I don’t do blogger events, ever, but this one was too fun to miss.
Fashion Forum
Invitation from my good friend Tin Dychiao aka Manila Fashion Observer. I’m usually scared to death of meeting all new people, but I figured since my friend was co-hosting, then it was OK.
Sat beside Conci Clemente of Memoirs of a Bitch, another girl I know, yay! We were in Ateneo together. Haven’t seen her in ages!
And Kat Dy of http://www.katdyfinds.com, who used to pull out clothes from my brand when she was a fashion editor at Cosmopolitan Philippines! She also donated prizes for a blog giveaway I did several months ago. Love this girl!
All the other blogger guests there were super nice, and I’m really glad I met them:
Karrots Nazareno of http://www.karotitay.com
Neva Santos of http://www.manilamommy.com
Jenny Reyes of http://mymommyology.com
Kris de Guzman of http://ocmominmanila.com
Tiffany Lim-Baura of http://densandfan.blogspot.com
Also with us were Valerie and Marge of BC Magazine.
Valerie of BC Magazine, flanked by Carissa Chan
and CarRet Lindayog of SM Fashion Forum
Carissa Chan of Fashion Forum is from my high school (ICA), but way… way…. younger. She flies to NYC on her own and does all the buying for Fashion Forum every few months. Galing!
After a brief talk about what Fashion Forum was all about, we headed out to the shopping floor.
Dresses galore! Or in the words of Karrots and Tin, donya problems solved!
Karrots Nazareno of Karotitay.com
This is where you need to shop to achieve that “ladies who lunch” look.
My top picks:
P.S. Tin was wearing this:
Ali Ro dress at Fashion Forum
Here is a list of just some of the brands available at Fashion Forum. These are basically mid-priced US brands that retail for around $100+ or below at Macy’s or Nordstrom’s, and Carissa says that selling prices in the Philippines are “the same, or even lower than US retail price.” Yay!
- ADRIANNA PAPELL
- ALI RO
- DAVID MEISTER
- DONNA MORGAN
- ELLEN TRACY
- ISAAC MIZRAHI
- MAGGY LONDON
- MARC NEW YORK
- MUSE
- VINCE CAMUTO
- EIGHT SIXTY
- MAX AND CLEO
- Plus a lot more, and they’ve got shoes too!
After shopping, it was lunch time:
Cafe Illustrado’s bagnet
Cafe Illustrado’s paksiw na tiyan ng bangus with bagnet
We also dropped by Bono Gelato, near the walkway to Glorietta.
Speculoos cookie butter gelato. This was so good!
I also loved the malted milk!
Being the ice cream monster that I am, I also tried spoonfuls of almost all the flavors on display, and the Movie Night (potato crisps + caramel) and Brownie Fudge were my other favorites.
We met Zarah Manikan, one of the partners at Bono. She attended gelato school at Carpigiani University, so you can bet this girl knows her gelato!
What makes Bono different from the others? For one thing, they have an on-site “Laboratorio” where they make fresh gelato throughout the day.
And for another, they store all their gelato in pozzetto cabinets which ensure the least amount of air and light exposure, while also keeping the temperature constant and controlled at all times. Love!
Here’s a group shot from Fashion Forum’s Instagram:
Standing, left to right: Carissa of Fashion Forum, Neva of OC Mom in Manila, Conci
of Memoirs of a Bitch, Jenny of My Mommyology, Me, Tiffany of Dens and Fan,
Valerie and Marge of BC Magazine, and CarRet of Fashion Forum. Seated, left to right:
Kat of Kat Dy Finds, Karrots of Karotitay/Live Love Lolz, Kris of Manila Mommy,
and Tin of Manila Fashion Observer.
Thank you Carissa, CarRet, and MFO for our fun little donyas’ day out!
FASHION FORUM branches are located at SM Makati, SM Megamall, SM North Edsa, SM Mall of Asia, SM Cebu, SM Bacolod, SM Lanang Davao, and soon to open at SM Aura at Bonifacio Global City.
Nice bracelet (second to the last photo) ; )
xoxo
MrsMartinez
Thanks!