Sex in the City News Flash

Shout out to my friends the Singapore Sling, the New York Temptress and the Hong Kong Concubine (and to New York Temptress' main squeeze Dr. J, "Dr J., your thermometer please"). I had a great time last night! I love you guys and we'll definitely miss our H.K. Concubine! Note to N.Y. Temptress and Dr. J: The incident at S. Sling's lobby was all a bad dream, it didn't really happen (ppfoot, ppfoot!)

xoxoxo

The French Muse (a.k.a. The French Mistress)

Current Designer Obsession: Phillip Lim

Have you seen 3.1 by Phillip Lim? Il est si merveilleux! (it's so marvelous!) He used to design for Development (another fab line) and has moved on to take his unique vison to the next level by creating the 3.1 line. This guy can be the next Marc Jacobs or Phoebe Philo, as long as he remains consistent with his designs. These are some of the pieces in his collection:



I love this dress! I actually designed a dress which is quite similar to this one (coz I dabble in designing a few pieces for myself, my family and a few friends) I will try and upload some of my designs soon.


I would wear this piece with something soft like chiffon or lace underneath to show the contrast in fabrics.




Need I say more? This piece speaks for itself...soo chic!











(pics from net-a-porter)
The French Muse

Trend talk..

I was on MSN messenger with my Spanish classmate from Polimoda and we got to talking about the trends in Europe now. It's the middle of summer in Europe and they're actually experiencing a heatwave. She told me that stripes, polka dots, and layered t-shirts were all the rage, denim mini skirts over tights are still big as well. I asked her if there's a change in the shapes of jeans, and she said skinny, and straight leg types are still popular. What intrigued me was when she talked about backless t-shirts/tops. I searched a little online, and here are some great backless shirts that I discovered.

As we can see..the back is the new cleavage





Other cool stuff I saw are:

this jumper...this type is sooo made for clubbing. I love it.


This trench hoodie is perfect for the rainy season


Fitted capri trousers! so sexy with that slit at the bottom..



xoxoxo


The Florentine Diva

Comments of Best Dressed List

Sorry, we've been busy this week. As promised, here are some of our remarks for Preview's Best Dressed List. The Florentine Diva will be sharing her observations as well

Lucy Torres-Gomez
TFM - As always, Lucy looks the part of a stepford wife. She always looks polished when it comes to her dressing. Some of her outfits may be boring but her bags are fab!
TFD - Yeah, Lucy does have a great collection of bags and shoes, but she's missing the most important accessory, which in her case is.....a TAN! She is waaaayyyy too white. I have to agree with the French Muse, her look is from the realm of the stepfords.

Daphne
TFD - Daphne looks amazing even heavy with child. It seems she lives in dresses these days and I can't blame her, I guess for a pregnant woman it's just easier that way. I think her way with color is great, and her shoes are always fun.
TFM - I agree, Daphne really is one of the lucky ones. Just saw her in her show and she still looks amazing. She has great color choices when it comes to dressing.

Pam Gonzales
TFD - Noooo...you didn't really wear drainpipes! ouch! And that LONG gypsy skirt just has to go.
TFM - How do eat sPAM? You slice it up, right? That's what Preview did to this poor woman. I can just hear the comments -- "Siya ba yan? Bakit iba itsura niya sa picture?" ("is that really her, how come she looks different in the picture?")

Yvette Ilagan
TFD - Very classy and polished. Tops from her label are really fabulous.
TFM - Yeah, at least this girl has class (and not crass). Can't wait to visit their store.

TFD -Some women I just want to go over really fast. There's not much to say really.
Jackie Antonio - Not innovative at all. Anyone with a gold card can get that look.
Alessandra Tinio - Too young
Charmaine Palermo - Um, the hair suits you.
Ruby Gan - love the tan, easy on the shorts
Manika Yujuico - Cute girl, but honestly, every other fashion student in Europe wears the same stuff.
Georgina Wilson - Yep, she definitely loves the Nicole Richie/Lindsay Lohan/( insert name of Hollywood starlet here) LOOK. She even wishes to have the same freakin IT bags.

TFM: Jackie Antonio - Boring!
Alessandra Tinio - at least better looking than her sister.
Charmaine Palermo - what is her style again? i'm confused
Ruby Gan - Lola, can you dress your age!
Manika Yujuico - Like her style, but I agree with TFM, if you see her walking the streets in Paris, she will blend in with the crowd. But at least this girl is consistent with her style.
Georgina Wilson - I like her jean collection. She's lucky she can practically live in those skinny jeans.

Designer Name Annoyances

Sorry if we haven't been posting entries lately. We really had to do work on this project last week, which ended up using most of our brain cells. Pardon my ranting, it's just so frustrating that this client that we're dealing with doesn't know the difference between a mood board from a trend board. Just shows how ignorant and how bad the fashion industry is here in little 'ol Manille :(

Since I'm in the subject of annoyances, one thing that really bothers me is that when these self-proclaimed "fashionista-people" can't get the pronounciation of designer names right. So just to educate you a little, here's how you should pronounce these tongue-twisting designer names/brands:

Agnes B. - Anne-yes Be (not Buh)
Anna Sui - Anna Swee
Azzedine Alaia - Aze-DEEN Ah-lie-yah
Balenciaga - Bah-len-see-AH-gah (not balenSHAga)
Chloe - KLO-ee (I heard someone say Klo-WEh before..honey, you're not right)
Christian Louboutin - Kree-styan Loo-boo-TAHN
Comme Des Garcons - Kom Deh Gah-SOHN
Dries Van Noten - Drees Van No-ten
Gianfranco Ferre - Jee-an-franco Fer-ray
Givenchy - Jee-VON-shee
Hermes - er-MEZ (not Her-mees)
Christian Lacroix - Kree-styan la-KWA
Loewe - Low-eh-vay
Martin Margiela - Maar-TEEN Mar-GEE-lah
Moschino - Mos-KEE-no
Proenza Schouler - Pro-enza SKOOl-er
Rochas - Ro-sha
Tsubi - Soo-bee

(we'll be adding more to this list)

The French Muse

Keep it real

Fashion today is influenced so much by celebrities. Of course it is because these are the people who can get their hands on the latest gucci, YSL, Balenciaga, or Zac Posen frock before the rest of the world can....or atleast their stylists. But the trouble with looking at celebs for fashion inspiration is that we become like sheep, the next thing you know everyone has the spy bag or the paddington, and the same Louboutin pumps. Personally, I like looking at how regular people put together their outfits. Style then becomes more distinct and individual. Here are some of my favorite looks from fashion sites that showcase street fashion or just women who simply love to dress up.


I love the shape of the dress and the vivid color. She plays it up with great accessories too.


A very Stella McCartney look, which I LOVE. You can't see it but the straps of the shoes are tied on top of the jeans...another look I have also tried in the past.


First, I love how she got the proportions right. Second, I love how she combined elements that are dressy and casual.


I have a skirt quite similar to this. The look is simple but so classy. Nice!


It's all in the details!


I love the shoes, wash and wear hair, and the casual chic vibe of her look


Fabulous dress and shoes!


Interesting combination. I love the juxtaposition of fabrics


I simply love her look. Period.


(Photos from stylediary.net, thesartorialist.blogspot.com, facehunter.blogspot.com)

La Diva Fiorentina

Busy week!

As usual, The French muse and I have been quite busy with work-related stuff. We have a presentation tomorrow with a possible client, so we've been working on that since late last week. Thank god everything seems ironed out already. We're gonna try and take pictures of the result of our work so you guys can see for yourselves what we did. Yes, it's something we had to put together with our own hands which makes it really exciting, and nerve-wracking too.

Gosh, it's been raining pretty hard lately, this signals the official start of storm season here in the Philippines. I hope tomorrow the weather clears up a bit because we have a lot of stuff to do, like meet with contractors for another project we're working on. I don't want to go in depth yet because things are still up in the air. As soon as we have a better idea of the direction we're taking with these potential projects, we'll be glad to share more information about them.


Ciao Ciao!

The Florentine Diva

AAARRGH!!! Italy won! Congratulations Florentine Diva! Oh Zidane, what happened?! L'horreur! (Que horror!) Mr.Cool lost his cool! You're suppose to give the ball the header and not your opponent's chest!

Vive La France!!!

I'm sorry Florentine Diva but La France donnera un coup de pied l'âne d'Italie (France will kick Italy's ass!) Make us proud, Zidane! You are the epitome of coolness!

Lanvin Wndows

In line with our future projects (I know we've got them in the bag TFD *kneels down and prays to the gods in the heavens*), you'll be seeing our work in some of the store windows in Manila. We'll be posting some pics as soon as they're done. In the meantime, here are some photos of those famous Lanvin windows that I really love...

In the last picture, you can see life-size pics of Mr. Alber Elbaz himself popping up everywhere. This guy is sooo talented! Not only is he famous for his designs for the House of Lanvin, but he also is responsible for those one-of-a-kind displays at THE HOUSE of Lanvin. Sometimes, if you pass their shop at Rue du Faubourg St. Honore, you can catch him fixing the windows himself.








Adopt me Mr. Elbaz :)


xoxo

The French Muse
(pics from taz)

Here are more pics...

Graxie


Plank





Backstage...this is a concept store and they carry stuff from local designers and other brands sourced from Asia and the U.S.

On a non fashion related note, let me just say...Forza Italia! In bocca al lupo con la partita! I was originally rooting for the Brazilian team to win the World Cup but now that it's down to France and Italy, I guess it's time to cheer for Italia.

baci baci,

La Diva Fiorentina

I'm lovin' it

I'm back! The French Muse and I have been so busy arranging meetings with prospective clients and meeting with potential ones. But hey,it's been a victorious week for us. We are now a little swamped with things to do, which is a welcome change from the past few weeks. I hope all goes well for the next couple of weeks. Wish us luck!

About two weeks ago, yours truly was assigned to do a feature on local designers and retailers. It's great that there's better appreciation for the works of young designers and specialty stores that carry very particular items. I'm personally fond of vintage accessories and shoes so I am all for vintage shops opening all over the city. When I was in Powerplant Mall in Makati City, I even spotted some Japanese women checking out the vintage loot and local designs. Here are some pics of the cool stuff that I saw.

Necklace from Irene's Closet


Accessories from Cru at Pilar



Dress from Graxie




Plank

Preview's much-anticipated (or highly dreaded?) Best Dressed List

It's that time of the year again when Preview gets to horrify us with their Best Dressed List. I told myself that this year, I am not going to waste P120 on this annual-piece-of-crap...For sure another member of the Cucci gang will be included (Not a typo. I'm sorry but I will never glorify and call them Gucci Gang 'coz some of them are as fake as a Gucci watch from Mongkok, with the missing small dash from the letter "G"). But because of this blog, TFD and I decided that this could be a great entry for our site --- another day, another lait :) (Kala mo ang gaganda namin noh? But hey, we're proud of our taste, and that is something you can't get from a Belo clinic!) So, might as well make fun of the list since year after year, Preview continues to disappoint us with their choices anyway.

So I got my copy this afternoon. Hmmm, let's see...cover is ok, Lucy looks gorgeous (love her top!). I flip through the pages and head directly to the target...I can just see it, any minute now I'm going to puke. Flip, flip, flip...here's Lucy, Daphne, then this girl named Spam (oops, Pam..sorry, got distracted with the massive airbrush there. I see this girl in Zara most of the time and believe me when I say this lady is an impostor...she doesn't look like this in person) and on to Jackie...I can't believe my eyes! Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia. It's the first time in a hundred years that Preview almost hit the mark with their choices (see, we're not mean all the time). I have to give credit where credit is due and I must admit, I like the variety of their picks. Thank God most of these ladies have style! And I also like how they gave each one of the ladies a Canon Ixus Izoom so they can photograph their outfits and show the readers that they just don't dress for show, or at least I hope so...

Here are the women who made the cut:

1. Lucy Torres-Gomez
2. Daphne Oseña-Paez
3. Pam Gonzales
4. Jackie Cohen-Antonio
5. Alessandra Tinio
6. Yvette Ilagan
7. Charmaine Palermo
8. Ruby Gan
9. Manika Yujuico
10. Georgina Wilson

Come back tomorrow for our remarks.

xoxo

The French Muse

Cover to cover

To say that the fashion "industry" in the Philippines is small, would be the biggest understatement in the world. The industry is so small that being a hyphenate (you know..slash model, slash gigolo, slash social climber) is actually a necessity. You have fashion stylists and models who also moonlight as writers and artistas (wannabe actors)..or you can also make up your own job title just to sound legitimate. Oh to live in the third world! Where else is getting an endorsement deal, or having a billboard with your face blown up 20X, equal to receiving a pulitzer prize? Only in Manila, I say (let's include this in your list, French Muse!).

So, just to give you an idea what's going on here fashion wise, let me just post pics of local magazine covers. Let me know what YOU think. What do these covers say exactly?
















Oh! and you will see some of these models/celebs, whatever..recycled every couple of months. Yeah, it's THAT small.


xoxo


The Florentine Diva

Street fashion in Florence

Since I am still hot on the subject of Italian style and fashion, I will post some street pics of women in Florence the past summer. The fashion in Florence is influenced a lot by the gazillion tourists who go there every freakin' day. I swear, every turn you make, you will see a random American/Japanese/Chinese tourist taking pictures of every nook and cranny of a. the duomo b. piazza della signoria c. everything else.

Ok, so here goes, I took a lot of pictures for my school projects. My men pics are, unfortunately, saved in my classmate's laptop so I can't post any...Drat. Italian men have great fashion sense. Sometimes I hate it, but most of the time I enjoy it! I wish I took pics of F/W fashion too because that's when the big guns come out. You see fur, scarves, all boots you can think of, leather jackets, pullovers, gloves...I can go on and on. I didn't expect myself to like fall, but I enjoyed dressing for it more than summer. And to think I come from a tropical country!

This lady caught my eye immediately. Her look is fun and quirky, but still somehow age appropriate for her. I don't know how they pull it off.

Even old ladies know how to keep cool in a dress


This woman is gorgeous in person but had a more haphazard kind of look

Lovin' her look and attitude




And some men who made the cut

Cute! I like the jeans and shoes.

The colors! I can't imagine Filipino guys being so adventurous and not feeling gay..haha