Summer re-leaf

Remember my wrapper theme from Christmas 2016?

 The leaf print inspired by D&G?

Well, the leaf print is back for summer. And it's on swimsuits in SM Department store.

What goes around comes around.

Christmas re-Leaf

Now that Christmas day is over (but the Christmas season isn't finished just yet,) I finally have time to write about this year's Christmas wrapping theme.

My friends know this about me. Sometimes, it takes me longer to think of the wrapping theme than thinking of a gift. Usually, the inspiration comes from random, everyday things. It can be about travel, a book I read, a dress from a rack, or a fabric swatch picked up from the floor.

For this year, the inspiration for the theme came from this dress which I wrote about last October.

This Dolce & Gabbana dress - which incidentally my sister has - became the springboard for the theme. Because a few weeks after seeing this dress, I saw this wrapper:

Isn't the similarity uncanny? This wrapper was so gorgeous that I had to use it! Problem was, most of the stores didn't have enough quantity for my requirements. The store with the most quantity was in Cebu! And I was actually willing to go there and pick it up. Thankfully, they found a way to send it here.

Now the best part of this wrapper is that it has 2 sides, so in some of the gifts, I was able to utilize both designs by adding a fold to reveal side B.

Since the predominant color palette is black and white, the ribbons echo these 2 colors. The combination of black and white ribbons give the overall look a more modern feel.

Finally, the finishing touches. I designed a botanical print card to use as tag, then found this shiny leaf from a craft store.

And voila!

This year's theme: A Botanical Christmas!

It turned out as nice as I envisioned it to be. And that's a big relief!

A harvest of citrus

Even if it was launched a few years ago, the trend of fruit prints on clothes doesn't seem like it's withering away anytime soon.

Need proof? Just check out these beauties I found during my different mall runs. And it includes the D&G dress I wrote about a few days back.

From just one pick, it became a full harvest of chicness!

I'm sure the Ates would agree.

When life throws D&G lemons...

They make a lemon print dress.

A very, very, very, very pretty lemon print dress.

And one that I see in my sisters' closets soon.

The key to fashion

 The past few seasons have seen Dolce and Gabbana come up with some of the most visually stunning prints. It started with their "Theater" collection a few years back, and continues with their current collection inspired by children's doodles.

Among my favorites are prints from their F/W 2015 collection, particularly the "Flower and Key" print.

 

The baroque vibe of the print is so full of character that a simple silhouette is enough to make it a stand-out dress. No wonder it sold out immediately on-line.

Well, it might be sold out on-line, but look what I found at The Haunt!

It's a Flower and Key tunic dress!

Achievement unlocked!

More Majolica

Yesterday, I went to one of my other haunts and found this blue and white beauty!

It's another piece inspired by D&G's Majolica collection.

Niceness!

Majolica majora

For several times already, I've written about how eye-catching blue and white prints are. Whether they're florals, stripes or graphic prints, there's something about this color combination that automatically elevates a piece of garment into a chic ensemble.

That's why D&G's Majolica collection was one that automatically caught my attention the moment they launched it with their F/W2016 collection.

Imagine the thrill when I saw this dress in one of The Haunts!

It's a beautiful blue and white number which echoes the Majolica print from D&G. Apart from the fact that the print is gorgeous, the fact that they thoughtfully arranged the print around the pattern of the dress ups the chic-quotient by 1000%.

The print is so beautiful, I'm sure this is going to be a conversation piece whenever worn.

This is major!

D&G: Dressy and Gorgeous

In one of my routine visits at The Haunt, my eyes were drawn to this bright, yellow dress with a very vibrant print. The dress had joie de vivre written all over it, and it was hard not to purchase it.

The top of the dress had a tile print that was part-Morocco and part-Italy. It was rendered in mediterranean colors, and was very intricately done.

The same pattern was duplicated in the full skirt.

Upon closer inspection of the dress, I remembered seeing it somewhere before. Then, I remembered seeing it at net-a-porter a few seasons back, and I was right!

It was a Dolce & Gabbana dress from a few seasons ago. And somehow, it found its way to The Haunt. And of course, it found its way to my sisters' closets!

Ate Bullet loved the dress the moment she saw it. No wonder she wore it a day after I gave it to her!

Gorgeous, isn't it?

Material world

Lelis has now gotten used to my sisters' physiques, judging by the perfect fit of the last few dresses she made. With this development, it was time to revisit the fabric archive and having them made into clothes.

While digging through the pile, I found these 3 particular printed pieces that I felt would make great materials for dresses.

First is a silk jersey fabric with cenefa. The print was repeated on two halves of the fabric in a crosswise orientation. When I looked at it again, I thought that it would look so much better if it's sewn with the print in a horizontal orientation. This gives it a digital mirror print effect that would look smashing as a maxi-dress.

Second, I found this silky fabric with a vibrant tropical leaf print that's rendered in royal blue. It somehow reminds me of Dolce & Gabbana's chili prints, mixed with Stella McCartney's fruit motifs. This fabric will look great as a vintage-style dress.

Finally, another silk jersey dress with a sunny color and print. This will look great as a blouse, or a knee length dress.

Now that the fabrics are all here, it's time to send these to the dressmaker and make her use her magic to turn these materials into something magnificent.