LFLTAT: Imitate Kate

Kate Moss has long been known as a purveyor of "casual cool." While she's always dressed to the nines in high fashion on the runway and red carpet, she's fashionably down-to-earth during her days off.

One of her recent looks is this laid back ensemble consisting of a black button down shirt and a pair of pink trousers with a black belt. I must say, the look is flawless.

The great news is, you don't have to be Kate Moss nor earn like her to get this look. Just hop over to The Landmark and you can find this look for less than a thousand pesos!

For this version, the black shirt is made of chiffon which is lighter than what Kate Moss is wearing. This also has epaulets on the sleeves.

The pair of pants is very similar to Kate's. It's a salmon pink pair that's tapered, and it's held together by a thin black belt.

This entire look rung up to less than P900.00! Now that's what you call high street at a very low price. I'm sure Kate Moss would be pleased.

So Narciso!

And the collaborations just keep on coming!

A few weeks before the Maison Martin Margiela collection drops, Kohl's is coming up with their own - and first - designer collaboration. And it's no other than the maestro of minimalism - Narciso Rodriguez!

Yes, he of the "Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy wedding gown" fame is bringing his signature tailoring and making them budget friendly. After looking at the look book, there are 3 items that I'm instantly liking:

First, a color blocked shift dress. It has the perfect length and the black panels are slimming.

Second, a printed shift dress.

Third, a color blocked skirt and blouse combo. The play of colors is just superb!

I know my sisters already have some pieces from Narciso Rodriguez's main line in their closets. But I'm sure they'll be so happy to have these diffusion pieces in their wardrobes as well.

Read all about it!

While poring over the my iPhoto folder and checking out the photos from our Mind Museum trip last September, this one grabbed my attention.

Yes, it's a very appropriate photo to find. Mainly because I'm about to start reading my students' final papers.

Time to start reading!

"That's a wrap!"

In broadcast production, the entire cast and crew wait in baited breath until the director shouts these 3 words.

. 

"That's a wrap" means that the production has successfully reached its end, everyone in the production staff is happy, and that everyone is confident that they have a great production in their hands.

Today, this is what happened in school. After 4 months of lectures, hands-on demos and shoots, my Audio-Visual Production class showcased their short films. I asked each group to conceptualize, write, shoot and edit a story based on the theme "Relationships in the time of technology," and each one had a different take on the subject.

As the class laughed, swooned and shrieked while watching each film, I couldn't help but feel proud for my students. I've seen how far they've gone and how much they've absorbed about the subject. Their sense of storytelling and grasp of production values were really showcased this afternoon. I couldn't ask for a better set of students for my AVP class.

The future storytellers and directors of the Philippines

Seeing my students succeed is reward enough for teaching. But there are days when I get an extra sweet reward from my students, such as this box that they gave me after class.

They were telling me to handle it with care and take extra precaution in moving the box around. When I opened it, I knew why they were so finicky about it.

Yes, it's a sweet message made of sweet donuts!

It was definitely a great way to wrap up the first semester.

FMM: Theme Music

On the ride going to the office, the radio suddenly blared one of Madonna's classics - "Crazy for you." This song brings back a lot of memories: the 80s, our old house in Scout Gandia, Madonna's hey day, and more importantly, the concept of "theme songs."

During the 80s, it was customary for a romantic couple to have a "theme song." It's a song that encapsulates and personifies the couple, and would usually result in the typical "awwww..." reaction from the pair whenever they hear it. Back then, a couple wouldn't be a real couple if they didn't have a theme song. (Cheesy, but true.)

The reason why I thought of theme songs was the fact that "Crazy for You" was the theme song of my older brother, Kuya Marv, and his then-girlfriend Lisa. This was very appropriate since Lisa was - at that time - the Madonna of Scout Gandia. She'd always come in a Madonna-inspired outfit and she'd be a hit. (Her look is similar to what you see in this video. It's vintage Madonna!)



Strangely, I still remember the theme songs of my other siblings. Back then, I didn't have a theme song since I was but a wee little boy. The songs that would count as my "theme songs" back then were movie themes like "Ghostbusters."

For Ate Lissa and Bob, that theme song would be "Truly." I'm not sure how they ended up having that theme song, but what I know is that whenever I hear this Lionel Richie ditty, I still remember how I was asked to "chaperone" Ate and Bob during their first date. (It was at Chew-Chew junction in Greenhills, and I remember how Bob bought me a hamburger from McDonald's via drive-thru.)



Another theme song that I remember is "The Old Songs" by David Pomeranz. This was the song that my other older brother Biboy and his then-girlfriend Eva called their own. As a kid, I didn't know the title of that song, all I knew that it was the "candles burning..." song. Harhar.



I can't seem to remember what the theme song of Ate Bullet and Renny was. Maybe I was just too busy watching cartoons to notice, but I'm sure they had one. I mean, all legit couples HAD to have a theme song.

Oh, to be young and cheesy!

Jenny InStyle

As I was fixing my stash of InStyle magazines on the bookshelf, I couldn't help but look at the spines of the magazines and check out who's been on the cover of the magazine multiple times. 

Based on the issues that I have, the names that appeared many times include Drew Barrymore, Sandra Bullock, Salma Hayek and Jennifer Lopez.

But among these cover girls, J. Lo has the distinction of appearing on the big September issue twice. 

First, she was on the 15th anniversary issue, which is incidentally the issue where I appeared.

And she's on this year's September issue again!

Seems to me that J. Lo isn't just a style icon. She's an InStyle icon!

So Bisou me

One brand that I've been seeing a lot of whenever I visit my "haunts" is the diffusion line of Michele Bohbot called Bisou Bisou. In the US, it's being sold exclusively at JC Penney, but in Manila, it's sold pretty much everywhere. Harhar.

Frankly, I think a lot of her designs are too colorful and party-ish. That's why whenever I chance upon them, I usually give them a pass. But recently, the brand has a lot of structured dresses with interesting details. In fact, two of them were so interesting, they found a home in my sisters' closets.

The first one is this color blocked shift dress with a small peplum detail. The illusion created by the black side panels is very flattering.

The second one is this little black dress that I got for Ate Lissa. The shape and material is classic, but there's this added edge by way of the leatherette scales found along the raglan sleeves. It adds visual interest whether you look at it from afar or up close.

I'm hoping she comes out with more dresses like these. And I hope they'll find themselves at the haunts, too.

Nautical or Floral

There are certain articles of clothing that are so versatile, there's really more than one way of wearing them and each one would look equally smashing. This is where the classic "One dress, two ways" concept comes in.

I've written a couple of entries about this, and thanks to a recent visit to The Landmark, I have another reason to write one: this pair of white trousers.

They say white is a very tricky color to pull off. In fact, in the US, they just use white during labor day and summer. In my opinion, though, white is classic, very versatile and can be worn in a couple of ways. Just like these two options:

Option 1: Go Nautical.

Pairing white trousers with a loose, striped tee gives it a French Riviera, "I'm-going-on-a-cruise" vibe. It looks like something that Audrey Hepburn and Brigitte Bardot would wear. To complete the nautical vibe, add a blue belt and you're good to go.

Option 2: Floral

If your inclinations are more towards the sweet and dainty side, a pair of white trousers are the best accompaniment to this season's floral trend. This jersey shirt in a vibrant color and print pops out against the white canvas of the trousers. For a dash of femininity, just add a pink belt. 

Off hand, I can think of 5 or more tops that will look great with this pair: an Indian type tunic, a denim shirt, a classic white polo, a white t-shirt and a black leather shell. The possibilities are endless when you've got something as versatile as this.

Another sketchy story

A few weeks ago, Mona sent me a message about this necklace that I posted. It was the one that was designed to lift Ate Bullet's white dress.

I actually designed that necklace on the spot when I went to one of my usual accessory suppliers. It turned out just as envisioned it to be and was very happy with the final product.

Mona asked if I could design another set for her and her sisters-in-law. She gave me a color story: green and blue, and yellow and blue, and asked me to design based on these hues. The moment she told me about it, my mind started to conjure up images, and immediately got a pencil and crayons, and started to sketch.

I started with the green and blue designs. Between the two, blue was the more classic color, so my design was predominantly blue with green accents. The stones which had these colors were jade and blue agate, and those immediately went into the design. For the pendants, I thought of an alhambra pattern and a blue circular stone to balance it.

After discussing the design with the jewelry maker, she gave some inputs on the design, particularly the pendants. Instead of a plain circular pendant, she added some brass accents that fan out from the circle. It turned out better than I expected.

The interplay of the blue agate and jade gives the necklace added visual impact.

And the alhambra pendant came out really, really nice. I'm in an alhambra phase right now, which is a sign that I should go back and visit Spain sometime soon.

The second blue and green design follows the same concept. But instead of having the jade in the middle of the necklace, it went to the side to give the necklace an asymmetrical vibe. For the pendants, the initial design called for a diamond pattern and a circular pendant.

The finished product was very true to my initial vision.

A nice interplay between green and blue.

Plus a diamond pattern that's very moorish in its look and feel.

The yellow and blue necklace was trickier. After looking at the available stones, there was this yellow jade that caught my eye because it looked so elegant. After placing it side-by-side with the blue agate, the yellow looked like it would be drowned out. So, I asked Mona if it's okay to just stick with yellow jade, and she agreed.

After seeing the finished product, I was awed by how elegant it came out. Yellow jade automatically went up there with my other favorite semi-precious stones.

In keeping with the Chinese theme of the jade, one of the pendants I chose was a yellow jade symbol for protection. It was a subtle nod to the theme of the necklace, and it added an old-world feel to the accessory.

Overall, the necklaces went way beyond my initial vision. It's amazing how things change for the better between concept and execution. The accessory maker was also gushing about the designs and final product, and that's always a good sign.

Another sign that the necklaces were really eye-catchingly beautiful was this anecdote from the accessory-maker/owner.

After the pieces were completed, she put them on the display case and took photos of them for purposes of documentation. While they were on display, two women - a famous character actress and a famous designer - wanted to buy the pieces off the rack. The owner had to tell them that they were specially-designed and pre-ordered, so they couldn't be sold. They insisted, but she relented.

The actress and designer even asked if they could be duplicated, but the owner said that since they were unique designs, she could only make one of each. Before I left, she complemented me on the necklaces and told me if I had ideas for new designs, just show it to her and she'll execute them.

Maybe I should take that sketchpad out one more time.

Cracklin' Chicken

It's been a while since I last bought a pack of Marty's Cracklin'. It's mainly because I've grown fatigued by its salt and vinegar taste. They have two other variants - plain salted and hot and spicy - but it really doesn't have that same impact as the salt and vinegar one.

On a routine trip to the supermarket, I saw that Marty's came up with a new flavor:

Out of curiosity, I bought a pack and tried it. And after a few minutes, my love for Marty's vegetarian chicharon is back!

They weren't kidding when they said "Chicken Inasal Flavor." It really does taste like Chicken Inasal, particularly the Mang Inasal variety.

After 2 failed flavor attempts, Marty's is back with a winner.

And still more moments of saleslady greatness...

On my way home from school, I dropped by The Landmark to look for a bandeaux to go with the T by Alexander Wang tank dress that I bought last week. I knew there were some at the bazaar section, so that's where I decided to look first.

I asked a saleslady where they were, and here's how our conversation went:

ME: Miss, saan dito yung mga bandeaux ninyo?
SL: Ano po yon, Sir?
ME: Saan yung mga bandeaux ninyo?
SL: Ha?
ME: Bandeaux.
SL: (pauses for a few minutes)
ME: (looks at her while she's pausing for a few minutes)
SL: Sir, baka doon ho sa 3rd floor, sa toy section.
ME: Toy section? May bandeaux doon?
SL: 'Diba laruan po, yon? Yung ganito...(then she does the air guitar)
ME: Ah... eh... sige miss, thank you na lang...

Yes, she was playing with the old bandeaux.

That made my day.

FMM: Barbers cut

From out of the blue, I remembered this old Baron Barbers song and it reminded me of those days when I'd spend the weekend just sitting in the living room of our old house in Tomas Morato. It was one of those "chill days" and this was the perfect accompaniment to a day like that.



Thank God it's Friday Magic Madness. With Baron Barbers in the background, I can go back to days like that.

More Philippinspiration

Last year, I wrote about how some American and European designers looked like they were looking to the Philippines for inspiration. It's a trend that seems to be continuing up until today.

While browsing through the net-a-porter website, I checked out Zac Posen's collection and found this very striking and very familiar dress.

(images from net-a-porter)

Just one look and you can immediately see the references to the Philippine terno. The butterfly sleeves and the neckline are reminiscent of our National costume. But there were a bit of tweaks done, such as the sleeve being more sculptural and less structured, the neckline having a bit of a drape, and the skirt being more architectural.

It's nice to see the terno being given a Western twist, and it's even nicer to know that our culture is being recognized and seen as inspiration the world over.

Great food. Great Frendz.

Tonight, we celebrated the day that Alfie joins the "life begins" club. Initially, we were thinking of a videoke party, but since we had to do it on a weekday, things were toned down considerably. In lieu of singing out lungs out, we just ate our hearts out at this restaurant called Cafe Bonifacio.

It's one of those nouveau Filipino restaurants which serve local dishes "with a twist." Having had many of those already, I thought I knew what to expect. But once I tried their dishes, all my preconceived notions went down my stomach - along with the yummy food.

Everything they served was great. So great that I didn't have time to take photos of any of them. Instead, they were immediately attacked by D' Frendz, reminiscent of the "Cheese on Alfie's hair at Shakey's Robinson's Place" episode.

I did manage to take a photo of the yummy dessert, though. This is their version of turon. It had a flaky pastry layered on top of each other, then there were lakatan slices in between. It was drizzled with matamis na bao, and served with a side of macapuno ice cream. It was divine!

Aside from the great food, the night was also marked by great company. After a few failed attempts to get all D' Frendz together, we were finally complete last night! (The original 10, at least, since most of our significant others weren't there.) 

It definitely called for more photos. (And photo coaching lessons courtesy of Rona! Chin down, relax your shoulders, tilt your head, and other Tyra worthy tips.)

Yes, it was a great night indeed.

There's spell checker people...

While checking today's batch of email, I got this letter which once again appalled the journalist and proofreader in me. Here's an excerpt from that email:

Seriously? "Dis bisnis?"

There's a thing called spell checker, people! Learn to use it!

Another Pitch

Oh look, it's another movie about a choir!

Just goes to show that there's no "choir-themed-anything" fatigue just yet. There's Glee and Smash. Long ago, there was "Sister Act," "Sister Act 2," and the more recent "Joyful Noise."

And now, there's "Pitch Perfect."



Seeing movies like this never fails to transport me to my choir days back in High School.

I wish they show this movie in Manila soon.

T time

Today, I had to go to the South for a bank errand. For people like me who live in the Northern part of Metro Manila, this is practically an excursion. So, I thought of maximizing the trip to that area by going to this place that one of my friends told me about before.

I was told that there's this nice outlet store in an obscure mall/bus terminal in Alabang. Since it was on the way, I thought of checking it out. 

And I'm so glad I did. Because less than 10 minutes into browsing the racks and racks (and racks and racks) of clothes, I found this gem!

Yes, the outlet store in that obscure mall/bus terminal in Alabang had T by Alexander Wang! Can I hear a whoop whoop? *Whoop! Whoop!*

Let me paraphrase Ate Vi by saying: Not just one, but three Alexander Wang dresses!

The first one is this tank dress that's a combination of cotton and charmeuse. It has a relaxed silhouette, and the material mix adds an element of interest to the entire piece.

I've noticed that Alexander Wang likes cutouts at the back. For his Uniqlo collaboration, he had a dress like that. And this tank dress is no exception. It has a draped back that reveals a cutout.

The next piece is gorgeous at many fronts. It's this long dress in camel colored cotton.

The draping of this dress is superb! I can imagine how each drape will fall nicely on the body. The side also has a thigh high slit to show off some skin. Actually, this dress looks like a cross between Donna Karan and Alexander Wang.

The third and final piece is this very long and very sleek black maxi dress. Like the usual Alexander Wang dresses, this one is streamlined, has a racerback detail, is very long, and also has a thigh high slit.

Plus, it also has beautiful draping in front.

The great thing about these pieces is the material. True to his signature, the cotton is buttery soft and will cling beautifully to the body. This works both in tropical weather, and even in colder climates.

And needless to say, they're uber duber cheap! After all, it's in an outlet store in Alabang!

Overall, this dress fits to a T!

Time files when you're having fun

As I was lecturing today, I realized that we have 1 class week to go for the first semester.

WHOA! That was fast! The semester just zipped by without me even noticing it.

But the adage rings true. This semester was indeed a lot of fun for many reasons:

- I taught a new subject
- I taught new sets of students
- We did a lot of cool projects for both classes
- Some of our projects were finalists in competitions
- We're doing more potential award winning work
- It was my first time to teach a full 9 hours for one day. (Thereby joining Chally in the "lagare" category.)
- I rediscovered my love for Audio-Visual Production
- I experimented with new teaching methods and my students loved them

And since it's the last week of classes next week, I can't help but feel sad because I won't see the other students again in my classroom.

But the again, I'm excited to meet the new batch of Advertising minors as well.

FMM: Latin Flair

One of my colleagues is a lot into music. In fact, he has a guitar in his area and sometimes plays music out of the blue. Being into music myself, I enjoy his musical outbursts and often find myself singing to the songs he plays. (That is, if I know it.)

Today, he suddenly started strumming on old Santana song on the guitar. And it was perfect since it was Friday Magic Madness day. What was the song? None other than one of their biggest hits:



That song got me remembering other Latin songs that I like. There's something about Latin music that's so infectious. When you listen to it, you can't help but bob your head and move your body. Maybe it's because their music has such flair and is so easy to move to. Just like this Gypsy Kings song that we used to play a lot back at Adformatix.



Listening to these songs again brings back my interest in Latin songs. Maybe it's the Latin part of my that's driving this interest.

Or maybe because it's Friday.

The proofreader in me is appalled

Being a student of journalist, we were taught to proofread print work early on in our lives. I remember how Prof. Rolly Fernandez would stress the importance of ensuring that an article should be flawless before it even sees print. That's why he would ask us to check every word and every punctuation mark before our article sees print.

When I started working as a copywriter, we were asked to proofread all our print ads, too. At this time, there was more pressure on us. After all, if you make a proofreading mistake in school, that's just a minus point. If you make a proofreading mistake in real life, you'll have to pay for the ad placement. (Or at least that was what they threatened us with.)

That's why I can't help but feel disturbed whenever I see typographical and factual errors in articles - whether they're printed or on-line. And as I was reading my daily dose of style news today, there wasn't one error. There were two!

First is this commonly committed error which baffles me no end.

It escapes my how people mistake "peek" for "peak." And I've seen this mistake so many times before, even from my students and colleagues. Come on people, you "peek" into something and you go up a "peak." There's a difference!

Second, is this article from an on-line news paper about Narciso Rodriguez.

Last time I checked, Narciso Rodriguez created the wedding dress of Carolyn Bessette, not Caroline Bisset. I mean, is she Jacqueline Bisset's daughter? Well, she isn't! This error is particularly appalling because it's so easy to fact check a name. But I guess someone wasn't doing his or her job.

As one of our thesis groups reported last year, the peril of on-line journalism is the fact that they're always in a hurry to get things published on-line that they skip the proofreading and fact checking part. And judging by these two articles, it's a common practice, anywhere in the world.

Familiar fashion

An interesting site that I came across recently is Red Carpet Fashion Awards. It's a rundown of all the clothes that Hollywood celebrities wear, and the runways that inspired them. Going through it is like leafing through a magazine of best dressed celebrities, which makes for great eye candy.

There was one particular photo that caught my eye. It was Lea Michele in a watercolor print, one-shoulder gown by Naeem Khan. 

The reason why it caught my eye was the fact that it looked very familiar. After a little thought, I remembered this Bisou Bisou dress that I bought for Ate Lissa last February.

Although this is a short dress, it has the same one-shoulder action. Add to that, it also has a watercolor print, although not as "splash-of-color-y" as Naeem Khan's dress.

It's fun to see how high fashion translates to everyday wear. And in this case, it seems like it's the other way around.

Right Said Ted

Seth McFarlane is on a roll!

"Family Guy" is a huge success, he's hosting the Oscars, and he's film debut is a blockbuster hit in the U.S.

And that film - "Ted" - is now showing in Manila!



The trailer alone has me in stitches. So I can imagine how hilarious the full movie might be.

I have to watch this.

Where did they go?

Last Sunday, I was able to catch some old films on HBO. Some from the 90s, others from the early 2000s. But what struck me from watching these films was the fact that there were a lot of big stars from that era that I don't see on the screen - both big and small - anymore.

Among them are three of my favorite actresses when I was back in college:

1. Natascha McElhone

She was the leading lady who wasn't the leading lady archetype. She often played very strong characters, whether it's a defiant TV extra in "Truman Show" or a kick-ass agent in "Ronin."

2. Heather Matarazzo

What's not to love about her. She's quirky, she's funny, she gets into her character and gets lost in it - she's the perfect actress. Whether she's a victim of child abuse in "The Devil's Advocate" or the perky best friend in "The Princess Diaries," I can't help but cheer her character on.

3. Susan May Pratt

She was such a big fixture in films during the 90s, and she'd often be cast as the aloof, talented and devil-may-care character. That was her role in "Ten Things I Hate About You," "Centerstage," and "Drive Me Crazy." And she handled those roles perfectly. She was the girl you wanted to hate, but couldn't because she was so lovable. In an irritating way, that is.

After that flashback, I had to go to imdb to check out what they're doing right now. Unfortunately, they don't have any big screen outings soon, but I hope producers give them big screen time really soon. 

Brilliant talents like them shouldn't be let go.