Went ukay shopping and got a lot!

Yup, I went shopping and found some interesting pieces. There was a lot of generic American brands but there are a lot of treasures that will surprise you. I just couldn't resist buying.

What I got:
1. Martin Margiela Ligne 10 pants
2. Martin Margiela Ligne 6 wool sweater
3. Y-3 judo pants
4. Romeo Gigli plum shirt
5. vintage Levi's jacket
7. Miu Miu bag
8. Atsuro Tayama cotton jacket (loving this now)
9. Gucci crystal studded jeans
10. Gaultier homme tee
11. Paul Smith peace sign tee
12. vintage Issey Miyake
13. Miu Miu dress (gave it to my friend)

I just couldn't believe I found Margiela's and Y-3 at the discount bin. Maybe later I'll check out another outlet selling more new stuff.

Missing Helmut Lang

Today I'm wearing a Helmut Lang shirt and his parfum. I could have swiped him in my under arm (got his deodorant) and carried a bag of his but I decided it was too much. So i paired the shirt with an off-white Paul Smith jeans and carried a Westwood bag. I miss his designs. I miss opening style.com with its New York Fashion Week coverage with Helmut's new look splashed on its front page. I miss him in Vogue, Bazaar and self service. Whatever happened to him? Is he holed up in his home in the Hamptons? Is he back in Europe? Is he still coming back to do fashion?



Stella Tenant wearing Helmut Lang in the cover of i-D


Love the handpainted pants


Very Helmut Lang.Poetry in sheer plastic pants.


The ugly shoes works the look.


Random Thoughts

Yesterday was the presscon of Campus Fashionista Model Search. It was fun. I'll post some pix soon.

Today is the birthday of Ms. Ditas T., my boss. We had an early afternoon wine party at Bluejay with her bestest friends, Marichel M., Desiree B., Gerry G. and his hubby Butch. I swear I'm the only one who is below 30. My friends are so older than me! It was fun. Will post pix soon. I will be rushing to Robinsons after this post to attend her merienda party for the officemates and other friends. We will be feasting on chocolate cupcakes, birthday spaghetti, lumpia Hanoi, etc.

Earlier this morning I guested at the Morning Show (a local lifestyle show) with John, Kresha, Charlene and fashion designer Bo Parcon to promote Campus Fashionista Model Search. Kaloka! Super promote talaga. I had to smooch the media, nakakaloka! hehehe But I'm having fun.

Tomorrow, i'll have a photoshoot with Loven Ramos with possibly the model Richmund and Renz. We will see how it goes.

Mwah!

Little Normie Went Shopping ++

This Little Normie went shopping for a couture gown.
(In Chanel shades, Westwood bag, tee and jeans)


"Anu ba itech mother? How much is the doggie in the window?
Pwede ba na ang paysong i-givesaluh ko na lang after tienes-tienes?"


This littel Normie went to market. He bought meat. Fresh Meat sa Rustans.
(Westwood bag na nakakaloka. Akin na lang to Tina!)


This little Normie went to watch a movie, The Devil Wears Prada.


This little Normie had paparazzi delusions. Papa - meron. Paparazzi - wala.


Churvahin nyo na to!!! His highness, Ignacio Loyola.


The one and only, Ms. Tina Daniac po.

The 3 of the nicest, most talented designers I've ever met in Manila. Tina Daniac is super sister, super nice to the max ever. I stay at her place sometimes eating tuyo pasta, ordering tapsilog, going out and all. Mr. Ignacio Loyola is the super designer, super urban guy who had the pleasure of touring me the bowels of Manila looking for sea snakes, corals and sea urchins. It was definitely surreal. I even got to see the facade of Mansyon. Norman Noriega is Norman Noriega. If you don't know Norman Noriega, I guess you are not really a fashion insider. Only the perfumed and bejewelled set of the beau monde crowd knows who is Norman Noriega. Ang tanong, kilala ka ba nya? Hahaha! Ang taray!

I always have fun when I'm around them. Wala lang. Maybe because they are weird and I'm weird so I understand their creative outbursts. Tsika lang, go lang ng go! Go, go, go!

RANDOM THOUGHTS

I had one hectic schedule the past weekend. Yesterday, I had to style Ria Bolivar for the poster I'm doing for tita Jaki Penalosa's upcoming gala show at Sarabia Manor Hotel. I also helped style Ria for the Kamisa ads. While the shoot was going on, I was supposed to be on a dinner date with Rofel and Justin. What can I do? Split myself?! Someone has to be sacrificed so I decided to forego dinner and stay in the shoot. Eventually, Justin and Rof came to the shoot with my food that I ordered through text. It was Justin's treat. After the shoot, we ate at Buto't Balat.

Random thoughts today

It rained hard yesterday and I had to cancel the workshop for the modelling contest I'm doing with my friend Bo for Robinsons. It's called Campus Fashionista Model Search 2006. It's on its 2nd year and I'm glad a lot people have said that the contestants this year are a much improved lot than last year. Oh well, I'm just glad there are still a lot of new faces cropping up. I need another Ria Bolivar!

Speaking of Ria, she's flying in from Manila today for the fashion show of tita Jaki Penalosa later. I will try to have backstage shots galore and all. I haven't seen the collection of Ta Jak but I'm pretty sure it's gonna be feminine and earthy. It's so her.

My bestfriends, Loven and Faith plus their baby boy Freedom are in town for a very short vacation. It was a whirlwind visita grande from them. They gave me this spool from Siem Riep and this fab, fab, fab khemer (?), a fabric scarf designed by a Japanese designer for a German guy whose company commissioned the designs. The design I have is one of the only two in the world. I feel so special! It was given to Loven because he designed their brochure for free. The collective of weavers there in Siem Riep is a non stock, non profit org. Loven liked them so much he gave his design for free. They gave him a scarf in return.

I'm going shopping for my fall winter 06 wardrobe later. I'l take lots of pix and all. I'm coveting a Japanese denim in one of my fave top secret little shops.

What I love to have:
1. Undercover jacket
2. Martin Margiela AIDS tee (white+blue)
3. Y-3 Adidas Yohji Yamamoto pants
4. Ann Demuelemeester tank or tee
5. a vintage Chanel (wala lang, maybe in the ukay I can find something no?)

Mwah!

UNDERCOVER

Jun Takahashi of Undercover
(photo by Sue Rynski)



The fashion designer I'm most fascinated these days is Jun Takahashi of UNDERCOVER. His Fall/Winter 2006 collection is my favorite so far. The layering and twisting fabrics, the covered faces and piercings were both ugly and beautiful at the same time. He is the most exciting Japanese designer to have emerged after Junya Watanabe.


I love the jacket.


Skinny pants rule!


Obviously, I chose stuff I imagine myself wearing.


Straps galore.


I wish I thought of this design. So simple yet so complex.

JUN TAKAHASHI OF UNDERCOVER
Jun Takahashi was born in Kiryu, Japan in 1969. He studied fashion design at the Bunka Academy of Fashion in Tokyo. In his spare time, Jun was the lead singer in a Tokyo Punk band called Tokyo Sex Pistols. Even before he graduated in 1991, he had started up his own label and was designing clothes for his friends. The company he called UNDERCOVER. In 1993 he opened his "Nowhere" store, in 1994 he put on his first runway show and in 1995 participated in Tokyo Fashion Week. His garments were successful right from the beginning and were soon selling all over Japan. He has about 30 stores now.

The Japanese designer Rei Kawakubo, who runs her company Comme des Garcons, took Jun under her wing and persuaded him to come to Paris. The Paris store Colette liked his clothes so much that they asked Takahashi to present his 1998 collection "Exchange" in their store.

He is now married with a beautiful wife and a baby daughter, and lives in Paris for most of his time.

To introduce with AW 1999 collection "Ambivalence" he presented reversible clothes and had twins walk down, each wearing the same garment but one inside-out. Both versions were infinitely wearable. Pieces like a denim jacket that reverses to a nylon windbreaker, or a pair of nylon drawstring pants that turn inside out to become cargo trousers, were funny and street-inspired. A casual denim jacket turned into an elegant fur dress, another amazing design consisted of a pair of pants which could be worn as a skirt on the reverse.

Takahashi has won almost every award Japan has to offer. In 2001 he was awarded the prestigious Mainichi prize normally taken by established designers like Issey Miyake or Junya Watanabe.

Undercover made it's debut at Paris Fashion Week in October 2002, for Spring/Summer 2003 and one of the dresses is shown here on the right. His appliquéd pants were works of art, and pin-tucked and pleated little black dresses were also most admired. He finished his show with models wearing brightly coloured transparent floral burkhas .

Undercover has been gradually maturing from its origins as a cult street fashion brand and is now breaking into the US and European markets. They started with teenagers in the early 90s, then customers in their twenties, now they are after people with money who have a little of the rebel spirit still in them.

(lifted from designerhistory.com)

MARNI'S ROOM

I checked out Marni's Room at Powerplant, Rockwell.


Lots of clothes and bags.

Isn't the poodle logo cute? Named after the owner's poodle.


Ria Bolivar checking the stuff.


Bobby Carlos and Louis Claparols, the owners.


Prada bags! They sell other yummy designer brands.


Moi!

Check out their stuff at www.marnis-room.com