Mabuhay!
Last night I attended the 8th Philippine Tatler Ball held at the Rizal Ballroom of Makati Shangiri-la hotel.
I would sum up the formal event as a series of surprises and paying it forward. Aside from it being a ballgowns and bubbly affair, The Philippine Tatler raised over a million pesos for Pink for Life and the victims of typhoon "Ondoy" through their auction. Congratulations to Irene Martel-Francisco and Anton San Diego!
Surprise # 1:
Jun Escario boutique, 3/F Greenbelt 5
I was window shopping at Greenbelt 5 a few days ago when I bumped into designer Jun Escario in his boutique. We had a bit of a chit-chat:
Jun: "So what are you wearing to the ball?"
Me: "Well, I'm just going to recycle the evening dress I bought from Tyler a few months ago."
Jun: "How does it look like?"
Me: "It's a black cotton jersey with cowl neck evening dress. Super long and stretchy. It's the only thing I can wear these days as I'm preggy."
Jun: "Hmm... let's see what we can find in my shop." *drags me in the stockroom*
Me: "Haay naku! Nothing will fit me here. All your clothes are model size."
Jun: *Relentless in looking for a dress for me*
Me: *Not hopeful.* I have to go! I want to window-shop. Besides, you won't find anything here for me." *Looks around in his racks*
Jun: "What about this!" *holds up a burgundy short dress made from stretch tulle*
Me: "Wow! That's nice but too short for a formal event and hello... it's burgundy! Sana black."
Jun: *Asks for the tape measure and started measuring me*
Me: *Rolls eyeballs* "Hello! Bukas na ang ball noh! You're crazy!"
Jun: "Come back tomorrow morning for your fitting."
Me: "Are you serious? You're crazy. No! Don't bother. Please."
Jun: "Basta! You'll look beautiful tomorrow!"
Me: *Teary-eyed* "Jun!... I don't know what to say."
Jun: "Just come back tomorrow morning so you can fit the dress. I'll rush it tonight."
I left Jun Escario's boutique feeling very emotional. You see, being pregnant again has been a challenge for me as I feel "big", immobilized and I generally have no desire to dress up or wear makeup. The truth is, it's taken toll on my self-esteem. I can't help it. I'm generally a positive and happy person but not these days. It's probably my hormones. Thanks Jun for making me feel special.
Jun Escario has everything in his boutique! Shoes, accessories and stunning evening and cocktail dresses.
I love his stretch tulle garments! The cobalt blue dress has an interesting detail—one sleeve is attached to the hem. I really liked it!
Isn't it lovely? I could see Aryanna wearing this when she's all grown up.
The morning after: I went to Jun Escario's atelier in LPL Suites (just across GB 5) for my fitting. Jun created a black and long version of the cobalt blue and burgundy stretch tulle dress I saw in his boutique. I lav et! It's light-weight, edgy and it stretches! Check out my gumby face! I was so happy!
Jun (in yellow) was surprisingly calm when I visited his atelier considering it was the day of the ball and he made lots of evening dresses for his clients in Manila, Cebu and Hong Kong.
My Jil Sander high heels (bought it from Adora) are the only comfortable "formal" shoes I could wear.
God is in the details: I wish you could all see the intricate webbing that Jun designed on the side of my dress. It's stunning! He also created web-like straps for the cotton jersey inner dress for my tulle gown. He said he was inspired by Rick Owens the last time he was in Paris. I lav et! So severe!
Jun lent me a severely studded bib for my dress. The design is edgy yet formal.
Surprise # 2:
Tom and I arrived early at the event and guess who was at our table...
My fairy godmother, Jun Escario! OMG! It's serendipity! Jun was my seatmate! He is a riot!
Pay it forward # 1:During dinner, I told Jun that I got very emotional with his gesture and thank him for making me feel special. I asked him how much I owed him for the dress and he said it's his gift to me. I was speechless. For as much as my friends are generous, I never assume anything. Thank you Jun!
I asked him why the generous gift, Jun shared with that last week he got the biggest surprise gift ever from a client who he wasn't even close to and it felt good. He wanted to pay it forward to me. God bless you.
Pay it forward # 2: The Philippine Tatler is probably one of the most successful glossies in the Philippines. The proof is literally in their pages—thick issues and lots of advertisers every month. Every year, the Tatler Ball holds an auction to raise funds for different charities. This year was another successful year of raising over a million to benefit Pink for Life and the victims of "Ondoy".
My formal preggy attire by Jun Escario. One of the sleeves is attached to the hem of the gown. Mother Henri Calayag did a fab job on my new bowl-cut hair. Thanks mother! I did my own makeup— red lips lang ang katapat! LOL...
My bag was form Celestina. I love the cracked eggshell look of this minaudiere
. Too bad I didn't have an evening bag big enough to fit my digicam so I wasn't able to take photos. I just ended up using my phone cam to take a snapshot of Tom and I.
My date! Tom scrubs up pretty well don't you think?
SHOPPINGERO/SHOPPINGERA, when was the last time you did something unexpected for a friend?
You look Gorgeous! PANALO! :) 