Midi Skirts of the 70's

Midi skirts were a big trend during the 70's, along with maxi skirts, wide leg trousers, clogs, and a lot more. And it seems like all these big trends are on a big comeback this year. I'm actually loving the 70's look that I've tried looking into my Mom's and Tita's closets. Sad though because they've only got a few pieces left from those times when they were around my age. So what's a better place to go to aside from a vintage store? Yep, I went to another vintage store after my first successful Ukay trip. Oh well I'd say it's another successful trip to the Ukay and this skirt is the evidence. I bought this pretty box pleated skirt for only P80!!! Can you believe that? :p

 Thanks to Kuya Guard for my pics. =p

red ruffled top from Forever21,

midi skirt from Ukay,

checkered bow flats from Chinese Laundry (pasalubong from boyfie (-: ),

belt from The Ramp,

bag from Guess

More of this look...

 

Topshop

Asos

Anyway, I'm really excited for the styling class I signed for this weekend. For some reasons I did miss Alyanna Martinez's celebrity styling class at the School of Fashion and the Arts last month so when I found out that there's going to be a batch 2, I headed to SoFA to get my slot. Thanks to my Mom for the sponsorship (hihihi). If there's anyone else interested to join the class, you may call or visit SoFA. :D

http://blog.sofafibre.com/

I ♥ SoFA

I've never loved school the way I do now. How can one not love school when it's the place where you'd meet the most interesting set of people? I remember sometime in 2007 or 2008 when got the chance to pass by Paseo de Roxas and saw SoFA for the very first time, I silently thought to myself at that time that one day, I would be studying there. Never did I think that more than just studying and meeting these people I used to see only in magazines, I would find myself having another set of friends. SoFA is a dream come true for me that if school means SoFA, I would consider studying forever (haha). I'm down to my last class this Tuesday. Even just the thought of it makes me feel sad. But what makes me happy on the otherhand is the fact that more than just broadening my knowledge, experience and network, I've found true friends too. The short time I got to spend here is one very colorful chapter I'll never forget. I know I can always go back. So I will.. Sometime again soon... :)

One of my very first pictures in SoFA taken months and months ago. This was my fattest so far, haha.

 pink top from Bayo,

denim tiered skirt from Zara,

studded bag from Tita Annie,

necklace from my secret place

On a different but related note, here's an amazing shoot done by Danika Navarro and her team for one of their school projects and for her up coming line, Boheme. Danika was my classmate during my 1st two terms in school and I believe she's really one of SoFA's most talented. Her models include popular fashion bloggers Kryz Uy and Patricia Prieto who are also SoFA students.

creative director and head stylist: Danika Rio Navarro
asst. stylists: Shen Jarlega, Patricia Prieto, Turx Tolentino
models: Patricia Prieto, Kryz Uy, Jan Aranilla
photographers: Hannah Reyes, Tippi Sy
make-up: Legna Ennyhl
set and production heads: Shen Jarlega, Turx Tolentino
book layout: Danika Rio Navarro
sponsor: Kandi Treats

Here's another interesting thing I would like to share. Take a look at how the people who work in SoFA dress-up. Would you not be pressured to look presentable if these are the people you bump into everyday? For details, click this link.

Photo from Stylebible.ph

Yesterday was another big event for SoFA and Triumph as they awarded the winner of the Triumph Inspiration Award. The competition was among the talented SoFA students enrolled in the 2year and 4year diploma course. The winner of the competiotion will compete against reprasentatives from other countries in Berlin, Germany.

Photos by Juan Benjamin Janeo

National Winner, Pristine de Guzman

1st Runner-up Steph Verano

If anyone's interested to enrol in any of SoFA's summer workshops, do visit the links below. :)

Down to the Last

I've always been into the safe side of fashion. But since I studied at SoFA, my style has changed a bit in the sense that  I've been more experimental in terms of what to wear. I've become more open to trying things besides my own style, although my personal aesthetic still peaks through no matter what. I guess the reason for this is because I'm surrounded by really artistic and appreciative people in school. Although we share the same passion, each person is still unique in his/her own way. I've been in a very healthy environment for the past months, and it has been amazing!

Photos by Shen Jarlega

mustard dress from Forever21,

cropped shirt from Pinky Binky,

studded wedges from Charles and Keith,

chain necklace from my secret place

Here's Jezl of Rome shoes, also wearing a cropped shirt but in an entirely different way. :)

In terms design aesthetics, I've also been more experimental. In my desire to be as versatile as possible, I've been trying to push myself to my limits by doing things I'm not even sure I can really do. I'm down to my last SoFA project so I really want to give it my best. Here's what I'm working on now (still soo much to do). I'll post pictures of the design and the finished product soon.. :)

Brasilipinas Event

Here's a picture of me and my Mom during Christmas Eve (December 24, 2010). In this picture, she wore a pleated midi dress which she also designed (my Mom designs her own outfits too! cool huh?).. As usual, I loved her fabric so I asked her for the "retaso".

 

Now, check out what I did to Mom's "retaso". I wore this outfit last Friday. :)

silk top, made by me,

electric blue bodycon skirt from Zara,

platform wedge from Charles and Keith,

leather bag from Liz Claiborne,

resin bangles from Cebu

The event was held at the Rockwell Tent. SoFA students from Ms Benet's Fashion Product Development class (which I'm not part of), plus Danika Navarro's collection (which was supposedly for the RISQ competition) opened the event with a fashion show. Here are some of the runway shots. I wasn't able to document everything though because I was far from the stage. Get ideas on what's hot this summer from the forecasts of my fellow SoFashionistas. :)

Danika's collection :)

...

Designs from Ms B's class :)

Midterms Week

I finally found a way to wear this pair of silver sandals which I got as one of the pasalubongs from my dear boyfriend. He describes it as "tiled" while I call it prom shoes (haha). Exactly the type of sandals one would wear to formal events such as proms, weddings, etc. But who knows when the next formal event would be? There's no way I'm going to wait for it to get old in my shoe rack! So I took the chance on wearing it to school with my latest personal sewing project and paired it with rugged faded jeans to create a "not so formal" look. Anyway, it's midterms week and we were asked to do skirts with asymetric radiating gathers for Pattern and Sewing class. Along with the other girls, we agreed to wear our projects next meeting... Watch out Ms Loids! hehe :)

Would you believe I got this fabulous fabric with a really cute print for only P15/yard? Yes, that's right. I got it for only P15!!!

Nico Aquino fitting Dan Duran's corset project (will post mine next week) :)

with Nico Aquino and Shen Jarlega :)

oversized ruched top, made by me,
jeans from 168 Mall,
"tiled" step-in from Madeline,
accessories from my secret place

Seamstress by Heart

It was one random day back in 2007 when Mom and I dropped by Ace Hardware to get some stuff. I walked around while waiting for her to finish when I saw this tiny sewing machine at one corner. The moment I saw it, I already knew I had to own it. I can't exactly remember what my very first project was but what I can recall is that at that time, I was really into making fabric purses and bags. I don't know if the idea of making these stuffs just sort of popped out of my head or if it was because bags and purses were easier to cut and sew. But I guess what really inspired me, were the craft books we had at home. So when I learned how the tiny machine worked, I got so amazed with it that I went to the fabric store just so I would have enough fabric to play around with. It worked me wonders though it looked more of a toy than a real machine. And that was when I realized how sewing can be so powerful. It made me realize how cool it is to turn flat fabrics, into something dimensional just by putting pieces together through several stitches.

Here are some of my very first projects. I made all of these bags and purses using my "toy machine". I even remember having my poor machine repaired at Ace Hardware every now and then because it broke down several times.But the good thing is that through a friend, I was able to sell all these stuffs! haha

From these bags, I don't know why all of a sudden I was already more into designing clothes. And now, after learning all the basics and the most important techniques from my teachers at the School of Fashion and the Arts, I think I've grown a lot from the girl who would force the tiny machine to make wonders. I now know how a real sewing machine works, and more importantly, I now understand it by heart. At this point I'm actually quite addicted with making my own outfits and I've got a pile of fabrics in my apartment waiting to be turned into something interesting. Here are 2 of my latest projects. These aren't school related though. I simply enjoy buying fabrics, sewing, and finally wearing them. I'll be posting more made by me outfits soon.. :)

Midi-Skirt

tank top and peach top with lace details from Forever21,

chiffon midi-skirt made by me,

platform sandals from Nine West,

belt from Celine,

bag from China (gift from a friend),

pearl headband made by me,

bangles from my secret place,

necklace from Padini

Slashed Shirt

yellow slashed shirt made by me,

tank top from Forever21,

acid washed jeans from Tutuban Mall,

black strappy sandals from VNC,

leather sling bag from Coldwater and Creek,

accessories from my secret place

Corset Day

For this week's Pattern3 and Sewing3 class, we were taught how to make corsets. It's quite time consuming though so no one was able to finish within the day. Our deadline will be next week and we will be using the same project for the embellishment topic. I'm excited to finish mine and I'm excited to see my classmates' projects as well. :)

Here's Ms Loida Hunter, demonstrating the process for the class.

Leopard prints are so 2011 and I can feel that this trend will be a big hit all throughout the year. And since I don't have any item in my closet in this particular print, I decided to pick a leopard print fabric for my project. I don't really intend to wear this... Of course it'll depend on either my success or failure in this activity (haha). I'll blog about this when I'm done.. :)  

If' there's one closet I would want to raid among all the Fashionistas in school, it would be hers. Meet my classmate and friend, Shen Jarlega. She's one of those gals whom I look forward to seeing in school because of what she wears. I'll be posting more of her looks soon for you to understand why I love her wardrobe.. :)  

Another hot trend to watch out for this year is the grown-up look of the 70's..... And here's what I wore as inspired by this trend. :)

see-through floral top from Binkydoodles,

high-waist trousers from Binkydoodles,

comfy 5inch-platform wedge from Charles and Keith,

 leather sling bag from Coldwater Creek

accessories from my secret place

The One-Piece Swimsuit Project

Yeeessss, I'm officially back in SoFA and I'm now on my third term, though I only have two subjects for this term so it's just a one-day Tuesday class. For our first project in Sewing 3 and Pattern 3, our first task was to make swimsuits in two variations- basic, and color blocked. Since we didn't have enough time to look for fabrics, I had to stick with plain colors. For the basic swimsuit, I used silver and for my color blocked entry, I combined peach and cream. Since we were only asked to do the basic pattern for our first swimsuit, I just thought of a more challenging design for my color blocked swimsuit. I didn't want to stick with the cut-out patterns since I wanted to do something more difficult. And indeed I was challenged! Phew! I got stressed-out while sewing the styled parts since the fabric was spandex (whose properties are beyond normal). I've always wanted to design my own swimsuit line but I know I don't have the capacity to do all things at once. But I guess learning how to make my own swimsuit is a good start. :-)

Basic Swimsuit (the making, front and back details)

Color Blocked Swimsuit (the making, front and back details)