Erykah Badu chills in Dubai.

STOKED! I am stoked! After months of excruciating agony of work and homesickness, finally a time to CHILL! The 5th Dubai Chill Out Festival will be held on April 8 and 9 at the Nasimi beach, Atlantis Palm Jumeirah (and I thought I would never be seen at that place again - http://sharingmycloset.blogspot.com/2011/03/party-party-posers-sandance-dance-music.html). But there is always an exception, and for this, it's ERYKAH BADU baby!!! The excessive use exclamation points describes how excited I am! 

I'm trying to calm myself down. See, when I saw the Coachella Festival line-up for April 16th of this year, my heart was broken knowing I can never go to Cali and watch. Yesterday, my heart was mended because Tine told me she's coming over for the Chill Out fest - just a week before Coachella wooohoooo! The Queen of Neo Soul is known for her eccentric music style and fashion. I love her towering, colorful head wraps, I am fervently hoping for guts and confidence because I'd really like to wear one some day. 

Aside from Erykah, the festival also has great artists lined up, and for this year they are:

Friday, April 8th:
4:30 – 6pm – Brownies (Live)
6 – 7:30pm – Liminal Roots (DJ)
7:30 – 9pm – Midival Punditz (Live)
9 – 10:30pm – Matthew Hawtin (Dj set)
10:30 – 12am – Royksopp (Live)
12 – 2am – Felix Martin (Hot Chip) DJ set

Saturday, April 9th:
4:30 – 6pm – Kaleidoscope
6 – 7:30 – AIM Feat Niko Live PA
7:30 – 9pm – The Cinematic Orchestra (Live)
9 – 10:30pm – Matthew Herbert (DJ Set)
10:30 – 12am – Erykah Badu
12 – 2am – David Craig Feat Carlene Live PA 

Ticket Prices:

Advance Tickets
Single day Pass - 150 aed
Double Day Pass - 250 aed

At The door
Single Day Pass - 200 aed
Double Day Pass - 300 aed


Under 21 Tickets
Each Day - 80 aed


You can check http://chilloutfestivaldubai.com/ for more details.

Let me share this song from Erykah and Stephen Marley - In love with you to set  your Chillax mood on. See you there!

Grey's Anatomy

When asked who my fashion icons are, my mind was clouded with names. I have a long list of people whom I consider epitomes of style. Let me share with you one of my favorite fashionistas.   Ms. Cecile Van Straten -  a fashion designer, an entrepreneur, a blogger, a wife and a mother. Most of us know her as chuvaness of her blog site, chuvaness.com or Jirita Jackson on twitter, but beyond those aliases is true blue stylishness. 

She was one of the designers for Defect, a defunct boutique located in Glorietta which my girlfriend Rachell used to visit often in high school because of a handsome store keeper (LOL). After that she came into partnership with Bleach Catastrophe amazingly after writing a blog about the store. 

In 2009, the clothing line Heather Miss Grey came to life as Ms. Cecile launched her first collection. In November of 2010, she made public her second collection as inspired by Alfred Hitchcock. 

Her style is non provocative, accentuating loose clothing in unconventional length. She wanted to introduce Filipinos to loose and comfortable clothes. Unsurprisingly a lot of fashion forward people were immediately drawn to this ensemble making her line tasteful to the Filipino market. 

"Revenge is sweet and not fattening." I was really attracted to the shirt the first time I saw it on chuvaness.com last year. That's why when Rach went home for vacation last January I begged her to check out the store and get me the dress. Ofcourse my Kunsintidora friend strutted to Greenbelt, nakipag-away sa guard while searching for the shop, and finally got a hold of my dress. Thank you RACH! =) Next time we'll go there together I promise. Here's Rach wearing a dress from Bleach Catastrophe on her Singapore trip.

Here's a taste of my revenge. SWEET and NOT FATTENING =)

A REAL fashion icon doesn't engage in following trends. She is brave enough to create unique ones. 


Bleach Catastrophe boutiques are located at the following malls:

• 2nd level, Greenbelt 5 - Phase 2, Ayala Center, Makati City
  Metro Manila, Philippines
• 3rd level, Trinoma, EDSA cor. North Ave., Quezon City, Philippines
• 2nd level, Ayala Center Cebu, Cebu Business Park, Archbishop
  Reyes Ave., Cebu City, Philippines

Heather Miss Grey is now in Singapore! It is now available at Blackmarket's newest store, Blackmarket No.2 at Orchard Central - #02-10 Orchard Central, 181 Orchard Road, Singapore


Some photos were taken from chuvaness.livejournal.com and daphneosena.livejournal.com 

OLD fashion is the NEW fashion

I am  fond of old stuff. I think it was love at first smell. Don't you just love the smell of old books? newspapers? bags? furniture? When it comes to fashion I adore the uniqueness of the old style. When I look back at my mom's  photos, I drool over her wardrobe (bell bottoms, colorful floral prints, huge eyeglasses, envelope purses, chiffon and lace dresses, lace ruffled tops, wool plaid fabric, animal print scarves, fur and feather hats, maxi skirts, rompers, bleached prints..I could go on all day). Sayang lang because she gave everything away, she did't think of the probability that she'll have a daughter as arte me. So that's my life's lesson no. 28, keep everything - my clothes, shoes and accessories, it would definitely come in handy for Kaya some day.

Yesterday was vintage day out for me and my girlfriends. We were talking about my summer style to be featured next week and we came across some vintage designs. I showed them a site where vintage items were sold, then again sa Pinas na naman so I was quite hopeless. Then there's this light bulb moment ni Tine kemerloo. She said she read about a vintage shop here in Dubai, so hurriedly we flew. When we finally reached the place, it was so damn hard to leave. It was HEAVEN on EARTH.

Welcome to Bambah! 

A chest full of treasures! SHOES!

A trunk full of belts! CLASSY!

Old bags on an old chair: I love the black one on the left, costs about 220 USD.

More bags! Nakakabaliw

Hello HATS! These inspired our Dubai World Cup ensemble

This dress is such a treat for the eyes. It caught Tine's attention.

Side table

The WALL: Fasyon na fasyon

Ang kadamitan: Fierce na fierce and mga sumasabog na kulay! I love it!

Ang sarap iuwi nung buong luggage!

Books: Rach asked ate how much these are, they are not for sale daw :(

Dramatic: This reminds me of Ang Babae sa Cabinet ni Juday! Pansinin sa right side and babaeng nanalamin. LOL!

Pouches and Purses

Tremendous taste! Hats off to TINE! :)

The absolute Fashion Guru: RACH! 

Tine inside the fitting room. I find the details on the wallpaper appealing.

Rach smitten by the hat :)

Go World Cup moment!

My favorite spot: Mga bag sa loob ng aparador ni lola

Notice the resemblance of the vintage bag on the left and the Mulberry sling bag on the right 

Musty is a must!

It was so hard for me to let go of this bag, and the hat..oohhh I love! The antique plank flooring definitely added drama to the place.

It was hard for us to go, but it was torture for us to stay. So eto, mowdel mowdel na lang sa labas. Hahaha!

The shop sales person is a Filipina. She told us Bambah opened December of last year. Regular vintage patrons are mostly Europeans and some locals. The owner, an Egyptian, personally handpicks the merchandise from all over the world. They accentuate styles from the 1930's to the 1980's. The shop also offers designs from Yves Saint Laurent, Lanvin, Dior and Nina Ricci. This shop is perfect for ladies who are in search for unconventional yet groovy and sleek wardrobe for special events and parties. For vintage disciples like me and my friends, we demand these items for everyday use (hahahaha!). 

On Tuesday, March 22nd, they'll have a special sale. It's called Denim on Denim, so if you wear denim from head to foot (inexagg ko lang), you'll have a 10% discount on all items. Vintage pieces are usually in higher quality, had less use, more exclusive and durable making it a bit pricey so for those enthusiasts, let us not miss this chance. Hope to see you on Tuesday! 

Bambah is located at 39 Jumeirah Beach Road (opposite Dubai zoo), Dubai UAE.  

Party! Party POSERS!: Sandance Dance Music Festival at Nasimi Beach

Yesterday I woke up with a heavy heart. I got a message from my mom telling me about the tsunami and earthquake in Japan. It made us more worried when we found out that the Philippines was put on Tsunami alert level 2. We were glued to the television, hoping and praying for good news. This is definitely one situation you would beg not to be part of if you're an expat Pinoy. When not so good events and calamities threaten Pinas, it's like going through chronic weariness - intellectual exhaustion, depression, unable to concentrate, headache, etc. It's a good thing my mom knows how to handle her daughter, the worrier. She told me that everything's going to be fine with overwhelming assurance in her voice. I was mollified for a little bit. I just forced myself to trust every word she said, that was the only thing for me left to do. To our brothers and sisters in Japan, my heart goes out to you. In times like these we can only pray to find paradise amidst the devastation no matter how hard it is.

In the search for hope, we finally received news that the Philippines was free for harm (Thank God!). Along with that, my friend Tine won tickets to the Sandance at Nasimi Beach (wala namang siguro Tsunami dun). SANDANCE by Nasimi Beach is a 12 hour day and night dance music festival and the most glamorous beach gathering Dubai has ever seen. As certified non-clubbers we don't really know what to expect in an event as such. I personally do not have passion for that genre, alam ko lang they sound like this "Tuggs! Tuggs! Tuggs!". I don't even know if I can move to that kind of beat, and it's a DANCE music festival for crying out loud. A good friend told me to always keep an open mind and to not let any chance of immersion to different cultures pass me by. So, fine. I officially declared that night, the POSER NIGHT! Chat, Tine and I decided on what to wear, prepared ourselves with the help of our stylist and super lovely friend Rach. We dropped by  Stacey's party first with Kaan and Patur (Happy Birthday Stacey!) and off to Nasimi Beach at Atlantis we went. 

It is without at doubt that Nasimi beach event organizers know how to throw big and glamorous shindigs. Imagine how they gathered thousands of people to attend previous parties they hosted. This sounds really interesting and honestly it made me more anxious to ascertain why events that they staged always end up with an enormous turnout of party goers. Tarik, one of the organizers, contacted Tine. He wanted to fetch us at the gate so we won't have to wait in line (The line is that long!?). So here's our adventure with a lot misadventures in our first and last taste of the Sandance. Note to self: Ang hirap maging poser. PARTY! PARTY!

Patur, Tine and I getting ready for the night

Hit the road Jack!

Parking area - Atlantis 

We arrived around 10 pm, and there's still a long cue at the entrance

Unknown guy, Me, Beb and Tarik posing for Nasimi Beach's Twitter pic (Villain no. 1, unknown guy who came from nowhere bigla na lang sumingit sa picture, kung makadikit ng mukha feeling close! Hay kuya!)

Finally, a better picture with Tarik, we took this after he toured us around the vicinity

Approximately 8,000 attendees according to Tarik. You have got to be kidding me!

The STAGE

Beb and I trying our very best to keep this night alive!

Shisha =)

This has got to be the best part of the night: Our feet on the sand!

The BAR: Maybe alcohol would help us loosen up

Villain no. 2 - Just look at our disgraced faces! LOL

At least he was kind enough to offer to take a photo of us three

And he took one more shot..

Thank God for double adhesives!

Trying to step into the groove! hahaha!

One word for Tine: FIERCE! :)

Not even crutches can stop this woman from partying

Dancer on sticks

Villain no. 3 - Ugh uncomfortable me.

Food Booths

Happy faces at last when we decided to end the night!

Weeehh! Can't wait to go home! LOL! =)

Harassed and kapoy na, pero all smiles pa rin - Yan ang magaling na POSER!

Heineken freezer - Literal na freezer na pang tao

Thank you Nasimi Beach! It was an experience that is so hard to forget

I've learned a lot of things last night. Next time I'll be dragged to something like this, (yun e kung may makakapilit pa) a pepper spray would come in handy and I plan to put little spike-like objects in my wardrobe for those villains who would attempt to spoil the night. Somehow I had a little grasp of what to expect in a dance party - a lot of wasted peeps dancing like it's the last their last night on earth. Don't get me wrong, I was thrilled to witness thousands of people flying high last night, it was just not my kind of fun. Thank you Tine for taking us here. Masusulat ito sa libro ng buhay natin. Hahaha! I love my girls! 

Here's a little sneak of the last night's scene.