Stores for Prom Dress

January 22, 2010 – 4:37 am
Filed under brands, teens

Dear Ms.Leyn,

Hi! It’s my first time to see your site and after I’ve read some of your blog entries, I think you just got a new fan. Hehe. No doubt, you’re really good. No wonder many people like you and your webpage. You’re page is really interesting and it has certain informations that could really help us in our daily lives, not just a typical fashion-blog.

I emailed you because I love your page and your fashion taste. I came to ask you some questions Ms.Leyn. I’ve read your 2 blog entries about prom and I still have some questions in my mind, if you don’t mind me asking. Hehe. I’m 15 yrs. old and currently a senior HS student. I’m 5′6 tall, quite chubby and has fair skin complexion. Our prom will be on February. Last year’s prom theme was a ‘masquerade ball’. We’re not really allowed to wear short dresses for prom because we’re in a Catholic school, so I wore a long gown last year. But on this year’s prom, we’re already allowed to wear cocktail dresses maybe because of the recession thingy, or for us and our parents to save money and be more practical. They do have a point, don’t they? So here’s my question. Can you suggest some stores/boutiques with pretty and affordable cocktail dresses for prom? My budget will range from 2,000php – 4,000php. I’m not really a girly type of person and I personally don’t like pink and florals. Some people say I’m boy-ish and I got no problems with that. But despite those things, I love fashion. I love Gossip Girl and I also love wearing dresses and heels. But not those pink and floral stuffs. Hehe. So on our prom, I like to wear something simple but elegant. Or maybe something glam with a little bit of drama.. I have a dress in my mind and I really love it. I hope you can still remember the yellow dress that Serena wore from Season 1 on Handmaiden’s Tale. Do you think it’s appropriate to wear something like that for prom? And can you give me more suggestions on what to wear and where to have my hair/makeup done for my last prom?

I’ll be waiting for your response, Ms.Leyn.
God bless and more power! :)

-ShimMinHyo

Dear ShimMinHyo,

Hey thanks for taking time to browse my site. I really wanted to maintain a serious fashion blog before but I can’t get rid of my kengkoy side so my blog ended up like this. Haha. Anyway, I hope I can help you with my suggestions but I won’t admit that I know all the stores in the metro so pardon me if I can only give a few.

One thing we usually fear is that someone might be in the same dress we’re wearing on the prom night. That’d be a total disaster. Ang dyahe diba. So I think you should be looking on stores that aren’t “too mainstream” and check for boutiques that sell dresses with only few stocks per piece. As much as possible, don’t buy in common stores UNLESS you’re planning to alter or re-construct the dress. But of course, that takes effort, time and additional budget for extra work.

Anyhow, here are my picks:

Serendra Shops

  • Shops in Serendra like Peppered Cherry, Souk and Backstage sells unique dresses with price starting from 1,500 pesos. There are other stores but I forgot the names. Yun nga lang, these are smalls boutiques so your choices are limited unlike when you shop in malls.

The Ramp Crossings

  • This shopping street has different brands like BYSI, French Kitty, Salsa Trend, Ilaya Couture, Dressing Room, Lucca etc. Crossings department store is located inside Trinoma and Shangrila Mall.

Rustan’s

  • Some people get intimidated going inside Rustan’s but there are affordable clothes available here. Check out stalls like Culte Femme, Sinequanone and stores by local designers naming Luna by Jojie Lloren. There are also mid-class brands for shoes like Substance and Lady Rustan’s, a pair can cost you from 900-2500 pesos.

Basically, I’m recommending stores where people rarely shop. I bet you’ve already gone through these stores but this time you need to be patient in looking the dresses one-by-one. There are also good designers in town but the idea might cost you expensive.

The yellow gown Serena wore from GG Season 1 is a good choice, I commend you for that. You can copy the Yellow-Black combination. You’ll look like a beauty queen because the gown is appropriate with your curvy figure and tall height. That dress is a Valentino but a keen eye when shopping won’t give you a hard time looking for a gown with the same style.

And regarding hair and make-up, honestly I cannot cite the best places because I no longer hand over my styling with public salons. One thing more, I’m not sure where you reside so it also depends on your location para hassle-free. I heard good remarks about Piandre so check their reservations and packages (quite expensive though). Menage Salon sucks at styling (price starting at 1000 pesos), I tried there once at nagmukha akong butterfly with Goldilocks curls. But partly it was my fault because I entrusted everything to the stylist. Before someone do your hair and make-up, you should have already planned what prom look you’d like to achieve so they won’t just experiment on you. Concentrate on your eyes because natural shades are the latest trend for cheeks and lips (peach, bronze and pale pink).

You know what, 2k-4k budget is not bad na. I remember my first prom, I wore a 900 pesos worth of gown. Hahaha. But as I’ve mentioned before, that was a decade ago. Lol. Anyway, I hope you find one like Serena’s. Really pretty pretty choice. ;P

Love Lots,

Leyn

Graduation Attire

January 19, 2010 – 6:34 pm
Filed under men's clothing, women's clothing

Dear leyn sosyalera,

Hi I’m tet and I’m a public school teacher. Nabasa ko ang mga emails sayo sa net, well accidentally nagsurf ako sa net to look for  a dress not only dress but also designs and the in colors for this year. I’m a grade six teacher and its a problem to decide what color and design to choose. My co-teachers now are planning for our dress and we want it simple but elegant since we’re grade six teachers we want it to be stunning on that special event. Last year dress ang suot namin and the color is magenta, with shawl nga un eh kaso were not comfortable at isa pa mejo may kamahalan. Gusto namin ay magagamit namin in any occassion or events sa school namin. So now we decided to use pants and blouse but the thing is we don’t know what kind of design that fits on us especially I’m fat. I hope you can help me in this problem, because graduation is fast approaching so we need to decide before the time comes.

Aside from that, ilang kasamahan namin ay matnda na and sana makapagbigay ka ng designs that is really suits to us. Even for boys also, can you give suggestions dress for them.

Thanks and I hope you can help me in this problem.

More power to you.

tet

Dear tet,

Since we have to take in consideration the age range for the outfit, the style should be simple and can flatter any shape. As you have experienced before, using a shawl feels uncomfortable and old-school so don’t do the same mistake. Just in case you decided to stick on wearing a dress, come up with styles that are not body fitting (like bodycons and pencil skirts). Here are some examples:

What’s good about these styles is that they fit any body type, hide flabs, big arms and straight figures. Hindi rin tatagal ang paggawa for bulk orders because of its simple design.

Include 3/4 Tunics on your list if it’s okay for everyone to wear tops with longer sleeves. A straight or empire cut top can be matched with black leggings instead of slacks. Just add accents on the neckline like ribbons and ruffles. The downside is, this fashion is seems ordinary and doesn’t look that formal.

The blouse & pants attire may be too casual so I suggest that you concentrate on designing details on the blouse’s sleeves and neckline. Allow some space on the chest part for jewelries/necklace. Here’s sample of a chic design:

For boys, all I can think of is a semi-formal shirt with mandarin collar.

I remember that we were assigned to design our graduation blouse for the Baccalaureate Mass few years ago. We searched for a prospect blouse that we can use as a pattern then bought 1 sample for the seamstress. If you’re running out of ideas then do the same. Looking for styles in actual can help you easily decide than starting from scratch.

I hope this helped a bit. :)

Love Lots,

Leyn

Because my inbox is getting full…

January 18, 2010 – 12:00 pm
Filed under personal

Hey everyone,

I’ve been piled up with emails regarding prom/grad ball dress ideas for weeks. I hope you understand that I can’t answer them all especially if someone has already asked the same advice. I’ll have to pick a few emails for the benefit of all. And by the way, thanks for some letter senders who are attaching some pictures, it helps actually. :)

Love Lots,

Leyn

Off-Shoulder Style

January 18, 2010 – 11:00 am
Filed under teens

Hi Leyn!

February is fast approaching. I’m a hs junior so that means it’s time for promenade. It’s actually my first time to attend this and I still have no idea what to wear that’s why I’ve decided to email you to ask for some of your advice, hoping you could help me :)

Our principal has decided that we’re going to have Cocktail Party as our prom’s theme. I’ve started getting some ideas on Tumblr. FashionFever’s got a collection of awesome pictures of girls with great fashion sense. I just love their style. :P I also think this looks wicked awesome. Neutral colors are awesome. I think metallic blue, black, and/or white look great.

I’m kinda short and I’m not really thin so it would be nice to wear a dress without showing off too much skin. What do you think? Also, I think off should dresses are nice, but I don’t know. I really need your aid regarding this problem.

And I’m wondering if you have any ideas on hair styles for prom? I don’t want to have my hair get tied up since I have a round face. I think soft curls are great.

I’m pretty sure you’ve already experienced prom and you’re a genius in fashion that’s why I’ve no second thoughts in sending you this email, hehe.

That’s all :P   Will be constantly visiting your site to check for your response.

- mika

Dear mika,

Uh, yes. I experienced attending a prom night but I think that was a decade ago when everyone was still baduy and there’s less internet for a neat fashion research. Haha. That’s why you’re lucky to have resources by this time. Anyway, I checked the tumblr account you included and the pictures are great. By this time, you should have already decided on what color you’ll wear but for the meantime, let me give further tips about the cocktail dress styles.

Honestly, I don’t have much to say since I’ll just be repeating your ideas lang (off shoulder and soft curls hairstyle) which I have already advised with a past entry. You just need to be particular with the details of your off-shoulder gown like its skirt, color, laces etc. You mentioned that you’re not that thin but it’s for you to decide what fit suits you best because I don’t know your body type. Here are my picks:

Off-Shoulder Dress

I assume most prom goers are into tube and spaghetti strap dresses so an off-shoulder gown is not a bad choice. Be particular with the details and design then pick bright colors that match your skin tone. An Off-shoulder dress is perfect for curvy hour glass shaped bodies.

One-Shoulder Dress

Another style that you can consider is the one-shoulder dress for a sexier feel. Pick a pleated type of skirt if you want a flowing dress or a pencil cut for a classy look.


Assymetric Dress

Its assymetric cut, ruffles and drapes can conceal your flabs and unproportioned figure. Plus, its design adds a glam factor and is more fab than the usual straight gown.

Sounds cliché but the perfect dress for your prom night depends on your confidence so pick the right gown and enjoy the night without thinking too much about your appearance. I can’t specifically suggest colors but I assume you already know the basics.

Stick to the soft curls hairstyle. Long loose curls to be exact. There are curly styles that look awful because of too much hairspray so they end up looking like Goldilocks. So use a hair mousse instead of the strong sprays. I just hope you have already grown your hair long enough for this hairstyle.

Then for the final touch, add a jeweled hair clip or thin headband (CRU in Powerplant Mall and ALDO Accessories sell pretty accessories). Don’t buy the plastic ones so you won’t look cheap. Hehe.

Enjoy your first prom night!

Love Lots,

Leyn

Grad Ball/Prom Rocker Look

January 11, 2010 – 9:00 am
Filed under teens

I’m writing to you again, I’m here because of my prom-problem, grad-ball nadin. I’m planning, during prom that I’ll be wearing a gold and black dress, a tutu dress perhaps or whatever fits my figure, then a leather jacket or blazer, would that be inappropriate? For grad-ball, I don’t have a clue. Suggestions? I don’t like too girly dresses, as in flowy flowery and flashy, i think that’s too casual. HAHA. More on gold and canary yellow ang plano ko kasi I’m dark.

And 2010 fashion forecast?

Plus shoes pa pala, hahaha. I have scars pala sa legs kaya I’m kind of insecure about it although I have the height and the proportions to go for the short dresses. And I love short dresses.

I’m desperate for an attire since this is technically our first prom since it got canceled last year.

xo,
-mich.

Dear mich,

I saw the photo you sent me and it’s a good thing you were able to come up with a Christmas party attire (though I think black jeans should’ve been better) and thanks for updating me. Moving on, I suppose I get what look you’d like to achieve on your prom-slash-grad ball. It’s not the usual pink and princess-y style so a Taylor Momsen style will be a good inspiration.

A tutu dress or an ostrich skirt is a good choice. Although the tutu looks more glam than the ostrich design so it still depends on your choice or what’s available on stores. You can pick a black skirt then add the touch of flashy gold with your top (in case you’re planning to wear a 2-piece clothing).

Having scars on legs can make you feel uncomfortable so I suggest lace leggings. As I’ve mentioned before, laces are making a comeback this 2010 so consider this idea.

Wearing a jacket or blazer will just make you look casual and overdressed. I don’t recommend too much layering of clothes. As a top, you can wear a corset to match the tutu skirt if you’re not wearing a 1 piece dress.

For accessories, I still recommend elegant jewelries for earrings and bracelets since a prom is still a formal party. Complement your gold-black attire with a black bib or layered necklace.

And for the shoes, a pair of ankle style shoes (whether boots or sandals) can match the rest of what was mentioned. Classic Black pumps could be your second option.

To help you picture the idea, here’s a looklet example:

The skirt’s quite exaggerated and there’s no available corset but imagine something like that. The suggestions above are based on the 2010 fashion forecast. I just wish you won’t have a hard time looking for these items when you shop.

Good luck!

Love Lots,

Leyn

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