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

Bloggers Do Black + White Stripes Better

When I first heard of the Bloggers Do Black + White Stripes Better challenge, I immediately felt disqualified to join. I have this red + white stripes dress I can't wait to bring to the beach this summer and a pale pink + grey striped shirt I was wearing when I read the news and I'm daydreaming of this striped dress, but I have no black + white stripes! It was a sad realization as I patiently waited for the follow-up challenge after this.

When I went home to my parents' place last weekend, I was delighted to see a mountain of hand-me-downs in my closet. Either that or Mama needed a bigger space for her clothes. To my surprise, I found a long-sleeved top that would serve as my ticket for the abovementioned challenge. Yippee! Yahoo! Yehey!

Manila has been experiencing bipolar weather lately; humid mornings that give way to rainy afternoons/evenings. I didn't mind wearing this long-sleeved top under the sun as I expected heavy rains later that day. Hot, sweaty mornings I can tolerate. But gloomy, freezing evenings? Hardly. 

As you probably know by now, I'm your typical casual chick. And when it rains, I get extra lazy. Yesterday was no exception. So I mixed my mum's striped top with my harlem pants and overused purple flats. Nothing bold, nothing special. I'd rather don something "safe" in terms of the predictably moody weather.

The big picture

Did I mention it's hooded?

Wait. I feel the need to interrupt the parade of photos to say that it doesn't feel as warm as it looks. The fabric felt kinda light against the sun yet it never failed to protect me from the usual chills inside an airconditioned room. Lovin' the fact that it has hood, too. Even if I find my umbrella more reliable. 

Oooh! Somebody else has earned her stripes! 

Now you see the harlem pattern...

...now you don't!

And the sun stayed with us after the morning service, after lunch and after our Church-related meeting. I was expecting to see rain showers after the last activity, but I managed to travel to my high school friend's home without getting soaked. But I noticed the threatening dark clouds during my commute.

Eventually, it rained cats and dogs. Thankfully, I made it home before it happened. 

And I have this poorly-lit photo to prove it!

You'll have to look closely to see how drenched my flats were. But if you're still not convinced how extreme the weather can get here as of late, I'll show you photos of  a flooded venue where I would like my clone to go that evening, given the chance. I truly miss watching football matches live! When's the last time again?

Flooded pitch! 

The Philippines vs. Cambodia match had to be temporarily suspended due to heavy rains!

Photo lifted from my crushie Neil Etheridge's Instagram post

Check out the precipitation!

Photo from this article

Check out how other bloggers interpreted this summer/spring trend here. Enjoy!