Burdang Taal, Habing Pilipino

Last Saturday, I was hesitating to attend the Philippine Fashion Week but when I saw the Burdang Taal, Habing Pilipino schedule, I went to SM Mall of Asia quickly, tried to look for someone to use of complimentary ticket with me (but didn't find one) and enjoyed the beautiful collections of burdang taal, a very detailed hand-embroidery technique that actually originated in Taal, Batangas.

The featured collections are from Edgar Madamba, Vic Barba, Bergamo, Dong Omaga-Diaz, Lito Perez, JC Buendia, Fanny Serrano, Gerry Katigbak, Johnny Abad, Edgar San Diego,Ole Morabe, Jontie Martinez, Roland Lirio, Richard Papa, Anthony Nocom, Randy Ortiz, Oskar Peralta.

I personally like the collections and I'm hoping that there'll be more of this kind in the Philippine Fashion Week for the coming years because they showcase the Filipino talent and craftsmanship that is very unique and sophisticated.

To see the photos and for full story, please read more here.

Hosting + The Look

I think this is one of my favorites among the unlimited interesting things I've done with Taku. For the month of October, aside from the Surprise Party, this is the biggest activity that we have --to host a wedding of good friends (who are Japanese & Iranian/Filipina) so we needed to translate the script in English & Japanese for everybody's convenience.

Above photo was taken on Saturday night while we were practicing and he was so strict while wearing his necktie! :)

The hosting was fun and since we enjoyed doing it, we heard some positive feedback like they liked how we pulled things together, we exceeded their expectations (Did they expect that we speak like high school students because we look like one? haha) and remained calm on the stressful changes in the program. My former boss and his wife even reminisced their own wedding! 

But I think the biggest factors why it turned out nicely are because I know my hosting partner a lot that I even know the best time to inject some humor and he knows what are the things that don't need translations among my random unnecessary information. haha.

Photo taken by Chino Batoctoy

I believe harmony and a little bit "adventure" is needed for hosting to become successful. You should know the program flow but you should not be afraid to tweak some things when the situation occurs. And I also believe that people will like what they hear when they like what they see.

And since I think it's unacceptable for a "host" not to dress appropriately and sophisticatedly in a very special occasion like this, I think it might be a good idea for me to share to you my attending-a-wedding-look and how I prepared for it.

1. I tried to be unconventional with the shoes.

Color: Gray with Gold Heels
From: Zara

I wanted to have a little twist in the traditional shoes that we wear in weddings and since I usually opt not to buy things that I won't be able to use again plus, I find it easy to walk with this heels, I didn't stop myself to have it! I was glad that its safe and elegant colors matched my dress that I got from People are People.

2. Choose lively colors to match the happy moments!

3. I like fake lashes! :) It was my first time wearing them but I was surprised that they weren't heavy at all! It feels uncomfortable after putting the glue but it feels natural afterwards. I like the drama that it creates in the eyes (with short lashes like mine). And congratulations to my beautiful cousin whom I requested to do my hair & make up, Katchie Mejias, since she was able to fix my ugly eyebrows! I promise not to use eyeliner for my brows again so the hairs will be in order. haha.

4. I don't usually wear French tip on my nails because I'm saving it for special occasions and I feel like it's more appropriate to wear it on weddings since it looks clean and lady-like.

So I think we quite pull it off though I made Taku panicked when I said something that the organizer told me to say which I wasn't able to inform him beforehand and he needed to translate in Japanese right away. With the diversity of cultures of family and friends, it is a wedding that I will never forget, indeed, love knows no boundaries.

And of course, because it's a wedding of good friends! 

"Together, I believe we'll change the world" is what the groom said in his vow to his bride which was said in a funny way but sincerely inspired everyone to love.

Hari Batik Selalu

Sibika at Kultura is the subject in elementary where young Filipinos learn history and enhance awareness of their cultural and social ability and distinction among other nationalities. In my case, that's when I first fell in love with batik.

According to researches, Batik is a cloth that is traditionally made using a manual wax-resist dyeing technique which is an ancient art form that has said to have existed in Egypt where it was used to wrap mummies and was practiced in China, Japan, India, Nigeria and Senegal. But the Indonesian batik that we know nowadays  is especially from Yogyakarta and Surakarta which has notable meanings rooted to the Javanese conceptualization of the universe.

I'd like to announce for October 2 to be the Batik Day (haha) but UNESCO already acknowledged the beauty of batik as a Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity on October 2, 2009. So today, it's an honor to support Batik Day and will not just  be blogging about it but will also feel awesome wearing it!

The cape batik that I'm wearing in the photos is made by Riana Kusuma of Indonesia which is done in summer colors with beautiful flowers manually drawn in it. But I'm always thrilled to see the different batik designs that talk so much about where they actually come from.

Growing up, I associate batik with Indonesians and what I admire about them very much is how batik serves not just as a national costume/ national identity but how they actually enhance and incorporate it in their everyday lives (reason why I always wonder how we can also use Filipiniana daily cause it would be nice to wear your identity, right?).

What I also like about Batik is it normally adds sophistication to an outfit. Due to its limited availability in the Philippines, I always find Filipinos who appreciate and wear Batik very sophisticated and smart, surprisingly upon knowing them, they really are (like my elementary teacher who first showed me a batik scarf)! So probably, it's a good idea to wear it! haha.

Here's one of my favorite bags which I got from Jakarta when I sang my heart out upon realizing a dream last year and seeing batik in its country of origin for the first time was an amazing feeling.

And just like what one of the most prominent techie women and batik lover in Indonesia, Shinta Dhanuwardhoyo, have told me and I'd like to tell you, "The beauty started long time ago, then it's your turn to pass it on."

Vanity & Savings

So, the photo above is our savings! Yohoo! But as you can see, I'm not suppose to use it for shoes or dress, it says "FOR TRAVEL ONLY" and it's not even mine alone, Taku put some 10 & 5 peso coins there for the past months! 

We got a total of 3,500 pesos! I thought we have 6,000 already :( but I'm wondering where could we go with this! 

Anyway, since I always keep in mind "to save" and I don't usually buy things that are not "the basic," here's something that I do when mixing and matching with what I have:

This is my headband. I put white ribbon in it and made it a necklace. Yey!

Since this necklace is in my closet for so long (given to me by a gorgeous friend, Rochelle) and I've found a nice white top, I worn it and took a photo cause I want to remember when Taku looked at it 4 times trying not to laugh. Then he sent me a message during lunch saying "How's your curse working?" I swear he's so not into fashion!

But just last week, I had fun having Avocado foot mask with Taku (Korean experience)! Haha.

Look how the guy liked it! Probably, we'll do this again cause my feet got a bit softer. 

(You can buy this pack from Watson's)