar. The design is half-and-half. The first half is the Filipiniana part, made with silk gazar, highlighted by butterfly sleeves, a curved front, and an extended back. The second half was a column gown in lessage lace, with a bit of flare on the hem.

Now, as a fan of twofers, this design eventually became one. The silk gazar part of the dress could be removed, to reveal the full gown underneath. Since the pattern was heavy, I kept the silhouette light and easy, with a deep v neck to highlight the skin.

With the sketch done, it was off to Joy who executed it beautifully.

And today, on the day of that wedding, Ate Bullet rocked it flawlessly!

To keep with the color theme of the event, Ate chose to wear her gold jeweled sandals and a capiz-inspired bag with gold in-lays.

When she went for the 2nd look, she went for a 2nd set of accessories as well. She swapped her stud earrings for shoulder grazing tassel ones, also in Emerald. And I must say, it really elevated the look.

Overall, I think it's enough to make people green with envy.