GAP

A little something from Danny. Buy this GAP Infantry shirt here.

Angkor Miracle Hotel

The lobby of the hotel feels cozy despite its size.

My friends go there for the gym and I tag along to swim.

They had a suana room and it's nice to enjoy the hot steam after swimming.

I love the indoor garden of the hotel. It feels very exotic.

On a hot day there's nothing more refreshing than to have chilled coconut juice.

Four Seasons

For Loven's birthday (yes, it's a never-ending celebration) we had lunch at Four Seasons, a newly opened Chinese restaurant here in SR.

The most interesting dish we ordered was this deep fried soft shell crabs with salty red eggs. Yummy!

Loven blowing the candle on his cake that I brought for him.

It was fun hanging out with friends. Loven, Faith, Cielo and Blady.

Bryce and Brandon.

Olive and moi.

Denim

Denim on denim on denim. It's bluer than blue. If it's not so darn hot these days then I could easily wear more denim. There's currently a denim trend and designers have proposed a pile-on style. So here's my take on the trend:

Top: Yohji Yamamoto embroidered denim top

Bottom: Levi's Type 1 jeans

Belt: American Eagle

Shoes: Giordano Concepts

Bag: Earth Made

Not quite cowboy but feels very classic, strangely.

Karen's Birthday

A few moons ago, my good friend Karen celebrated her 16th birthday (rolls eyes) and she invited a few of her friends to a good meal at this restaurant that's 'Mongolian'. I was surprised and intrigued what's Mongolian food.

Well, it turned out that it's not Mongolian but Magnolia and it serves Vietnamese food. LOL! Must be the name.

We had a gazillion of stuff but the most memorable was the ginormous grilled squid.

Moi with the birthday girl.

The gang is all here: Sophea, Sokunthea and Noh, 'Sar Chanto' ITSELF. ;)

Long and Mylene.

Franco, Bettyinme, ITSELF, with Haniz.

Happy birthday my dear Karen and I can't wait for the next dinner treat! ;)

Thriftshopping again

I went thriftshopping briefly when I was in Phnom Penh the last time.

This was taken at Japan Thrift Shop.

Fashion Diary:

Top: Heather Miss Grey by Cecile Van Straten x Bleach Catastrophe

Bottom: DP 'Andy' pants

Shoes: black tabi

Bag: Jeremy Scott x Longchamp 'Le Pliage'

Of course, I was with Franco. He got a few pieces; one is a Norma Kamali black blazer that I pushed him to get because it's soooo Atelier. I got a lusciously tattered Katherine Hamnett jeans and that's it.

Then we checked Oroseuy market because I needed more tabi shoes. I found none. But I did see that shoe above.

Franco found this really fab black leather boots which was sadly too small for his ginormous feet ;) We've been desperately looking for that perfectly battered leather boots. In time...

Tapas y Picasso

Beside our shop Poetry is a chic tapas bar by our friend Thilo called Picasso. It's quite popular especially with the expats.

Their sangria is delish. I like that it taste so festive! lol!

This simple boiled patatas is elevated into gourmet status with a green pepper dip that is tangy and spicy.

My ultra tapas fave, spice and olive oil marinated feta cheese with rolls. YUM!

Picasso is a must try if ever you're here in Siem Reap ;)

Keok Jay

You can now buy Don Protasio pieces in Phnom Penh. I'm really happy about this and it took me a long time to organize this. You know little 'ol procrastinating me. ;)

My friend Rachel of Keok Jay invited me to stock my line in her store there at Street 240. Keok Jay is a socially conscious enterprise that employs women with HIV. They sell fair trade and environment friendly products. Learn more about them here.

For my line there I decided to do my 'reworked' pieces using the materials of dress linings from vintage clothing. It's part of my 'Lazarus Project'. I had it silk screened with my signature 'Bird' print to add some graphic flair to it. Here's some sample:

I really just wanted an easy shape for my first line there.

I wanted ease and comfort like wearing a tee. It's like CDG PLAY, the concept is not having a concept at all.

It was fun putting the pieces together and making the colors complimentary. It's also one-of-a-kind because the material is unique for that dress alone and the print is hand screened.

What do you think?

Yummy!

Pure evil - Mango Melba, a concoction of fresh juicy mangoes, artisanal mango and vanilla ice cream topped with whipped cream and cashew nuts.

Sashimi Grade Grilled Tuna Salad

2 Tabi Sneakers

MMMmmmmmm...

Herve Chapelier

I first got wind of Herve Chapelier bags from the Bag Hag's entry here. Like her I LOVE Longchamp and their relatively lightweight bags. It's very practical when you travel. I remember this Mulberry and how heavy it was so definitely I don't want to go there again. HC intrigued me and promised that I will check their line of stuff.

Well, well, well... I should thank the peeps of Japan Thrift Shop for bringing not one, not two, but 4 fabulous HC bags into my greedy hands, at 1 amazing dollar each!

The pieces I got were from the Sac 'Anses Courtes' line in polyamide material. This one is a 'Les Cabas' fond carre forme basique taille XS (phew!) in blue and gray color combination.

The necessary strip of label.

This one with leather bottom guards is called 'Les Cabas' fond rectagulaire forme basique. It's a dusty pink color which I love. Very Stella McCartney ;)

The leather label on the side.

Plus these two 'Les Cabas' fond carre forme basique in lavender (taille M)...

a leather strip detail inside the bag,

and gray. I love the color! So me, non?

The leather label on the side...

and the leather snap detail inside.

Needless to say, I'm over the moon with these finds. Even Daphne included HC totes in her 'Favourite Things' list. According to her HC is one of the few brands that are still being made in France, not mass produced in China.

I checked out HC's site and I'm loving this 'La valise cabine' style from their 'Voyage' line:

It's cool, non? Military chic is so fasyon now.

Btw, Accessory Lab in Powerplant Mall stocks some HC so all you Manila peeps better check it out and actually buy one coz I'm telling you they're really practical.

The Other Bags

A continuation of my bag loot posts:

A Mizuno backpack gym bag in multicolored nylon is large one. I liked the color so much and I thought it's inspiring to see the combination and contrasts. A bit price-y at $3 but there's something to it that I can't let go.

This Adidas small overnight bag in nylon was a find from Phsar Krolayn, a fave local market here in SR where we usually buy thrifted stuff. I got it together with the Louis Vuitton bag. I was thinking of using it when I go to the gym.

This generic portfolio bag in industrial nylon and leather is about 20x30 inches in size. Sometimes you need a bag to properly carry illustrations and paper materials that needs to be flat, right?

Prada Backpack

Remember the 90's when it was fashion suicide if you didn't have the nylon Prada backpack? Well, I got one from the thriftshop and it reminded me of Clueless, Alicia Silverstone wearing the mini backpack; and White Chicks...you know the, 'It's Prada' chasing scene.

I got it for a dollar.

Longchamp

Some of my Longchamp thriftshop finds:

A small vanity case from the Planetes line in mocha.

This one is tote size Le Pliage in caramel nylon and it comes with a card that explains the leather used for the bag.

This one is a darker ochre color Le Pliage with a different leather detail.

I can't i.d. this dark brown leather bag. It must be a discontinued style because I can't find it in the Longchamp website.

It's very nice, though.