I’ve been blogging about my life and craft for years now. I think it’s about time for me to actually write about the people who have developed my love for fashion and have continuously inspired me through the years. I am currently in love with the aesthetic visions of the quadruple C’s (Coco Chanel and Camille Co :P) I’ve read a lot about the life and work of Mademoiselle Chanel and through that, I came to love everything that has something to do with her. I even wrote my business paper in accordance to her. :P Every time I go to Chanel stores (look but no buy :<), I could still feel her essence and my eyes always sparkle in amazement. On the other hand, Camille is everything I want to be - a style icon, successful blogger, professional couturier, FAB. Whenever I encounter her designs, my perception of her as a genius only grows stronger.  She is super nice and super talented. It is no wonder how she became so successful at such a young age.

And then there’s Betsey Johnson.

Betsey Johnson is a multi-awarded New York based designer who has a one of a kind aesthetic vision. She broke a lot of rules and created her own. Ignited by her love for dance and art, she soon became known for her avant garde, “exuberant, embellished and over the top” designs since the 60’s. She has been gracing the catwalk with her signature cartwheel and split  roughly for 4 decades now.

 She produces extraordinary clothes the youth absolutely adores. They’re sassy. Flirty. Fabulous. Fun. It is said that she used to create her garments with unusual materials like shower curtains, interior linings of automobiles and the pinstriped wool of old New York Yankees uniforms. Now that is what I call creativity and thinking out of the box! I can’t possibly  explain how genius of a woman she is. Nothing is quite like her style that the only word that can accurately describe it is her name itself. Very Betsey.

“I realized that making clothes is completing what a drawing can’t be—going from two dimensional to reality.” - Betsey Johnson

I watched a number of her runway shows online and let’s just say a barrel full of inspiration spilled all over me. I got awe-struck with not only the clothes, but with the shows as a whole. In a typical catwalk, the models would strut with a fierce or dull look in their eyes and leave. In a Betsey show, the models show some personality. Sometimes they even go cray cray on stage, smiling and pa-cute while posing in very flamboyant and flirty ways. They’re just wow. It really takes a BIG designer like Betsey to get away with this kind of show.. And not look “unprofessional” to conservatives.

This is why I absolutely adore Betsey Johnson. She didn’t follow anyone but herself; and yet, she is able to produce such wonderful works of art. I first encountered her work when I was still an incoming high school freshman. I instantly fell in love with her Prom collection. (It was even my inspiration for my own Prom and debut!:P) It was composed of really poofy dresses made with assorted materials in sweet colors and paired with fab accessories. The suits for men are also super cute and cool. She modified the standard  suit and matched them with the girls so they’d really look like a winning couple. <3 :)

As a designer, she has taught me that I don’t have to be so limited to designs I normally see around. I can go as crazy as I want as long as it conforms to my own aesthetic vision. I may not please everyone but what really matters is that I stay true to myself. :)

*Photos are not mine

Ok so I was not initially supposed to blog about this coz it was a fail. But my trip there was too awesome not to publish. =)) lol. 

So one Sunday morning, Katy’s dad brought us to La Mesa to learn bird photography. I thought that I just need to find some birds then shoot. Little did I know, it was SO MUCH MORE complicated than that. Photo above is me trying to figure out the lens I borrowed. Spotting the bird with the naked eye is one thing, spotting it with incredible zoomed lens is another… up to now, I’m still wondering HOW IN THE WORLD DO I SHOOT THE BIRD IF ALL I SEE IS GREEN?? So hard looking through those lens.. -__-

Here’s the bazooka lens Katy’s dad used. It looks so small here. Hahaha In reality, I think it has the same circumference as my head? or a bit smaller? Croo. 

This is what you’ll see everywhere. =)) then a pop of bright colored feathered friends here and there. :) Since I didn’t take any nice and close-up shots of them troll birds, here are pictures of leaves…. =))))))))) asdfghjkl; HAHAHAHAHA

Then I have this. Taken with the bazooka lens. So clear… @0@ The photo may be kinda dark, the bird may not be facing me and it may just be the common kind you see everywhere but damn… this is a big achievement for me. 8D

Another one!

I love nature. <3 Katy, leggo again!!! We can just go bird watching this time. =)) Lol.

There I was again in Pico, celebrating Mother’s Day with my family. My usual Pico buddy, Katy, didn’t come this time coz she had class and stuff :< so I felt a bit lonely when parents dated. (Sometimes I wonder why they force me to go with them on trips when they just shoo me away -_- lolz) Instead of just forcing myself to epal, I focused on being productive! With photography, of course!

Le beach <3

Am I considered creepy just coz I took a photo of kids playing around without them noticing? ….. hehe. D.O.M. =))

If you follow me and check out my photography posts, you’d notice I’m very much fond of shooting random boats floating in the ocean. Gives a sense of journey, don’t you think? :)

I love how the water and the wet sand reflect the sun’s rays. The beach looked so majestic. :)

Le beach during closing time. During the peak hours, the place was jam packed! A lot of people were swimming and running around that the water looked muddy with the disturbed brown sand. And to think that Pico officials already placed multiple warnings on jellyfish and other dangerous marine animals. @0@

Bubbles!!! 8D 

~~~~~WOOOSSHHH~~~~~~~~~~

Dark clouds forming :( but it was still so hot and dry there.

What’s a beach without coconut trees? :)

The silhouette effect. I think I was lying down when taking this :))

A random branch sticking out to the heavens. :) This was supposed to be a test shot before stalking birds but it came out really nice :) nicer than my bird photos, as a matter of fact. -__-

The hang out tree of birdlaloos. How many birds can you spot?

The next few pictures show yet another attempt to do bird photography. =))) These feathered friends are too fast for my life -__- it’s frustrating. I like how the above picture came to be though. You can clearly see the form of the flying birds. :)

I call this.. demon bird coz it’s black and has red eyes. It’s really noisy at night too. @n@ iscurreh. Oh in case you’re wondering how I got so close to the bird.. I didn’t. I cheated. My lens ain’t zoomed enough so I just cropped the photo to zoom it in further. hehehe

Other demon birds… this time with striped bellies. What happened to all the bright-colored birds?? @n@

No outfit shots. Just too awkward for me to let my dad do it :)) He already made fun of me and my mom wearing maxi skirts. -___- #dads

Here I am again melting crayon wax again. :D There really is something about doing this that lets me be at peace. :) So this time, I did it somewhat differently. 1) I left out white spaces, 2) I cut the board into pieces right after drawing the outline and 3) instead of etching white lines, I texturized the hair. 

Before I go on about those three, I had one important realization. Illustration boards are a big no-no. If you’re a messy-worker like me, never ever use illustration boards for this. But if you think you can time the drop of the wax perfectly every single time, then go ahead. Mistakes leave a nasty mark. Even if you try to scrape em off, the board will still be discolored… and you’ll have no choice but to cover the whole freaking board. Also, you can’t etch so much coz you’d tend to damage the board surface. :< What I used instead for both crayon projects is Kelly Art Sintra Board (available in National Book Store Katipunan), which is kind of plastic-y for easy scraping/etching and longer “lifespan”

Tada! The finished output that’s already stuck on my wall. I figured that leaving some white space makes it look nicer. Filling up the whole board kinda looks so overloaded for me. That’s why I’m not as satisfied with the first project. :))

I know, my room is a mess. hahaha Anyways, I cut the board up just coz.=)) Design~

Do you see the lines esp in the bangs? I ran my empty Muji mechanical pencil through the hair to give it a bit of distinction from the hat, since they’re both in shades of red. It’s not really so obvious.. but ah. This little detail is for the satisfaction of the maker. :))

Last week, my cousin got married. <3 Since I knew that this was going to be a whole day event, I decided to bring my camera with me for amusement. There were professional photographers and videographers around.. and then there was me. =)) I felt like a hipster. =)) Anyways, since I’m just a mere guest there, I had a lot of limitations. Liiike, it’s not appropriate for me to shoot strangers, go really near the altar and stuff. But here are a few shots I took :-bd

Can you believe this is their bridal car?? SO COOL!!! Their reasoning behind it is.. their theme was beach and they wanted to do things a bit differently. :)) Notice the surfboard on top of the oldschool van. @0@ I can’t believe cars like this still exist..

The inside of the church was beautiful. <3 I don’t know the name though but it’s the one near the Marriott Hotel and Resorts World Manila. :)

The interior design is simple yet very elegant. :)The best part is… it’s airconed! 

So I mentioned above that it’s not appropriate for me to shoot strangers and all… especially when they didn’t notice………. but I just couldn’t help myself! The look on this lady’s eyes while the bride was about to enter was just priceless. :)

Mader. I bet she’s pretending to not see me take pictures of her… -__- Like mader, like doutur.

The men’s boutonnieres are made of faux seashells! <3 I love it!

This is the least blurry of all pix of him.. Little Chase over here ran to the altar, instead of walking like a Sir. =)) The blur does give a nice moving effect though. :-bd 

I shall call thee… Mini Me. =)))

Here comes the briiide! All dressed in whiiite!

Such a sweet moment <3 :) Wedding gown by Veejay Floresca. Hands down.

Look at the girls in the background. They were in such awe.

She’s gorgeous. :((( She made all the girls feel bad about themselves.. =)) loljk HAHA

This is me in stalker mode again. :P I just found the back design of the dress in the center very interesting. :D

Just an idea on how big the church really is. :)

Couple + Wong side of the family :)

Couple + them professional photographers. And then there’s me.. positioned meters away from them. Clearly, I didn’t wanna mingle with them. I do not belong. =)) #toomuchofanoob

The bride’s headdress is made of faux seashells too! <3

Can I just lie on the train and let her drag me everywhere? That would be so much fun. -u-

Summing up my photog adventure, I felt like sucha noob then. In the blog post about Korea, I said that I felt like I’ve improved big time. But well.. I felt like I went back to being sucha noob. =)) It’s just that.. the church was brightly lit so I expected to have an easy time shooting.. then for some reason, I couldn’t get the settings right! T^T As in it’s either too dark but clear or bright but blurred. T^T TRALALALALALA

I was browsing through my Twitter when I stumbled upon blogger Tricia Gosingtian’s tweet about a dress-up app called Toca Tailor. I tried it…….. and I just wanna say that I’M SO HAPPY I FOUND IT. 

It’s the coolest fashion app I’ve ever encountered. No kidding. Other dress-up games just involve the user to drag “ready made” clothes to the model. Just a simple mix and match to enhance your styling skills. This, on the other hand, exercises both your designing and styling skills. It grants you more freedom to design the clothes. YOU choose silhouettes and manually adjust lengths, etc. YOU choose the cloth and manipulate its orientation. You can even take a photo of a print/cloth and use it! How cool is that? 8D And of course, you can also add other details like buttons, zippers, pockets and accessories. :) 

The silhouettes are very limited though. I don’t even understand some shapes. =)) Lolz. But with creativity, you can achieve illusions of different silhouettes. Same goes for prints/cloth. :) :)

For instance, this baseball shirt. I got a plain long sleeves silhouette and just inserted and angled a zebra print cloth to make it look like a baseball shirt. :) I also covered a plain white skirt with a lot of paint splats to make it printed.

I would so wear this outfit… If only I can find unique items like these in stores. :((

Nerd! :) :) My favorite stereotypical “costume”

Yes.. you can also dress up animals. =)) I made a cheetah print bodycon dress for this feisty feline :)

Here is the other animal - a sloth =)) lolz. I wonder why.. Outfit with a ton of Spring vibes for this one to make it look livelier and not so sleepy all the time =))

Candy Boho Hippie theme =)) Made a vest by combining 2 different prints together :)

I’m getting a Middle Eastern vibe from this one :))

Pilot with the wrong kind of hat =) It’s actually a winter hat, not a flight hat :< but it can pass off as one, right? =))

This sloth seems very high.. -u- =)) I want its dress.. so colorful and happy 8D

Another baseball shirt :) but with creepy manyak fez AHAHAHA

Notice the white quilted thing on top of the bus seat. That’s where I got the print for the jacket :> Coolnezz~ Oh and we often had long bus rides in Korea. That explains the many bus innards background you will see from the next photos. :D

One of the prints I created :) I just layered 3 different cloths to make a new pattern :)

So is this one. The shirt is made up of one print but in both horizontal and vertical orientation. I made the skirt pleated just by layering angled solid yellow and red cloths :-bd TADA! School girl outfit! :)

Last one… so far. =) There’s a black diamond add-on and I just bombarded the plain white pants with it to achieve this print. :) 

There are still so much you can do! :) :) Boredom can definitely transform you into a creative creature! Lolz.

I highly recommend this app for fellow fash enthusiasts like me :) :)

A short intermission! Let’s take a moment to adore my lovely doggies <3 Doggie photos taken by Jem.

Kitkat and her angelic face. <3 <3 <3 But in reality, she is a maldita princess who poops and pees everywhere. =))

My dopey dog, Kopi! =)) He has been and still is my prince <3

Kopi with Oprah in the background. Such a dramatic photo ~@0@~

Back to the photo shoot! Here we are in the abandoned tennis court, fooling around with our cameras.:)

Here is me… like a peacock daw.. and prolly embarrassing myself in front of neighbors. 

Jem Mi really knows how to pose in a very flattering way @0@

Also an unintended dramatic shot :P

Hair flip! Weeeeeee

I find this photo very amusing. Rachelle, you are adorbz. =))

Jump shot! Them only coz our outfits hinder us from doing so without revealing anything =))

At the slope of Monroe St. :) Perfect timing to shoot there coz the sun was setting :)

Rachelle being sabaw.. -_- =))

Ge and her signature tongue out smile XP

Me embarrassing myself in front of neighbors again..

Another Kodak moment shot :)

Last one! Looking forward to having another one. :) Group photo shoots are so much more fun :)

Before I talk about the photo shoot I had with my friends sometime ago, lemme first tell you what happened in the morning. :> Hehehe So one day, my mother called me up to tell me that my friend texted her saying that there will be a surprise visit for me at my house. #failmother =)) So… since my friends’ surprise is already a fail, I decided to surprise them instead.

Below you will see my “Wong dummy” made with pillows, my mannequin, stuffed toys and my hair extensions. :> I even put some tissue, alcohol, meds, etc. on my bedside table to make it more believable (not seen in the photo). Sneaky sneaky~ I told everyone in the house to tell my friends I was upstairs sleeping coz I’m sick. In reality, I was just waiting in the bathroom or my brother’s room (that’s connected to mine) for them to come up. When they finally did and surrounded the dummy, I popped out from behind them. SURPRISE!!!! 8D =))))

They kept poking the dummy. Lolz. After the surprise and the usual eat-kwento-techie bonding + cuddling with my doggies <3, we had a photo shoot around the house and village :) Happy to say I had a chance to be behind the camera at some points. Usually I’m in front so yeah.. =P Photos taken by either me, Ann or Jem

Aiming for silhouette shots but me is an awkward turtle at times. Lolz. 

Jem Mi here does it better =))

See what I mean?

Ann! Forever a cutie pie =)) This photo reflects so much of her personality :) :)

While Jem and I were taking them silhouette shots, the others were fooling around with Photobooth =))) Shot them doing the manyak fez =)))

All of us doing the Kodak moment =) Shout out to Rachelle Oh, Geraldine Yu, Ann Ong and Jem Mi! They are some of the best people I’ve ever met. :)

Decent photo. =)) Our eyes are mere slits.. -u- #Chinese

Exagge ugly fezzes =))

Some spots in my village’s clubhouse are photo shoot worthy. This wall, for instance!

Rachelle is high.

The first few pictures are of architecture. As I mentioned in the previous Korea post, we mostly went to provinces. The buildings there were somewhat still old fashioned. Nevertheless, I saw some that can be used as inspiration for design. :) One of my most usual sources of inspiration is definitely architecture. :)

Here I see not only a house but… a baby pink and cream suit either striped or pin tucked. Little bits of brown and blue accents here and there too. Like maybe a blue inner shirt with brown collar and button hole line (?).

I see… an interesting burnt orange bandage dress with edgy cut outs at the back

I see… red strappy shoes with heels designed like the left half of the building. :-bd To nonfashion enthusiasts, you can evolve into a clueless pigeon now and croo. =))

The Nanta Cooking Show! The best show I’ve ever seen in my whole life!!! Asdfghjk A MUST SEE. The actors really cook on stage while making music in line with its comical plot and you can smell the foooooddd 8P~

One weird thing about me… I like butts.. =)) dog butts. #perv hehe this is not a real dog’s butt but it looks sooo real @0@ Snaps to the artists behind the Korea National Museum for making such realistic animals and the like. :)

See! It looks so real.. Would you ever notice that they’re just fake animals, as well as the painted and equally fake background,  if I haven’t mentioned it? :0

Aiyuh. Korea is very sly in promoting their country to tourists. Ever heard of the Dragon’s Head Rock? Well it’s just a huge rock by the sea (?) that’s KINDA SORTA NOT REALLY BUT OKAY shaped like a dragon head. =)) I overheard a lot of people around me try to look for the dragon-ness of the rock =)) They just couldn’t see it. =)) So.. After some failed attempts to capture the splendour of the rock, I just took pictures of the surroundings instead. =)) Like this airplane! I’ve been wanting to take pictures of airplanes flying but they’re often too far away :< Luckily, there’s an airport nearby :-bd

sea shells sea shells by the sea shore… where art thou? =))

The grass may be greener there but it’s more fun in the Philippines! ;)

“What an amazing view!” you might say.. HAHAHA I call this HELL. I rode that boat from one island to another and it was really one hell of a ride. =)) Notice the curved bottom of the boat. Now tell me.. how can it not function as a baby rocker? The fresh cool breeze and nature paid off though.

Botanical garden. :) The trees have very interesting shapes. I feel like I’m in a Dr. Seuss movie or something :))

These are actually LEAVES of a bush. Amazing…

Some rocks with interesting lines. :)

Water bokeh! 8D

Not water bokeh! =)) Supah cool fountain.. I want a shower head like this.. Someone should design that. =)

Romantic viewing house :) Perfect for intimate dates <3 but so many tourists go there… so no. -n-

Are these lavenders? So pretty :) They just grew at a random spot.

I never experienced Autumn ever in my life, so warm colored plants always make me all *0* I often see either green or brown only :(( And look how the red and green blend so well! I usually hate contrasts but this is definitely an exception :)

Clear blue water. So clean.. So pretty..

Another building that caught my eye. It’s shaped like a yacht! =) Coool! I wonder what that building is for :-?

Stalker mode. Not because I find em cute ah. Lolz =)) I just think that the scene was picture-worthy :) Isn’t it? :)

A display in a boutique inside the Lotte World Hotel. Now to critique this dress! Non-enthusiasts may skip this part. =) I think this dress is made for a slim woman who is not necessarily chesty. Since it’s so much more detailed at the top, the designer is obviously directing the eyes up. The intricate pleats at the center serve not only as decoration, but also a tool to achieve an illusion that the wearer has a bigger bust than she really does. The haltered neckline is great for those who have gorgeous shoulders. It also gives a sort of elongation effect. This dress is well thought of…… to a certain degree.

The transition from bodice to skirt is not smooth. You can see the big difference between these two parts. Not cool. Elements in a design must be spread throughout to achieve harmony and balance. 

The skirt is made of silk organza. Beautiful fabric but very tricky. When used wrong, the garment WILL look cheap. Exhibit A: this dress. I don’t think using the cloth as a whole is a good idea. “As a whole” meaning.. plain and unadorned. Silk organza is great for layered ruffles/gathers. <3

And what is that thing in the skirt? Some sort of flower? My friend said it looks like the skirt got stuck in its underwear. =)) Lolz. True actually. Very awkward placement. The layers under the skirt give off an awkward vibe too. 

As for the hat, it looks like someone just got some scrap cloth and placed it on the head… =)))) 

Last photo from the trip! Sunset at the airport. :) Marks the end of my adventure.

Selected photos from my recent trip to Korea AKA my photography adventure :) 

When I saw the itinerary, I knew I’d focus on photography, not street fashion. We mostly visited tourist spots and stuff in provinces. There was only a day or two allotted for touring the city of Seoul so I didn’t have that much chance in observing how Koreans dress. So as a result, I bonded with my lovable camera biiig time. 

I’m very much proud to say that I noticed some improvement. :) I feel like I know how to use my camera far more than I used to. I’m less of a pigeon! 8D As in, manually setting it and getting the right exposure takes a shorter time now :) :) hihihi 

I admit my skills aren’t that developed, but whatever. I’m just happy that I can take better pictures than before and that these shots aren’t “lucky shots” :) :)

First stop! Freezed in Nami Island, the Winter Sonata set.

Imagine you’re alone in this place on a cold Winter night… scaaarryyyy

SQUIRREL!!!!! 8D Squirrels in California are so much cuter… =))

Parade in Everland Theme Park

Their costumes were so nice and colorful <3 <3

Korea’s famous white tiger, prolly my favorite wild animal ever since I walked down the runway wearing a zebra dress and white tiger head hat for my debut. =)))

First time seeing a Liger! Clicked at the right moment! Aww yeah~ =))

Sexy tiger model pose <3 I want a pet tiger…. 

I was bored waiting for other people arrive at the meeting area. I took advantage of the time and shot my brother while he wasn’t looking. :D

He caught me :0 but the photo still looked nice :>

I got so amused with this. It’s kiwi flavored chocolate, but why is it shaped like a derp cow? =)))

This pig…. is the toilet of the people from Jeju Island. The tour person said people used to do business over the pig’s fence so it can eat it….. wow. Reminds me of my doggie Kitkat. She used to eat her own poop. She chews so loudly pa. -__- So yummyyy

I was with people who aren’t willing to be models in public, okaay? I victimized my brother instead.. =))

Outside a restaurant by the beach <3 So nice to go outside and just feel  the strong winds right after eating :)

I see a distorted face looking sideways. @0@

Some interesting-looking rocks. So niicee. They look like piles of small tree trunks put together :0

I see another face looking up with an open mouth. Looks like a bald giant old man drowning in water. @0@ Imagination~

I’ve been to a lot of water forms that I don’t remember where this is anymore =))

Sunset + silhouettes of plant life <3

My brother is a model available for hire. This is not even his final form. He’s slightly zombie-ish here. hehehe Just contact me for photo shoots and the like. =)) lol jowkz!

Beautiful floor made of volcanic rock :)

Polar bear at the Teseum/Teddy Bear Museum!!! I became a kid there.. 8D

AHAHAHAHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHA butt.

Adorable snow dog stuffed toys! What if they become reaaall? AAAAHHHH <3 <3 

Cuddling with some fellow felines 8D A lot have said I look like a cat. I guess I know where I belong now =) Purrrrrr

This is practically the story of my love life.. =))) Non existent prince + very hard to please mother =)) #foreveralone

Goddess Hera teddy bear version :)

My brother and I! This photo reminds me sooo much of my childhood. When we were still little kids, we used to be like twins. We never separate and all. Well, we grew up and slowly drifted apart. :< But I’m grateful for those times when I can relive the past and bond with this dude as I can. :)

Good thing he doesn’t read my blog… or does he??? … Croo.