WORLD PREMIERE: That Striped Dress / PINAY CURVIES EVENT: #StartingOverAgain Movie Date / Erzullie's Showroom-warming Party

What an action-packed weekend! I started the day with this much-awaited movie date with beautiful strangers Avon and Miss Annie and long-time sister in fashion, Loren. Sadly, my partner Mitch can't make it due to a family affair in Batangas. So I felt the pressure to be doubly madahldahl to compensate for her absence. 

Did I succeed? As always, I need not to fret. Any Pinay Curvies gathering always felt like a reunion of sort; the moment we strangers recognized one another, we instantly hit it off. In fact, I was quick to initiate a bet: "Kung sinong unang iiyak while watching Starting Over Again..." I didn't get to finish my sentence as they admitted they're crybabies just like me. But I think I was the first to sniff and wipe my eyes dry. How competitive, huh?

"Lumaklak kami ng realidad" and discussed how we can relate...over food!

Since we can all relate to film, we decided to talk about this reel-life sob story and our own real-life (un)love stories! Inasmuch as I would like to share our golden realizations, I doubt they'll allow me. So whatever revelations that transpired that afternoon in Glorietta 5, stays there! I can talk about mine, but that probably calls for a separate blog entry. Ha!

Something sweet and colorful from the generous Miss Annie!

To our surprise, Miss Annie (she used to sell plus size clothes on eBay way back in 2005! Isa syang institusyon!) gifted us with jelly beans! It was an astounding sight as I've been wondering where I can find Mason jars here in the Philippines. Plus, I discovered that Avon happens to be a Caviteña, too! And she's met Loren in one of the many go-sees before. All together now ---♫♪♪ it's a small world after all! ♪♫♫

Class picture!

What I enjoyed about this meet-up? We were already making plans on our next chikahan even before we decided to part ways. Actually, Avon and Miss Annie would like to continue the gabfest over coffee, but Loren and I had to decline due to another event we can't afford to miss. Off to Pasig we went!

Finding Erzullie's showroom wasn't hard at all. All we had to do was follow the contagious gales of laughter from the hallway and we're home. As always, it was a fun-filled evening with these body-positive ladies!

Meet the Erzullie Icons we got to hang out with: Jayrea, Loren and Kat

Painting the showroom's wall with love, love, love!

***

For this month's Pinay Curvies Swag challenge, I intended to bring out this striped dress from my Orocan baul (my mum took it upon herself to re-arrange my clothes again depending on frequent usage) and pair it with my ankle boots that I world premiered back in high school (circa 1995-1999). Why this dress? Well, you've heard me acknowledge hand-me-downs in my prior posts, so why not talk about a somewhat forgotten ukay ukay find? 

Unfortunately, I was unable to unearth the mentioned boots which kinda broke my heart since I wore them for the Christmas station ID shoot a couple of months ago. Where did they go? They can't possibly walk out on me, right? As a result, I was unable to join the blog link-up. Sighs. But, hey, make sure to check out these outfits with interesting back stories from Nina, Katee, Keevee and Caroline!

Anyway, I like how this cottony, casual fabric blended well with the sheer fabric that covered my chest and arms. Its contrast pretty much reminded me of this see-through miniskirt... or whatever's the proper way to describe it. How about you, do you think these white flats looked better than the black ankle boots for this striped dress? Let me know what you think. 

Erzullie Icon...NOT!

Outfit of the Day:

Striped dress from ukay ukay

White lacey flats from Solemate

Moonstone crystals from Crystal Empress

Come. Donate. Repack: A Relief Operation for the #YolandaPH Survivors in Guiuan, Eastern Samar

It's all over the news. Until now, we're still looking for our family and friends or our friends'  and colleagues' loved ones. What we see on television and our newsfeed remains to be heartbreaking, except for the heroic acts that we, in our own little way, hope to continue. In our exchanges with one of the administrators of Gugma para ha Guiuan (Love for Guiuan), we are grateful to have found a venue to aid our beloved kababayans. 

Pinay Curvies would like to invite you and YOUR friends (regardless of size, age and gender) to join us in what we hope to be the first of many relief operations for our countrymen in Guiuan, Eastern Samar. You can meet us this Sunday around 10am onwards at Power Up Climbing Gym along Quezon Avenue. See more details on this event page.

Distribution process:

1.) Land convoy of trucks and other private cars

2.) Via air courtesy of Alphaland Hangar (1,500 kilos per flight)

3.) Via sea through collective efforts of the Philippine Navy and Guiuan Surf Club and private boat.

Let's come together this Sunday!

Map to the venue

WORLD PREMIERE: That Luigi Costume / PINAY CURVIES EVENT: Spooky-Oke Night!

If you were born in the 80's just like me, you probably never experienced dressing up and going trick-or-treat around this time of the year. Our idea of Halloween involved watching real-life spooky stories on Magandang Gabi Bayan and visiting our loved ones in the cemetery. So when Mitch asked me for theme/s on how to celebrate Pinay Curvies' first bloggiversary, I was quick to suggest a Halloween costume party. Yes, psychologists call this compensation. Ha!

Since I've showed up as a cheshire cat last year, I daydreamed to level up this time. I initially planned to be Ginger Spice (I want this British Union Jack dress!) but my hectic schedule made me change plans and, thanks to this random stranger wearing a Super Mario Bros. shirt, I got an idea who I'll portray in the party. Of course, I asked Mitch to show up as Mario since our names start with M and L. Sadly, she can't see herself in jumpsuit and mustache. 

Finding this get-up wasn't as easy as I imagined. I thought I'll go with this denim jumper then I realized my latest ukay ukay purchase looks more appealing. I was relieved to hear that my friend can customize this mustache necklace and my friend referred me to Chikara Hats. I luuuurve my friends! 

However, I was unable to find a mushroom to complete the look. There's none in Clipper outlets in Eastwood, Gateway and Farmer's Plaza and I was told there's no Comic Alley in Glorietta (anymore?). Dear Kate Torralba, how can I order? Still waiting for your reply here.

L is for Lorna...and Luigi!

Outfit of the Day:

Mum's green top

Jumpsuit from ukay ukay

White gloves from SM

Green flats from Solemate (SM)

Luigi hat from Chikara Hats

Mustache necklace from Pepper Manila

***

The local curvy community I helped co-build is now one-year-old! Can you believe it? My daydreaming days felt just like yesterday and now I'm reminiscing about our little party to thank everyone for supporting our efforts to make it a smaller world for plus size Pinays worldwide. And so we dubbed it as #SpookyokeNight. Because singing is our national pasttime and we ain't celebrating until the fat ladies sing!

Spooky-oke Night!

The grateful faces behind Pinay Curvies

 How we partied, in photos

I don't think these photos can give justice to the amount of merriment we had last Saturday night and I don't think I can even articulate all my favorite moments. I'm super thankful that everyone showed up in fab costumes and everyone's game to croon and dance away. Mitch and I had a hard time choosing the best in costume and best singer, even! After much deliberation, we opted to have 2 winners per category. 

 Best in costumes: Janice as Kung Fu Hustle landlady & Lyn of ward88 as SnowWhite

Best Singers: Chiara as she-devil # 2 and Jo-anne as Insiduos black lady

 You're so sweet, Erzullie!

We made it to the news! Thanks, Candy!

See more #SpookyokeNight photos here. Photos by Cleopatra Mitch Leus.
Watch our own crazy rendition of Dynamite and Titanium on our YouTube channel. Mind you, we're not even drunk yet!

THANK YOU!

It's been five days since this beautiful article (yeah, I'm biased) was published, but I still can't wipe this modest smile on my face. I still can't believe that this writer found us and our advocacy through a mutual friend's timeline (mostly photos of the recently-concluded Glam Tales) and found it news-worthy. Fast-forward today: there are 143 shares of the article on Facebook and 34 tweets (as of 18:25 today). I could only hope that there are 177 plus size Pinays who got inspired to unleash the goddess within after reading it. Or 177 persons who opted to rethink about fat people and their lifestyle. Again, thank you for the support!

Speaking of support, here's what my proud momma posted on her timeline. Kaka-touch!

Reading the article for the first time reminded me of our dreams. When Ali asked us how many followers do we already have, my partner Mitch and I exchanged blank looks. We have no idea. Then she asked how many followers would we like to have. To my relief, Mitch echoed that we prefer quality over quantity. We prefer to reach out to women who currently battle with insecurities, we prefer to meet living role models of body acceptance and we'd love to make them all interact and support each other. We prefer to meet supportive men, too. But we don't wish to attract voyeurs. Figures don't matter to us. After all, we're hoping to create a positive community.

This interview also made us look ahead and reflect on how else we are going to achieve our idealistic goals. We're actually flattered that this news feature arrived quite early; the last time I checked, it's not listed in our timetable. We imagined to spread our advocacy through word of mouth. Perhaps media exposure will come when we've done something massive, like organizing the first Philippine Fatshion Week or something. Needless to say, I can't help but feel eager for our upcoming first anniversary in November. We're definitely cooking up something fun and fab. We're crossing our fingers to see old sisters and meet new ones in the event.

At this point, I can't contain my happiness for this blessing. No amount of words can capture my gratitude and excitement. Again, THANK YOU!!!

Obtained here.

EDIT: 30.09.2013

As if this feature were not enough, we got featured again on POC! Check this article out and spread the good news! 

WORLD PREMIERE: That Black & White Dress / PINAY CURVIES EVENT: Glam Tales: An Afternoon With Maita Atienza and Mercille Tiomico

For my first wedding assistant coordinator duty, I decided to look for a comfortable yet chic dress during the Great Luxe Sale in May. I ended up buying a black & white dress which I eventually decided unfitting since 1.) the wedding motif turned out to be pastel; and 2.) superstitious friends said attendees wearing black spells malas for the married couple. Oh, well. There'll be a better time to world premiere this dress!

Then I realized I could wear it on Glam Tales: An Afternoon with Maita Atienza & Mercille Tiomico! I'm sure my fellow plus size Pinays would show up in their most kikay outfits, too! However, I admit wearing a pink bolero on top of this during my commute and during the event itself. It was freezing cold! 

Outfit of the Day:

Dress from The Sweet Cloth

Moonstone crystals from Crystal Empress

Black wedges from VNC

***

Finally, Mitch and I had a follow-up gathering for our beloved curvy community. After the swap meet, quiz night and movie date, we are so delighted to hold our first kikay boot camp called Glam Tales. We're so grateful that our resource speakers were equally enthusiastic about this mission and, to our absolute surprise, the attendees braved typhoon Maring to join us. It was such an awesome feeling!

Our event started with a makeup demo from Maita Atienza. Based on our #UsapangCurvy about hair and makeup, it became apparent that most of us are eager to learn about contouring. Prior to the event, Maita tapped me to be the model so the attendees could see how to make magic. We truly learned a lot from her, specifically my foundation shade (golden sunset) and Findation is the place to go to find our perfect match! Amazing, right? 

Ang gaan ng kamay ni Maita!

Even before the demo is done, my newfound friends were quick to marvel at my no-makeup look. I must admit I was truly impressed, too. In fact, I almost did NOT wash my face before going to bed. I wanted to preserve my look! Then I remember how she started the demo by removing my makeup haha!

By the way, even before I met Maita that day, I was already a fan of hers. Her posts showed love for organic farming and she's a reminder of my dream to be a green thumb and grow my own food. When I finally saw her in the flesh, I was stunned that she looks waaay younger and prettier in person! Her photos online don't do her justice!

Mercille in action

Remember how we talked about our fashion worries during this #UsapangCurvy? Mercille Tiomico gave us all a roundup on what we should consider to look big and fab. I was personally shocked that she finds comfort vital, too. I mean, she looks fasyon fasyon in photos and in person (don't let that camouflage top fool you, she was wearing a very funky pair of shoes!). The best realization? She wasn't as snobbish as she appears! She's very bubbly. As in babaeng bakla like me! 

The hosts Mitch and I and the resource speakers Maita and Mercille

To sum it up, it was a very informative, fun and noisy gathering. It was like a reunion of some sort! I could just imagine how the other diners felt when we emerged out of the function room, asking for photo opps and exchanging endless goodbyes and besos. Mitch and I got inspiration for our next events, too. I'm tempted to divulge our brewing projects with some of the attendees, but it's best to keep mum for now. 

Kodak moment with the girls! Thank YOU for coming! 

Photos from Mitch Leus. Check the rest of the photos here. 

MOVIE MONDAY: Juana C The Movie

The moment I heard about Juana C The Movie, I was already convinced it was a must-see. I've heard of Mae Paner and her Juana Change Movement before and I imagine this film will be an excellent reminder to do something to alleviate our country's status. In fact, I was hoping it hit the theaters before the election. 

What attracted me to watch aside from the political satire that await us? As a dreamy plus size blogger, I feel it is ideal to support fellow full-bodied women. Especially if she aims social upliftment. Hence, I sent out this invitation to fellow curvy netizens so we can watch it all together and diss/cuss it after. More on that later.

The film is about an apathetic small town girl who went to Manila for college scholarship. Juana Change (Mae Paner) ended up being friends with self-entitled classmates like Eva (Annicka Dolonius) who tag her along to parties and other spending sprees, making her forget all about her studies. In one of these parties, she met Bayani (John James Uy) and it was evident that they're mutually attracted. This resulted to soulful sack sessions and, when Juana Change experiences bankruptcy, it evolved into a transactional relationship. What do I mean by that? Bayani urges Juana to "level up" and he gets a share of her earnings as a prostitute. Yani's mother (Angelina Kanapi) happens to be the best slut in town and proceeds to teach Juana the tricks of the trade. And who would have thought that members of the judicial branch, police force, religious group and lawmaking body get to meet one another in their extracurricular activities? When she discovers that the river from her hometown is at risk because of these powerful people's money-grabbing ways, Juana decided to expose all of it and found a helpful friend in Hero (Jelson Bay). And the rest is something that you should see for yourself in the silver screen. But I can't resist to give away the two-liner ending that reads: Kung gusto mo ng pagbabago, tara, 'dun tayo sa labas.

Yes, it's an invitation to take action, that all forms of anomaly presented in the film were no laughing matter. And I completely agree. 

As you would expect from Juana Change, it had maaany funny moments. I specifically like how fluent in English Juana's father was, how Juana and Hero exchanged post-coital messages with only campaign streamers that separate them, how Juana and her batchmates got high before their high school graduation, how Jek-jek became pekpek, how vroom-vroom is done, among others. 

But there's one joke that made me feel uncomfortable - that scene where she was dragged by her family and the entire community to a jeepney to take the scholarship in Manila that was intended to Jek-jek. Both of her hands were tied and her own father - yeah, the English-speaking one - placed an apple in her gaping mouth. It reminded me of how Vice Ganda made fun of Jessica Soho in his recent concert and every lechon joke that I have heard in this lifetime - directed at me or someone else. Now that I've thought about it, I'm open to the possibility that Juana Change thinks it's her time to deliver the fat joke. That's what happens when you're already immune to being the butt of the joke, right?

The joke is on...us, perhaps?

Photo obtained here.

What I like the most in this film? How a big woman gets depicted as someone sexually desirable. Everybody - men and women alike - wants to bed her and I get this impression that it wasn't just a fetish. She made us feel how her persona demands undivided attention.  Her confidence makes her truly sexy! I laud the film in its attempt to alter people's perceptions about standards of beauty. However, I must admit how nudity in this film shocked me - not because I find belly rolls, cellulite and big arms appalling because, as you can see, I face the beautiful giant in the mirror on a daily basis. It seemed that no amount of Banshee marathon prepared me for the skin exposure. I therefore conclude that I'm too conservative. Di halata, no? Haha!

Don't ask who Juana chose between Bayani and Hero. There's no way I can conclude that. In fact, the final scene reveals how both men joined Juana in her homecoming. And if you'll ask me, I don't like how Bayani pimped her and how Hero turned his back on her so he can keep his scholarship. Yeah, I need to forgive and forget.

I just found out here tonight that Juana C The Movie got pulled out in the theatres already. I'm actually not surprised, considering the low turnout of viewers when my friends and I watched it on a Saturday. We watched the last screening at - brace yourself - 04:25pm! I didn't know some films don't get evening slots. All together now - BIG SIGHS.

Wise words from Juana Change

Photo obtained here.

****

Like I mentioned earlier, Pinay Curvies sent out an invite to the sisterhood to watch this fearless film. I'm sad that 2 girls can't make it to the 04:25pm screening, but I'm grateful how effortlessly enjoyable the movie date was. I've met Timmy before during the swap meet and this fashion event, but it wasn't really enough to know her better. Keevee, on the other hand, was my former at-work-and-at-play friend-turned-neighbor, but we hardly see each other and travel together as often as we'd like. And then there's Jolly whom I accidentally found during one #UsapangCurvy session few weeks back. It will be my first time to meet the latter. And it'll be their first time to meet one another.  Exciting times!

Believe it or not, it turned out to be like a high school reunion. Except that we're not high school friends. The conversation flow was so natural! It was super easy to trade secrets even! And, to my delight, we made plans to see one another again. Isn't that wonderful when strangers become instant friends? It's moments like that that convinces me that our efforts to  make the world smaller for plus-sized Pinays is happening. Slowly but surely. Thank You, Lord!

It was a great evening!

Photo obtained here. See the rest of the photos here. 

WORLD PREMIERE: That Silk Dress / Pinay Curvies Took The Quiz Night Challenge!

As if this long-lasting puta red lipstick and a bundle of moron from Leyte were not enough pasalubong, my balikbayan friend Vannie even gifted me with this little black dress. I find it lovely and seductive...and something NOT safe to wear for work. In fact, I reserved this number for a pyjama par-tey that unfortunately didn't happen. Until I found myself staring at this dress while I was rummaging my closet recently and I re-assessed if it's really inappropriate in the workplace. 

Up until the day before the quiz night,  I was thinking of packing this dress as my post-shift outfit. The morning after, I changed my mind. I realized how wrinkled this pretty dress will be even before I get to wear it. In case our guards refuse to let me enter the premises, I packed an extra clothing. Sigurista! And in case you're wondering, no, it didn't happen. Phew!

Looks one size bigger but I like it! Thanks, Vannie! <3

Flower Power!

To my surprise, Mitch was also wearing something floral that evening. Flower power!

Outfit of The Day:

Silk dress from Vannie

Blue bangle from souvenir shop in Zamboanga

Mum's sandals

High bun by Tracee

***

I've always been intrigued and eager to experience quiz night with good friends.  So Mitch and I agreed to fulfill this long overdue fantasy as our follow-up event to the swap meet and greet. Remember this invitation to the plus size community last month?

Unfortunately, the others who confirmed can't make it. Loren was suffering from fever that time, thanks to our bipolar weather. And so was Jane. Get well soon, ladies! My fellow boarders Joy and Jinky had last-minute concerns to take care of. Ayzee, on the other hand, almost made it but she and her car got stuck somewhere. So it was just Mitch and I (and our combined stock knowledge) against the real geeks (or nerds, whatever the right term is). Challenge accepted!

May tama tayo, Mitch!

The quiz started with General Trivia. From this category, we were able to make right guesses. When asked about a certain athlete (didn't catch her name) who was proven to be a transvestite after her death, Mitch made a daunting guess. TRUE was correct! When asked which has more protein between egg and chicken, I wrote EGG. Another point! When asked if Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, wants a baby boy or baby girl, I opted for BOY. Again, correct! Then, we were asked to choose what's the fastest among falcon, bangaw (forgot the technical word for it) and jaguar (if my memory serves me right). Mitch mentioned cheetahs run faster than any other land animal. But we got confused as it's not included in the options. So we went for the fowl and we got another point! Yay!

Here's my favorite part: the answer that I was so sure of yet I failed to encircle to get double points! Question: From your entrance in the comfort room, what's the cleanest cubicle, according to research? I was very sure that it's the nearest cubicle from the door as, per the documentary I've watched, most people assume that the everyone goes there. Hence, the farthest cubicle is the dirtiest. Oha! 

Then we moved on to Dance category. We got three points for naming this certain prima ballerina (Lisa Macuja-Elizarde), providing another term for pirouette (whirl or twirl) and the type of dance that makes use of shoes to create sounds (tap dancing). We were clueless what type of dance toprock is (breakdance) and others. 

Other questions include what's the smell of the moon, according to the Apollo 11 astronauts, what does HTML stand for (Google it!), which drink has the least amount of caffeine among green tea, espresso and black tea, what country has the most number of overweight citizens based on BMI (it's Kuwait), how many times was Julius Ceasar stabbed (23 times), which locally available fruit is a distant relative of poison ivy (mango), among others. 

Wait, I might have confused these questions from other categories. There were about 10 questions per category and it can get overwhelming. And it doesn't help that I have poor memory. Anyway, other categories included science, pirates/piracy, Steven Sodenbergh, vintage cars, geography, women and...and...I'll get back to you on that.

We were THIS close to the right answer!!!

Have you ever wondered how long is the shortest scheduled flight ever? We guessed 20 minutes. To our dismay, it was just 2 minutes! We were THIS close for one point! Can you feel our frustration?

Did I just hear you ask if we cheated? Well, I think I did. For the question which country is closest to North America, I recall being convinced Canada is the answer. Then the quiz master provided a clue that it's NOT in North America as well. I was about to write down Mexico in our whiteboard when somebody from the next table gave away his answer with much conviction. So we - I mean, I urged Mitch - to write down RUSSIA instead. 

Category: vintage cars

Among the categories, I'd say vintage cars was the most difficult. See, cars don't like me back. I just permitted Mitch to make guesses on all images they flashed on TV. For that category, we got zilch. 

But I won't conclude this entry without bragging about our glorious moment. For the Pirates/Piracy, category, we got 2 points for guessing the golden age of pirates/piracy (1717-1720, thanks to multiple choice) and naming the act that prevents the pirates or their enemies from catching up (we didn't  know the right word for it so we wrote down "water hosing").  The quiz master accepted our answer since pirates make use of water jets to slow their enemies down. And guess what? The other teams bowed down to admit their defeat. Ok, I'm exaggerating. Most of them actually gave us slow claps to show their appreciation. And we were so ready to bill out. Hahaha!

My favorite moment!

Biggest losers of the night!

And we survived 10 rounds of brain exercise. However, we ended up as the "biggest losers" of the night! There's a reason why there's a quotation mark right there. While the team with highest scores takes home a gift certificate amounting to P1,000, the losing team gets to have free booze. To my surprise, they gave us my all-time favorite! Unfortunately, Mitch was advised by her doctor to refrain from alcoholic drinks; this should help with her plan to conceive. (Can't wait to organize a curvy baby shower!) So I downed both tequila shots even before Mitch can conclude her apology. Ahlaveet!

I know 8 heads are better than 2, but I truly enjoyed this experience. In fact, I'd like to try this again! Just let me know if you'd like to join me. Aja!

Check out our photos here.