WORLD PREMIERE: That 1920s Look / Pinay Curvies Swag Challenge: Little Black Dress

How time flies! Once upon a time, I was just co-hosting my favorite twins' 7th birthday. Imagine my shock after I viewed this save-the-date for their 18th natal return! If I may quote a renowned commercial, these babies are now ladies! Ladies who, to be specific, wanted their guests to channel the characters from the film The Great Gatsby! I was initially intimidated by the idea, but I later on realized it was a cute excuse to keep a fringed frock in my closet. Wee!

This obsession, however, led me nowhere. This fringe dress from Suiteblanco won't fit and, worse, PlumpClothing's quote was beyond my budget. Thanks to this month's Pinay Curvies Swag challenge, I got reminded of that sexy black dress I bought from an ukay ukay shop recently. Then I almost changed my mind when I saw how the invitation practically presented my desired look on that night. Should I go back to my plan to look for a fringed frock? Somebody made me realize I can stick to the plain black dress and rummage for flashy accessories instead. Good point!

Ate Lorna & the adorable twins Bea & Tin Tin! 

Take a closer look at my fascinator!

Of course, it ain't me if there's no hilarious outfit moment to report. Before the party started, I realized my smart phone doesn't recognize my gloved fingers. There were moments I had to take off my right glove to take photos properly...so I dread to see the official photos, particularly if they reveal this "continuity" mishap. I recall posing next to Tito Eddie, the debutantes' father, and concealing my gloved forearm behind him. I hope it worked. Haha!

"The Governess"

A guy friend from college messaged his appreciation when I made the above photo (without the leg part) my profile picture on Facebook. According to him, I give off an impression that I know exactly what would drive men nuts. Aaand behind that mysterious smile and pa-demure arm pose lies this strong desire to be sexually dominant. Thus, he dubbed me "The Governess". Gasp!

As usual, he shared stuff about history I had no clue about. Some affluent women back in the days used to hire photographers in secret to have them captured looking fab and seductive. Since it was taboo back then, it was a secret fantasy to pose like THAT and to be perceived desirable in bed in spite of their prim and proper image. Wow.

Ok, before we all get too distracted, let's go back to the outfit. Haha! It's not really my style to pile up on accessories, but I contradicted myself this time to comply to the 1920s theme. Normally, I go for statement outfit (the slit would do, in this case) and dangling earrings or bracelet. Boring, I know. 

But I'm not saying I didn't enjoy dressing up that night. It was cool to feel like British royalty with my fascinator, pearl necklaces and white gloves. I just hope I can get to wear them again. Like, in the office! Why not?

Outfit of the Day:

Little black dress from ukay ukay (P120)

Flashy fascinator from Carolina's, Glorietta (P500)

Pearl earrings from Carolina's, Glorietta (P90 each)

White gloves from Buttons & Wrap, SM Makati (P250)

Snakeskin clutch bag from Suiteblanco (gift)

Bronze platforms from Payless (forgot how much)

***

There's no way I will conclude this entry without gushing about my favorite twins. I saw them evolve from carefree little girls into stylish, studious young women. Too bad I don't have throwback photos to support that statement. I used to know who's who, simply because Tin Tin was chubbier and more talkative.

Fast forward today, I can hardly tell them apart anymore! They've grown figure-conscious, I see, and I trust they're doing it the right way since Bea is pursuing Nursing while Tin Tin is taking up Physical Therapy. I pray they believe in their own beauty and NOT fall slave the society's standards of beauty and sexy. 

In conclusion, I had a grand time! I luuuurve their 1920s outfits and I feel happy that there was so much familial love in the air. I feel so grateful to be invited to witness all that. Again, happy, happy birthday, Bea and Tin Tin! 

#BeaTinXVIII

Photos by DJ San Jose.

WORLD PREMIERE: That Striped Cropped Top

It's the time of the year for back-to-back parties! Although the Kapamilya Network had cancelled our company-wide Christmas party to continue our relief operations for the Yolanda survivors, I was lucky enough to be invited to 2 department parties before we go on vacation.

Now that Studio 23 is signing off, let's par-tey hard!

My best friend DJ tagged me along last night for Studio 23's Creative On-Air party. We're supposed to show up as a character in one of the channel's shows (ex. WWE, Gag U, CSI, Desperate Housewives, Asia's Next Top Model, among others). Sure, it was tempting to come as Emma Swan but it was too...easy. In fact, there was only one character in my mind. See, I've always been flattered each time DJ says Callie Torres reminds her of me. She embodies curves plus confidence onscreen and I feel she's equally inspiring in real life. Ang haba ng hair ko! Although I still haven't gone beyond Season 2 of Grey's Anatomy to call myself a fan, I truly find her character and love stories interesting. She had me at allegedly NOT washing her hands after taking a pee. 

Sara Ramirez as Callie Torres...and me as Callie Torres. Convincing ba? Haha!

Something tells me you're violently shaking your head at this instant. Even if I got the professional look covered. On that note, I'd like to give credit to DJ for borrowing her aunt's lab gown and scrub pants. We even had a little debate in the comfort room as I wanted to world premiere Erzullie's striped cropped top and matching skirt underneath the lab gown. But she insisted that I should use the scrub pants to look clinical instead. Since I paired it with a cropped top, I opted for the high-waist look. Aaaaand moments like this make me miss my digipermed hair. With it, I'd somehow look close to Callie Torres. Chos! 

Outfit of the Day:

Lab gown from DJ's aunt/my dentist

Scrub pants from DJ's aunt/my dentist

Striped cropped top from Erzullie

Stethoscope from Mama

Lacey flats from Solemate

***

It is not right to conclude this little entry without showing you who else showed up in the party. Are you ready to laugh hard until your stomach hurt, Kabarkada? 

Some people don't need introduction. Can you name them?

Love their costumes!

Photos by DJ San Jose.

WORLD PREMIERE: That Peplum Dress / 17th of the 27 Dresses

Remember this little sneak preview? I divulged I'll wear that peplum dress to a fairy tale wedding, but I was unable to change into that before the production team started filming Maya & Ser Chief's wedding. I had time to do so, but the cosmos had its funny ways to prevent my little plan. Loooong, heartbreaking story. 

Luckily, I had one more wedding to attend this month! This time, I'm my best friend's plus one to her guy best friend's wedding. I know almost everyone in their office so I felt comfortable crashing their wedding haha. 

 Don't you just adore this dress?

Details, details!

Outfit of the Day:

Peplum dress from Erzullie (sold out!)

Snakeskin clutch bag from Suiteblanco

Gray heels from VNC

White dangling earrings from Mama

Bangle from DJ

***

Because I'm a sucker for weddings, I shall leave you with photos of the best dressed in my humble opinion and some romantic moments captured during the wedding and reception. Love, love, love!

 Best dressed female: Our big boss! So classy in her simple gown! *applause*

Best dressed biologically male: How long did it take Rye to button up? I'm clueless!

Congrats, Jerome! Best wishes, Valerie!

Photos from DJ, Sir Bubuy and Jerome.

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!

WORLD PREMIERE: That See-Through Miniskirt / Erzullie's First Look: Holiday 2013

After attending The Better Story Project's "Beauty Matters" workshop, I dashed to Eastwood for another empowering event. And when I say "dashed", I hiked up my long skirt to keep myself from tripping and hailed the first cab that came my way. I didn't realize how short this skirt can I get when I sit down before I left home (yeah, it pays to rehearse how it looks while sitting down) and it's a good thing I've set my mind to take cabs from one destination to another that day. 

I noticed that most people stare at my skirt and whisper something to their company and - worst - laugh about it - but I'm just grateful for this opportunity to apply what I learned from the workshop right away. I know that I am beautiful, whatever clothes I wear or whatever make up I apply on my face. If their idea of beautiful or fashionable doesn't resonate with mine, it's not a predicament I should worry about anymore. If there's anything, I was concerned if I were giving a peep show. Needless to say, I had to position my huge bag on my lap when I'm seated all evening.

Notice how the outer, longer skirt contradicts the casual, cottony feel of the gray miniskirt?I love the contrast! The lace details at the bottom of the skirt made me bring out my equally lacey flats. You know me, I love bringing black and red together. But don't we all?

Next time, I'll pair this skirt with something casual like t-shirt and Chuck Taylor sneakers. Let's see how it'll look. *winks*

Outfit of the Day:

Black bejeweled top from Nine West (overrun)

See-through skirt from ukay ukay shop

Red lacey flats from Solemate

***

After I had my vegetarian dinner, I headed to Erzullie's First Look: Holiday 2013 gathering to become one of its welcoming commitee. Being "too" early had its perks (to be detailed later). Knowing the inspiration behind this year's collection, I was even more excited to see the new designs. Plus the fact that I was looking for a dress to wear to 1 of the 3 weddings I'll be attending this coming November. 

My favorite part: socials-slash-pictorial!

Photos from Erzullie and Monica

Pinay Curvies came to support Erzullie!

Photo from Mitch

Our outfits look familiar, yes? That's because we squeezed in a little pictorial for this feature. Thanks for helping us spread the word about our vision, Erzullie!

Everybody's favorite!

Photos from Erzullie and Monica

Yes, I've found a dainty dress for an upcoming fairy tale wedding! I adore the peplum details and the charming floral design. I normally fit in 1L, but the chest area proved to be tighter than usual. So I ended up putting on the one in 3L. (Thanks for the assistance, Monica!) Little did I know that the designers only made 2 dresses per size, so imagine the horror in my face when models Loren and Vera asked for this dress in 3L! Like a mad woman, I told designer Berna I'll buy the one I tried, offered to pay right away and I'll leave the tug-of-war action between the models. We later on learned that Loren will get her own during this pictorial scheduled the following weekend. No need to panic at all! Phew!

As always, it was a fun to see one of our local brands continue to produce lovely designs and meet fellow plus size Pinays in the process. Mabuhay kayo, Erzullie!

Lessons from The Better Story Project's "Beauty Matters"

We all have our own sob stories - mostly untold and unfinished - that we struggle to escape from. Like what I recounted here and there, I've been told I was far from attractive...by my own family. I have pango nose, uneven skin tone, dinikdik na luya for my feet, dark lips, flabs, crooked teeth, cystic acne, alambre hair, stretch marks and the list goes on. Growing up, I got exposed to television, fashion magazines, movies, romance novels, billboards - all of them bombarding me with the same reminder: That there's no Prince Charming and happily-ever-after destined for ugly ones like me. And I believed them. All of it.

Then one day, I just grew tired of it. I discovered the joys of travels and started beach hopping even if it'll make my skin darker. While in graduate school, I followed the example of kolehiyalas and began donning carefree outfits. While working in a call center, I eventually learned to laugh at myself and take myself less seriously.  Then I accepted Jesus Christ and I got convinced that me, too, is fearfully and wonderfully made. (Psalm 139:14) 

So...why did a masterpiece like me even bother to attend The Better Story Project's "Beauty Matters" workshop? Simple. For someone who spent most of her life being pessimistic, I believe that self-acceptance is an ongoing journey. Plus, I can't afford to be complacent in my learning process. There's so much to absorb from other warriors and their battle scars. 

Lessons from "Beauty Matters"

Art by Crae Achacoso 

Obtained from this post

1.) "The world's version of beauty conveniently forgot the laws of gravity and mortality." - Ailene Ponce

Again, it's a reminder for us to ignore the socially-accepted - and, mind you, EVOLVING - standards of beauty. Skin wrinkles as we age, but what matters is what's beneath it. Just close your eyes, take a deep breath and search your heart and soul. There's kindness that flows inside you. Share it! 

2. What lasts? YOUR smile.

I remember walking out of the Smile For The World gallery with a huge smile in my face. Why did I feel so rejuvenated even if I hardly know the people in those portraits? Smiles, I realize, never fail to give off good vibes to the ones in the receiving end. Looking back, I've deprived a multitude of people of my smile just because I feel unpretty when my upper lip widen to show off my inflamed gums and/or my sungki. But then again, most of the compliments I received so far were all about how fun-loving and cheerful I am and how my rambunctious laughter proved to be contagious. See, nobody took notice about those flaws! It was just me and that critical voice in my head all along! (But, still, I had deep scaling done for my gums and had braces for my teeth for health reasons).

3. Don't put another woman down, especially a Filipina. Be generous with your compliments.

We spend so much time nitpicking others and it NEVER helps. It prolongs this vicious cycle of being harsh to other people and, in my opinion, being fault-finders or gossip mongers can make us too conscious about ourselves that we don't want to be talked about the same way or, worse, we forget to examine our own mistakes. 

Remember that the more we give, the more we get back. And to quote Ailene: "What blessing or curse are you giving out? And what will you take back?" So, it's important to compliment a colleague who doesn't seem to realize how charming she looks in skirts or remind a cousin that having backne doesn't make her less beautiful. Spread the conviction that we ARE beautiful! It'll make a huge difference.

Art by Crae Achacoso 

Obtained from this post

4. Real beauty means showing up.

Yes, there are moments when we feel that we're never enough and it's more comforting to lock ourselves up all day. But real beauty is knowing that nothing like a huge pimple or knee bruise can stop us from sharing our love and light to the world. 

In my opinion, it helps to know that we can't just stop at being pretty. We must aspire to be pretty creative and pretty smart, anything but merely pretty. 

5. Don't be scared of being beautiful. You ARE beautiful.

Beauty is not a gift entitled only to a selected few. Stop believing that some people happen to be idle and available nang naghasik nang kagandahan ang Diyos. Like what this video had elaborated, God is not fond of junk. He can't possibly create "factory defects". Just stop accepting what the world dictates as beautiful. Look at yourself in the mirror and utter a powerful affirmation about your beauty and your uniqueness. It will go a long way.

***

After Ailene shared her story, she invited us to do the same. I volunteered to narrate a story that probably deserves a separate blog entry. Haha! As I listened to the others, I felt inspired by ideas like Make Your Day Project, as discussed by Cindee, and "care package", as Aia described it. It's like a go signal for this little pay-it-forward project that I'm planning to do for Pinay Curvies. Can't wait to share it once it's finalized. 

Meet the beautiful girls! Wheeeeere's Waldo Lorna?

Photo also obtained from Better Story Project's fanpage

Bonus take-homes: postcard from Aia and GC from Manos Nail Lounge

I shall leave you with this clip that Ailene mentioned during the workshop. I suggest you look up the lyrics to this song like I did and reflect: Are we going to pass on our distorted and superficial definition of beauty to the next generation or are we going to start a comforting revolution instead?