Style and Soul: Anagon

My kind of basic black

7:45 PM

According to style experts, every woman should have a "little black dress" as a closet staple. I don't disagree with that. In fact, that is totally right. If I would have to show you my closet (which is something I won't do for this post), you'd find that I personally own a lot of basic blacks - top, skirt, blazer, vest, pants, shorts, cardigan, and the list goes on. Name it, and I probably have it in black.

Sequined top, belt and bag with fur flap, thrifted | Necklace, Anagon

Since I've started living the fashionista life, I have come to realize that one of my most essential blacks in the closet is my BBST - basic black sequined top. I swear, you really should have one, or even two in your closet! It gives that "pow!" to any look.

If you frequent my blog for quite a long time now, you'd notice how my black sequined top has consistently reappeared on numerous outfits. I couldn't quite remember how many times exactly I've worn this item but until now, it still seems to be in very good condition, with all the sequins still intact. It has been serving its purpose well and you won't be seeing it in my closet sale anytime soon, haha. Just to remind you, I've worn this when I hosted Bloggers United Bazaar (Part 1) and during the Globe Tattoo Awards (to name some).

Skirt SM Dept. Store | Shoes c/o Payless

Usually, most girls would probably never wear this item ever again to any other special occasion. But since I'm not like most women, I don't really care. Not even how many times I'd get photographed in it.

Wait, do you remember what I said about repeating outfits? Just NEVER MIND! And because I don't give a damn, I wore it again to another hosting job last week. My mind was in a cloud of doubt on what to wear, and so, I went for something safe with this top, black midi skirt, Payless printed shoes and made sure accents of gold are consistent in my head-to-toe look.

Once again, my BBST never failed me. I was pretty confident while I hosted the media launch of 3D Vizion, which featured technology, lifestyle and business bloggers. Yeah, it was really not my crowd. However, it was refreshing to meet new people who write about something else other than fashion.

Left hand: (first) black square bangle with gold piping, c/o Pinkbox

In my next post, I'll tell you more about 3D Vizion and its latest glasses-free 3D screens. Meaning, you don't have to wear glasses just to be able to see a video material in 3D. The images basically appear to pop up on screen. Amazing. But because I'm not the best person to write about technology, my boyfriend JR will do a guest blog again! Excited to see what he has come up with. Ciao bellas!

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Anagon

Foreplay: Where it all begins

12:34 AM

F-STOP (Fashion Stop) participated in a mini-fashion show segment of a sizzling and daring Valentine's party held last February 11 at Ariato Function Centre in Tomas Morato, Quezon City. I showcased 10 looks along with other micro online-based fashion shops.

Since I didn't have on-hand stocks of my Asian Fashion apparels, the collection I presented were all quality, thrifted items from my Shop Vintage section. The theme was an extension of my recently released SV album: Hyper, which was inspired from the S/S 2011 trends dominated by vibrant colors and lovely prints. I went for simple and wearable looks for the young and stylish kolehiyalas of different shape and color.

After the show, it was rewarding to have my collection appreciated by the crowd. The models, who are real-life ordinary college students, even shared that they can really see themselves wearing my products. Hearing that has totally lifted all my exhaustion of being solo in this endeavor.

At first I was really worried because I was alone in handling everything, from the preparation to the execution. No one in the family would even drive me to the location (though they've seen all the stuff I need to bring with me) because the things that I do for fashion and for my shop didn't matter to them. That day, my boyfriend couldn't accompany me because his gout (inflammation of the joints) kicked in and he could barely walk. And when I got there, it was disappointing when I found out that there was no hair and make-up artist when the organizer totally promised they would provide one *sigh*. Just when I thought I can't do it, there I was, on my own, upon going and during the event, from the pull-outs, to the styling, till the end.

Lesson of the day: The only person you can truly depend on is yourself. :)

Special thanks to Ana Gonzales of Anagon Collection for the accessories and Bem Lim of Trunk Show for the shoes used to complete the looks. Both of these brands are the best! If you need to pull out accessories and/or footwear for your shoots or events, Ana and Bem are two of the nicest brand owners that you'll ever meet. Feel free to contact them and I'm sure they'll be very accommodating to you!

Thank you also to some of the members of UP Mass Communicators Organization and UP Lakan for helping the models get dressed and prepped up.

Accessories from Anagon | Shoes from Trunk Show

P.S. If you like F-STOP's fashion show collection, feel free to order them in my shop's website or wait for them to be officially released in my next collection this March 4, Friday!

Accessories and Shoes available at:
Anagon Collection: http://anagoncollection.multiply.com/ Trunkshow: http://trunkshow.multiply.com/

Anagon

In the flesh: FACEHUNTER's Yvan Rodic

10:02 AM

Yellow top w/ pleated details and puffed sleeves F-STOP (Fashion Stop) | Fur vest Thrifted
Harem pants Bazaar | Necklace Anagon

Thanks to everyone who appreciated my outfit. Hihi. *Kilig much*

Yvan Rodic, the Swiss photographer/street style blogger, more popularly known as Facehunter had his book signing at Fully Booked in Bonifacio High Street last December 29, 2010. The event was well attended by some of Manila's most stylish fashion bloggers and chictopians.

He is currently having his Asian tour (he has already visited Singapore, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Taipei and Beijing) and thanks to Adidas Originals and Status Magazine, his quick stop to Manila was made possible.

I was an hour late and upon getting there, I could really tell that I'm in the right place just by looking at the whole crowd; each one dressed in his/her most fashionable ensemble. My tardiness had me missing out on Yvan's short talk and Q.A and at the same time left me with no book to purchase as all were sold out earlier.

Nevertheless, I still had fun meeting new bloggers and bonding with the friends I've already made during past events. It was non-stop photo taking and chatting. The event took a while because Yvan was gracious to really talk to everyone and not just sign the books. I was a bit envious as others had their moment with him; but at the same time, I still had a blast just by mingling with everyone.

Being one of the pioneers in fashion/ street style blogging, Yvan indeed has come a long a way from where he started. He's not only enjoying millions of hits, he is also earning money by doing the things most of us could only dream of - travel, take photos, meet interesting people and experience the whole world and its various cultures.

By consistently blogging for five years, his used-to-be little blog paved the way for him to have a book, a web TV show, collaborations with big brands and opportunities for travel and adventures around the globe. Now, he has also expanded on a visual diary where other non-fashion photos are posted. In Yvan's words, Facehunter "has evolved into a multi-platform for the exploration of contemporary culture".

These achievements are indeed inspiring especially to those who also aim to be successful and accomplished bloggers in the future.

Photos by: JR Espejo and Melai Entuna

12 Baskets

Coffee or tea? Bread perhaps?

5:20 PM

12 Baskets X Anagon Tea Party

Golden brocade blazer Thrifted | Fringe top Thrifted | Distressed shorts DIY | Necklace Supplier

Knee-high stockings SM | Combat boots F-STOP (Click: SHOP ASIAN) | Headband Anagon

As a kid, I never grew up on eating bread, milk, cereal and pancakes in the morning. My nanay told me that I should eat a rice meal instead because breakfast is the most important meal of the day. As far as my bread consumption goes, it only became very limited every merienda time - the safe and trusty tasty bread complemented with various spreads like peanut butter, coco jam, margarine and mayonnaise.

I remember becoming fond of eating bread after seeing this small panaderia near my high school where a lot of my schoolmates would hang out after class hours to eat snacks. They sold spanish bread, pan de coco, kababayan, pudding, macaroons, cheese bread, pandesal, and a lot more for only P0.50 - P5.00. Holy cheap! Of course, I could never claim that their bread tasted "heavenly" but for a thrifty high school girl that I was, it wasn't bad at all.

Luckily, last Halloween, thanks to an Alice in Wonderland-themed tea party courtesy of Anagon, I discovered a bakeshop with the most delicious spanish bread that I've ever munched on (I bet Ava's boyfriend Gersh agrees with me on that). 12 Baskets Bakeshop, is a newly-opened (recently this 2010) neighborhood bread shop in Little Baguio, San Juan owned by young entrepreneur Fred Yang.

The brand name 12 Baskets was a concept of "abundance" inspired from the Bible story where Jesus miraculously multiplied the loaves and fish in order to feed thousands of hungry people. Mark 6:42-44 says, "Everyone ate and had enough. Then the disciples took up 12 BASKETS full of what was left over the bread and fish. They fed five thousand."

Though it covered only a small area, the bakery's variety of bread products are adequate. I like how simple, neat and classy the store was set up. Everything on the rack looked fresh plus nicely packed and reasonably priced. As Fred took us in the kitchen for a quick tour, I noticed how he truly invested on sufficient baking equipment and how organized and clean the space is.

Fred speaking about his bakeshop during the quick kitchen tour.

Looking at the fruits of his labor, I was in awe to find out that Fred wasn't a graduate of any college course related to cooking or baking. More was my surprise when I found out that his skilled bakers were all trained from scratch. His passion and interest for eating and having a food business of his own led him to take a baking course and focused on bread making instead of the usual cake decorating. He pushed himself to learn, practice, and develop his skills that have helped him and 12 Baskets take off. With the help and support of his ever loving partner Georgina, he hopes that the brand further expands to something bigger in the future.

Try them!! As in now na! Masarap, promise! (cinnamon twist P30/pc, spanish bread P5.50/pc, egg tart P30/pc)

All this bread talk wouldn't make sense if I didn't help myself on the brand's freshly baked treats. I gobbled on their cinnamon twists, yummy egg tarts and my favorite delectable spanish breads (warm pandesal with butter and sugar core)! The breads are all soft, light and malinamnam (better than saying delicious). All the ingredients really come together for that scrumptious taste plus the spanish bread filling is perfect; not too sweet and not nakakaumay. I kept coming back for more till my tummy was full to the fullest (diet ban, haha).

Looking for more? Find a lot of other products to choose from in very affordable prices. Aside from breads, they also carry caffeine-free Sumilao Corn Coffee made from organic sida-sida corn kernels. From a biblical inspiration to a socially relevant cause, this healthy coffee was created in support to the Sumilao farmers who walked all the way from Bukidnon to Manila in protest for proper land reform. Fred and Georgina are indeed such an inspiring couple-tandem.

I would personally like to try 12 Baskets' revel bars and ham and cheese rolls. Then more of that spanish bread!

(c) Melai Entuna 2010

* * * * * * * *

Busog sa pagkain, busog pa sa accessories! It was a successful collaboration and tea party! While scoffing breads, pizza and blue berry cake slices, Anagon's collection of accessories adorned the whole place. There were plenty of FREE (free! free!) headbands and brooches for everyone to take home. Ana was sooo galante in giving away additional rings, necklaces, hair pieces etc. I even won her trick or treat contest and best dressed of the day (Geo as the judge so no bias)! I had nothing more to ask for that day!

Anagon handmade hair pieces! Geo (Fred's gf) modeled it best!

Sorry Ava for the late (super late) outfit post! But I captured your beauty perfectly right?? Love your photos!

The intimate crowd of bloggers was also a delight. It was a great way to really have a chat with everyone other than "hi/hello" during bigger events. Anagon is truly awesome and I can't wait to post photos wearing her items. Weee!

Weeee!!! Fellow bloggers!!!

12 Baskets Bakeshop

G/F Metrolofts Condo

38 General Gutierrez St. corner J. Abad Santos St.,

Little Baguio, San Juan

0920 - 938 4212

Open daily from 6am - 10pm

Photos: Me and Ana

Accessorize

Somehow like devils in Prada

4:49 PM

Styling for PFW Ipanema Resort Wear Collection

Thanks to Eldrich Carreon for the photos. More coming up!

Not as glamorous as I thought it would be.

Philippine Fashion Week is the holy grail event for the country's fashion industry. Would you believe it has never been an interest of mine? Well not until I started doing this blog. Quite honestly, I would like to think I'm just like one of the simple bloggers out there; being able to attend even one show was more than enough, just so I know what it's like to be there.

And I got more, SO MUCH MORE than what I wanted. It was a total blessing to have an impromptu styling job land into my lap thanks to my good friend Aisa. She was suddenly asked to style 50 looks for the Ipanema Resort Wear Collection after its stylist backed out the day before. She formed a team comprised of yours truly, Ana and Anagon Collection and designer-stylist Argie Salango to help her out.

For a starter like me, this opportunity is a big deal. Just the thought of it made me ecstatic, overwhelmed and extremely nervous (it being my first) at the same time. Imagine what a challenge it was for us to style slippers with designer clothes (as in seriously!); not to mention make formal and/or outrageous outfits look in line with the theme which was Brazilian summer - something we had to think of after seeing the clothes at 11:00 PM, the night before the show!

Fashion challenge for us: style slippers with these designer clothes!

I wouldn't want to put ourselves on the pedestal, but I would really give all of us a pat on the back for pulling off a good job and a great team work despite pressure and time constraint. Somehow, it was a pure irony for me to be exceptionally happy for this whole experience but at the same time be equally upset with some of the people behind the runway show.

It was disappointing to be working with people who think highly of themselves. At first, Ipanema wouldn't want to credit Accessorize despite the fact that the brand has massively helped the runway show. Ms. Ayet of Accessorize had SIMPLE terms: 1) give out stickers during the event and 2) have their name and logo shown on the video presentation as part of the acknowledgement. Was that so hard to agree on? Aisa had to negotiate her way to make that happen. Accessorize lent UNLIMITED number of accessories and Ipanema repaid the favor by flashing very quickly the logo of the brand (just once!). The Accessorize representative wasn't even able to catch that so-called "special thanks to". Honestly, Accessorize didn't need the event for promotion. I believe Ipanema need them and us more but they all act like the other way around which was something that I found irritating.

Also, as stylists, it was only logical that we wanted to see the slippers first as we ready the clothes and accessories for styling hours before the show. However, people from the brand (see how I don't know their names because they didn't even introduce themselves to us nor brief us) were really stubborn and wouldn't want to bring out the collection not until the show was about to start. Ipanema also insisted that they've chosen certain slipper designs for the clothes despite us asserting our honest and polite opinion that some didn't really match well. If not for designer Dave Ocampo contending that the slippers assigned didn't complement his dress, they wouldn't have listened. That made me feel low of myself because I took a job wherein I work for people who made us feel unimportant. We couldn't even address our concerns to the coordinators. They left Ana to rummage in a pile of slippers and passed her on to different people whenever she needed to ask for something.

Technically, yes, Aisa was the head stylist and I totally understand if she and Argie really get a nice treatment from the people there. They well deserve that. As for me and Ana, I felt like it was us who had to say "thank you" for the job (when I only had Aisa to genuinely thank for). We didn't have any compensation for doing the job so yes, you can call it a form of HELP. Is a mere show of appreciation and gratefulness too much to ask? I think not. We worked hard for it not just because of the fame or because it was our job. We gave our best for we wanted Ipanema to be successful and get good reviews from fashion writers and the like.

Simple looks and body gestures that speak "What the hell are you doing here?", "You don't deserve to be here", "I'm better than you," "Who are you anyway?" are very easy to understand. Fine, I'm aware that they're up the ladder but as a person who has worked in productions, people I've worked with know that I treat people right and with respect, even to those lowest in the hierarchy. It is one of the simplest yet greatest deed that'll make this world a better place (cliche' but very true). I'm not saying everyone there are like that, I just couldn't contain my dismay to some people who are too proud and arrogant.

I'm not as desperate as Ariel in Little Mermaid. So desperate that she lost her voice. There's more bitchiness out there that I haven't witnessed yet. And if the real fashion world is about coldness and claws, I would not wish to be part of their world.

After the Ipanema show ^_^.

Saying a big "THANK YOU" is the very least that we could do to Ms. Ayet Quimpo of Accessorize and Ana's Anagon Collection for being so considerate in letting us pull out the very last minute, accessories (earrings, bracelets & bangles, necklaces, scarves, hair pieces and hats) that incredibly helped us revamp the outfits to the next level. Thank you sooooo much!

Kaloka but uber fun to have done this with Aisa, Ana and Argie! Would love, love, love, love to work with you again!

Aisa, Accessorize store manager (Greenbelt 5 branch) Cheeni, Ana an me (haggard only kei)!

Sayang umalis kagad si Argie!

Style and Soul

My kind of basic black

Foreplay: Where it all begins

In the flesh: FACEHUNTER's Yvan Rodic

Coffee or tea? Bread perhaps?

Somehow like devils in Prada

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