Style and Soul

The first day of the year is like an ordinary day to me– special. I've come to learn to see everyday as a significant part of my life. Granted that there are no fireworks or feast every single day, just knowing that I am alive while others breathe their last, is already a blessing. I'm not exactly an optimistic person because I don't keep my hopes up or my expectations too high, rather, I'm realistic enough to appreciate life as it is and whatever it may bring– both good and bad. 

2012 was a year of changing perspectives. I've grown to be a more positive person, in a sense that, there's always something I'm thankful for– no matter how petty it is. This major shift in the way I look at life helped me to stop focusing on the things that I lack and instead, notice the abundance of simple pleasures that I've been blessed with.

The moment I stopped feeling sorry for myself was the time I found myself in high spirits and free of stress. There are a lot of things in this world that I cannot change. And so, I chose to change what I can– myself. Just to make it clear, the last thing I want to do is claim to be good person or someone better than anyone else. I'm not. I'm merely celebrating myself as it is– raw and imperfect but happy and contented.

A huge part of this process has something to do with me, detaching myself from this blog. I haven't updated much this year. Cecile of Chuvaness.com and I share the same dilemma, we've lost our mojo to blog. Although I've been past this phase while she has just started (read her entry here), I understand the need for her to step back and think about what's important for her. I know so because I've been there. 

While I wait in excitement for more awesome experiences 2013 has to offer, let's catch up on a few of the wonderful things I failed to share with you.    

Not everyone has celebrated Halloween yet. A lot of you have probably waited until the very last minute (again?!) to decide whether or not you'll attend a "spooky" drinking-slash-costume party this weekend. I'm guessing you're not really digging the idea of wearing a costume as well but you sort of have to just so you won't be such a pooper. 

Without much time left for you to be "creative" enough; plus you aren't really willing to spend, what now? 

It's crunch time and the only choice you have is to go for the overused characters. Luckily, you have a closet to scour and here are a few ideas on how to stylishly pull off the costumes that almost everyone has been wearing.

It's funny how people assume so many things once they know you're taking part in styling a celebrity for a television program. Show business has been projected as a glamorous and lucrative industry that most people would immediately think that all the money and fame involved in it automatically trickle down to everyone involved in the production. The answer, no.

I usually get a lot of questions regarding this styling stint and having a blog makes it convenient for me to answer some of it in just one sitting. :)

Lately, I hardly share stories on my recent projects and activities not because nothing much has happened in my life. It's actually the opposite. But since I started tweaking the contents of this blog (which all started with this post), a lot of my entries now are usually a personal thing, my ideas, thoughts, and feelings fused with my personal style and fashion interests. I've minimized my blog entries on how "fabulous" my life is - which events I attend, what items I can afford, what work/project/collaboration I'm currently involved in, where I travel and dine or anything that I personally feel is like "I'm showing off" of some sort (again this is about me okay, haha).

All this came to me during a period in my life where I had enough time to reflect. They say an act of kindness is in its purest form when you don't feel the need to be acknowledged for it. When we post on blogs, facebook, instagram and twitter our photos and updates of us doing good deeds, it doesn't seem that genuine right? This "logic" is something I find applicable in my life. For quite a while now, I've been feeling uncomfortable to "announce" whatever it is that I'm doing because a part of me feels that in doing so, I'm subconsciously or consciously "showing off" to people. Aminin. Most of us won't post anything din naman that we're not at the very least proud of diba.

But it's just me. I self-check all the time. "Am I just blogging this because I want to secretly brag that I'm doing this or am I just genuinely sharing? Is this entry self-serving that I'm just too full of myself?" I try to practice discernment and I try to make sense of why I'm blogging. I know, lately I've been saying, "I'm now blogging for myself." If that's the case, why am I still thinking of what I'd be blogging eh para sa sarili ko naman eh? But then, I'd like to think that blogging for one's self doesn't mean being too self-absorbed and not caring about the content of the entry. Maybe you think, the hell, all this talk is just over thinking!! And yeah I admit, I think too much, exag nga haha!

I'm not taking it to the extremes though. Saying this doesn't mean that I'm totally never ever going to blog vain entries. Like what I said, I'm simply minimizing it. Vanity doesn't necessarily equate to conceit and so, occasionally, expect me to still squeeze in a few stories on "what's new" or "how I've been lately" or "what keeps me busy" posts.

So let's cut all my intrapersonal musings to what this post is really about - a styling stint for Solenn Heussaff.

Click "read more" for full entry

Prior to assisting blogger friend Aisa on her fashion styling stints, I've already done occasional work on wardrobe styling for indie films and short features. Notice that I've been very specific with the terms fashion styling and wardrobe styling for films. Is there really a difference? YES. 

Although the core values of styling can be similar in both, as I got to experience each, I realized that the two differ in goal and practice.

After styling a couple of looks for the Ipanema Resort Wear Collection for PFW (Philippine Fashion Week) Spring/Summer 2011 held October of last year, Ive got another fashion show stint for Hedgren Style Fair last April 15 in Greenbelt 3, Makati.

Hedgren is a world-renowed Belgian bag brand founded in 1993 by Xavier Kegels, the famed designer who created Kipling and Laurent David.

No fuss, no frills. This is what Hedgren is all about. The brand focuses primarily on practical and quality office bags and travel gear for everyday use targeting men and female professionals.

The Job
In my Ipanema styling stint, I was able to exercise my creativity on a few looks that walked down the runway. With this fashion show, I happily assisted talented up-and-coming stylists Argie Salango and Aisa to execute their vision for Hedgren S/S 2011 collection.

For aspiring stylists who want to make a career out of it, assisting for runway shows is a good starting platform. Though I'm not part of the whole creative process, the production work involved in projects like this includes preparing the clothes, shoes and accessories before the show, fitting of the models, ensuring that all the pull-outs are well taken care of and afterwards, double checking inventory and cleaning up.

While trying to learn the ropes around fashion styling, I really noticed that a massive, personal "investment" on accessories is a huge plus in this line of work. Even though designers and clothing brands supply apparels for the models, Aisa and I don't recommend pulling out accessories (after we lost some of it during Ipanema's PFW show). The kind of chaos that happens backstage, the whole rush of dressing the models look after look, leaves jewelries flying into space. These little trinkets may end up getting lost or damaged and that's not really worth of a stylist's stress and money since pull-outs are considered "borrowed" items only. We highly suggest you bring your own!


The Show
The Hedgren Style Fair's main objective is to communicate the brand's vision of being part of their target market's everyday style. To achieve that, Hedgren partnered with Fashion Institute of the Philippines (FIP) and had their bags styled together with the designs and creations of FIP students. Retail brand Ensembles also had a segment during the show. Male and female models sashayed on the runway carrying various Hedgren bags that embody the brand's three main themes for this season: Smart, On the Move and Business.

Smart features stylish and functional bags while On the Move is designed for leisure and travel. Business answers the high organizational and practical demands of the business traveler.
The brand's main clientele are corporate professionals from a more mature bracket. Since I'm not part of their target market, I want to be completely honest in saying that, aesthetically, Hedgren bags do not appeal to my personal taste and wouldn't fit my individual style.

However, for the cosmopolitan woman, Hedgren's highly utilitarian, simple and sophisticated bags fit the call of duty. From the look and feel of it, there's no doubt that its bags are durable and made of quality materials. Its products are very light and features a lot of compartments suitable for workaholic young executives and active business people. In their attempt to fuse style and creativity in a corporate set-up, Hedgren's designs are characterized by clean lines, understated details and functional elegance.

The cheesy stuff (haha)
Experience is experience. You know what I'm saying? So even if I got really exhausted, to the point that I just slept directly when I got home without changing clothes (haha), I'm genuinely happy. Blessing kasi yun, yung at least may ginagawa ka sa buhay mo diba (haha).

I loved the group of people that I worked with that day: Tatie, Ana, Argie and Aisa plus, I met two new friends with impeccable working ethics, Kim and Celina. :)

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.

There's a big reveal when I remove this fur vest...

Taaadah! An ultra oversized tunic!!! BOOTS: SHOP ASIAN in F-STOP | Fashion Stop.

Runway ready.

That was the theme of my first-ever styling stint way back last, last weekend for an open shoot with photographer MJ Cachero. My friend Aisa (thank you dear!) trust me and Ana enough to let us co-style with her and her styling partner Jear. Unlike the two of them who had formal training in styling under Fashion Institute of the Philippines (F.I.P), Ana and I were merely amateurs and only had our personal style and random fashion and blog reading as credentials.

Aisa and Jear ^__^

(L-R: Ana, production head Jay Santos, photographer MJ Cachero)

But despite the lack of experience and head-on knowledge, the professionals that we've worked with like Jay Santos (production head) and MJ didn't treat us as newbies at all. The professionals present there were amicable but without air (if you get what I mean right?) and yet firm in getting the job done but definitely not bitchy.

Jear wasn't difficult to get along with either. He is down-to-earth and supportive; not the know-it-all kind of guy and unselfish in giving styling tips, in pushing us hard for us to give our best shot and in leading us to the right direction - very much like Aisa herself.

Hair and make-up!

Like what Aisa mentioned in her post, open shoots demand quick-thinking in terms of styling. To those who have not yet gone to one, the process is, a client comes in with her own set of clothes and the stylist should spontaneously come up with a look that is 1) fashionable, stylish and theme-based; 2) appropriate with the client's personality and wants; and 3) reflective of the stylist's creativity.

From the whole experience, I've learned that you can always be true to yourself without compromising your client's own personal style if you know how to negotiate and communicate well your styling ideas to input in the totality of the client's look. If they (the clients) have unworkable stuff or requirements to begin with, like for example, the clothes they bring don't fit in with the theme, the shoes they have don't match their clothes, they didn't bring anything at all (in the case of walk-ins), or the style they want wouldn't suit their stuff; it is the stylist's job to "find a way".

Solutions to these cases are very easy to get a hold off as long as the stylist is prepared with a set of his/her own of extra clothes, accessories, shoes, a visual peg, and again, communication skills (power to negotiate, suggest, convince without hesitation to ask if needed). For that day, we weren't able to bring much maybe because we got a little bit complacent that the clients would bring enough. However, I'm proud that we have maximized the available resources that we had.

Some of the stuff we brought that we could use to enhance the styling.

The roles of each and everyone in the production (us, make-up artists, hair stylists, etc) ain't easy but the atmosphere of work place was generally encouraging (despite the delay). Also, the clients were cooperative and the whole thing ended on a positive note. Though I may still not figure out for myself if I'm for this job but I genuinely had fun at the same time grateful for all the new people that I've met-slash-encountered during the course of the experience.

Knowing that I'd be moving around a lot, I wore combat boots from my supplier (if you wan't one SHOP ASIAN at F-STOP | Fashion Stop), an ultra loose tunic, and my dove necklace - very comfy indeed!

I couldn't get over my top! I love how square it is! :) Buy my boots at SHOP ASIAN in F-STOP | Fashion Stop!

Make sure you drop by my shop F-STOP | Fashion Stop

for my Pre-Holiday Sale!