/Triumph/

Coming off a surprisingly enjoyable and complacent long Easter weekend spent with my family, highlights included: early morning breakfasts at McD's which I never get to do on a normal basis, but actually anticipated due to their delectable sausage egg mcmuffins, lots-o-Chinese food/Dimsum (which I LOVE), quick drives out of town for lunch and view of the scenery, 2 trips to the casino over at Resorts World (who knew my dad would be one of THE FUNNEST people to go to the casino with?! And one of the most lively Baccarat HUSTLAS you will ever meet!), an overload of fruit consumption due to my parents' habit of buying too much of everything they see - this includes random fruit stands we encountered on the side of streets, and THE BEST PART -- finally receiving a few of the vintage blazers I ordered online a few weeks back (more posts on those blazers coming REAL SOON).

A couple weeks ago, I attended a Triumph event over at Members Only and was seriously taken aback at the creations made by some of the students from the School of Fashion and the Arts. These kids had no problem whatsoever taking large steps outside of the conformity box and creating lingerie/underwear that defines the word innovative. While some of the designs had more of a futuristic vibe to them and others leaned more towards costume, I think it's definitely safe to say that none of the designs diverged from Triumph's true essence: femininity.





This design was the second runner up. This cream colored onesie has such an intricate texture made of the perfect amount of linear and circular designs... I would totally purchase this piece and use it as a swimsuit.



This design placed first runner up. I just love the crochet work on this piece with just the right amount of holes and in all the right places.



This design won the People's Choice Award. This model was TOTALLY fierce and dedicated to her role down the runway. I was not at all surprised that she garnered people's votes for this award.



This design was the winner and the designer gets to compete internationally in Berlin with this little creation of hers. I could not keep my eyes off the deep red and silver color combination of this three piece.



Here I wore a Topshop top and leather shorts, an H&M necklace, complete with deep red lips and coral nails. Of course, I couldn't leave the house without my favorite mustard clutch from Trousseau. Here are some of my friends who were at the event as well -- I always have so much fun with them!: Mazie P., Leanne T., Tricia L., Cherry E., Mica A., and Joanna L.

xx

/Chocolate/

Last week I mentioned on this post a bunch of activities/events that were keeping me absent from the blogging world for a couple days, and one of those events included Chocolate Clothing's Launch (to celebrate the new brands that are now being carried in their stores) that was held at Opus, a restaurant/lounge over at Resorts World.

The night consisted of summery patterns and print, frilly and tiered dresses, radically sleek and skinny black pants with even cooler leather patches on the knees (can you tell this one's my favorite?), chunky gold and silver plated accessories, 9 resplendent icons chosen by Chocolate Clothing - my favorite icon was the ever-so-alluring Reshma Chulani, multiple flash photogs, and exceptionally delectable finger food that myself and Mr. Boyfriend gorged on. Most of the finger food were ingeniously served on Chinese soup spoons, where each bite was small enough to still be considered finger food, yet big enough to completely satisfy each and every taste bud. Some of our soup spoon favorites included the tender steak bite on top of a bed of mashed potatoes, the bite of foie gras with something tangy and sweet that I just can't quite put my finger on, and the amazing teeny tiny hamburger bites.



Aren't those leather-knee patch pants just killer?? How great would they look with a bold colored silk or flowy polyester blouse? Need them in my closet. NOW.



Here I am with 3 lovelies (who are no strangers to this blog): Tippy E., Patti G. and Reshma C. I was wearing a one-shouldered Topshop tunic/dress, Tyler pants, and Zara shoes.



On the left is one of the Chocolate icons, Reshma C. AKA Miss Trousseau (I honestly can't rave ENOUGH about her amazing line. P.S. her Prive night is going to be on May 11, so stay tuned!). On the right is Patti G. (of Sweet Patti Cakes) who is not only a sweetheart, but is such an AMAZING cupcake baker. I say that in all seriousness... my mouth is always so replete with bliss whenever her cupcakes are around.



To cap the night off, the 3 lovelies & co., Mr. Boyfriend, and myself all had a late dinner at a nearby restaurant where we talked, laughed, and truffle fried the night away.

xx

/Dreamy/

I've recently become interested in interior design and couldn't help staring at these pictures (with my mouth wide open) for about a half hour when I came across them on this blog. This is Gwyneth Paltrow's apartment in Tribeca and it SCREAMS perfection in every sense possible. From the white/off-white color scheme overload to the gold accents on the walls of the hall, and that immaculate gold-painted closet, it earnestly makes me want to go take acting classes and make movies if it means I get to have an apartment like this.

P.S. That hanging couch is just killer. So brilliant.

xx

(Images via: I Love Wildfox)

/Harper's Bazaar Korea/

I just love when editorials don't get too crazy with color, makeup, and poses, and from time to time, go back to the classics... much like this spread. It allows the reader the opportunity to fully take in and appreciate cuts and basic details that essentially make the clothing so special. The clean lines, the sheath silhouette from the dark beige dress (how gorgeous is that gold choker?!), and the usage of nude colors with eye-popping makeup truly adds something modernly beautiful to a spread that resembles a throwback of the 70's.

I've been itching to try this "Amy Winehouse" eye makeup out... though not really to her extent. The effect of shaping your eyelids with thick or thin lines then taking it to another level by creating a cat-like shape towards the end of the upper fold gives it so much depth and intensity. One of my favorite bloggers, Denni from The Chic Muse has got this cat-eye/Cleopatra-eye down pat.

xx

Images via: WhoWhatWear Blog

/Casual Saturday/

Sorry for the LOOONG interval with posts, but my time was entirely consumed by all work-related things (okay, maybe not ALL) for the most part of the week. Work-related stress, or any kind of stress for that matter, is so much easier to balance when you have friends to help with the de-stressing process as well as introduce NEW things/events/people to blissfully creep into your tedious daily routine... caught up with some friends at the Copper, attended a very CHOCOLATEy event and got to watch (and meet) a VERY talented local singer's gig on the same night (seriously, SO talented... he has the BEST renditions of Dido's White Flag, Elton John's Tiny Dancer, and sang Dave Matthews' The Space Between even better than Dave himself), ended my work week with a gruelling exam that took what felt like forever to finish, a crazy house party, and the best ending of all endings to an intense week: the weekend.




Wearing Forever 21 top, pants, and cardigan, H&M belt, Zara shoes, and Ray-Ban aviators.






I'm probably the last person to know about this magazine, but today I came across an issue of Wallpaper and literally COULD NOT put it down. It has THE most interesting spreads and articles that are just too good to skim over. I put the magazine down with an epiphany to make some DIY decors for my room... I think I'll start this little project tomorrow.

xx

(Photography by Mr. Boyfriend)

/At the Park/

I've had this little summer dress sitting in my closet for a good year now and forgot about its existence until I found it stuck in between two hangers holding drapey blouses. I tried it on and remembered exactly why I've forgotten about it all this time... it's 6 sizes bigger and its length falls below my knees. Hence, to fix this tiny problem, I tied the ends of the dress to make a little knot in the front, put a skirt and tights on, grabbed my leather jacket (purely for the sake of fashion since it's 80 degrees out), and went to the park.





Wearing an H&M dress and jacket, skirt (from a local designer who's name I've forgotten), tights, Zara shoes, Forever 21 necklace and sunnies, and a bangle I got from a random boutique in Hong Kong.





Going to this park today made me nostalgic for the Downers Grove park. I used to go there on Sundays with my Dad and brothers back when I lived in Illinois. My Dad always encouraged us to exercise and would make us compete with one another doing kiddie workouts on the monkey bars and doing pull ups on random exercise stations. I had to put this skill to the test and truly prove to myself that age hasn't gotten the best of me... so I challenged Mr. Boyfriend to a round of swinging over at the monkey bars a couple days ago. We all know who won that contest.

xx

(Photography by Mr. Boyfriend)

/Privé/

I had the privilege of attending an awards ceremony to honor the most fashionable designers and muses whom encapsulate the very essence of the Philippines' modern-day fashion, the Privé Fashion Awards. Lucky for me, the awards were held over at Members Only, where my friends and I had our own little corner and munched on the most delectable truffle french fries (one of the BEST things about Members) while watching the hand out of all the awards.



I wore an altered dress from Asos, leather belt from Zara, stingray cuffs and shell bag from Trousseau. Those stingray cuffs are definitely one of my favorite things from the Trousseau line. They come in various sizes, oh-so-many colors, and even styles. I'm wearing a combination of 2 and I just love how they complement one another so well, yet are still equally distinguishable when worn together.



I got to meet the main organizers of the event, Theresa Leung and Claudine De Leon (both respectively on the right) of Leung De Leon Marketing. They were absolutely affable and pleasant to talk to and I continuously admire them so much for being able to throw such extraordinary events on an almost weekly basis. In the middle are Mica Agdamag and Trish Leung, otherwise known as 2 of THE most fun people I've ever met and have become such good friends with, whom also organized the event.



Here are 2 of my best friends, Miss Trousseau AKA Reshma Chulani and Miss Tippy Enriquez. I've known them since college and we always have so much fun when we're together. Although we've all come to the sad conclusion that we are all getting older (evidence of this is the trading of anti-aging secrets. Boo.) and have such hectic schedules, we definitely catch up from where we left off whenever we see each other and try to make it a pertinent point to meet on an every other weekend basis.

I will be adding more pictures from this event later on. Right now I'm about to spend some eating time with Mr. Boyfriend... cause you know I'm all about date night and I'm equally all about eating.

(Photography by LDL's Sandro Paredes)