cheongsams and qipaos
Cheongsams or qipaos originated from Shanghai in the 1920s. What used to be wide and loose evolved to a tight fitting version just like Maggie Cheung’s wardrobe in that lovely movie, In the Mood for Love.
I’ve always had cheongsams in my closet and it’s great to know that some of my clients share my love for these wonderful pieces. Here are a couple of cheongsams we’ve made recently.
Made with batik fabric from Kota Kinabalu
mommy & me crochet dresses
Talia: “Yay! We have matching dresses again, mommy!”
Okay, so that’s obviously not me in the picture with Talia. I think I overestimated how fast I’d lose weight after giving birth so the dress is a bit, er, how should I say it . . . . snug in all the wrong places making it  too short for a mom of two like me. Dammit. But, since mommy can’t wear it, why not let the next best person fill in mommy’s shoes, or in this case, dress . . . . introducing Miko, one of Talia’s godmothers.
Just like the first crochet dress I showed you guys a few days ago, these are all made to order. Did I say already it’s perfect for summer? But the good thing here is since we live in a tropical country, you can wear this the whole year round!
I’m currently sketching new designs for a crochet skirt and a crochet minidress. Hoping I can share photos of these within the next few weeks!
boyfriend dresses
Cute, comfy and laid back. Usually perfect for weekends but can also be worn at the office for those who do not have strict dress codes (like in my office!). Wear alone or with a belt, with flats or wedges!
Printed cotton fabric
vertical color blocking
One of my recent best sellers are dresses or gowns with vertical color blocking. Why? Because it’s super slimming! Not only will the vertical lines elongate your body, but the darker color at the sides also gives you the illusion of a tinier waist.
I blogged about a couple of gowns with vertical color blocking here and here. And below are a couple of short dresses I’ve made recently.
Miko (right) in a black shantung silk and gray faux leather dress.
cathy: the rebellious bride
I spent 11-11-11 at a wedding of a dear cousin not just as a guest but also as her designer for her bridal and entourage gowns. I was actually not supposed to be at the wedding because my due date for kid 2 was supposed to be yesterday, but the baby decided to come out early! Anyway, I’d like to share with you guys a teaser from Roy and Cathy’s photographer, Marvin of The 12Masters Photography.
I can’t wait to see the rest of the photos from The 12Masters Photography! I love their work!
roy and cathy’s pre-nup shoot
Roy and Cathy rented Ever Gotesco’s cinema for their funky Old Hollywood pre-nup shoot. I loved, loved, loved the concept and the venue! Cathy wore a couple of my pieces during their shoot and I’d like to share some of the photos with you guys.
11-11-11
Rush, rush, rushing to finish the bridal and entourage gowns for an 11-11-11 wedding, which also turns out to be my due date! Aaargh, the pressure. Here’s a dress for one of the members of the entourage . . . .
Our inspiration is 1950s fashion meets rock ‘n roll. Â Colors for the entourage are black, white, gray and silver . . . . I love it! Sometimes the absence of color can make things more elegant, don’t you think?
style manila feature: sasha in gray
Finally, a full length pic of the dress that I made for Sasha of Style Manila for her birthday! Click here for more photos and Sasha’s thoughts on the dress.
revisiting old collections
Sometimes I still can’t believe that I still get orders from old collections . . . take this dress, for example, from my first ever collection.
 Model: Andrea Torres
andrea torres on chika minute
Andrea Torres was one of Pia Guanio’s substitutes for 24 Oras’ Chika Minute and I must say that Andrea did a great job. Yes, not just because she was wearing one of my dresses in one of the episodes haha.
Andrea wore this dress a couple of days from one of my past collections. Thanks, Andrea! 
inquirer entertainment feature on andrea torres (may 27, 2011)
Who exactly is Andrea Torres? Aside from being one of the recently signed talents under GMA 7, she’s also one of my favorite models for my line. She’s fun, professional, talented and of course, very beautiful!
I was pleasantly surprised to hear earlier that I was mentioned in the Inquirer article featuring Andrea. Click on the link to view the article, or buy today’s issue and look for the article under the Entertainment section. I’m also posting a screenshot of the online article here (click on the photo for a larger version).
The article reminded me of our video shoot we had back in 2009 (Playing Dress-Up). Let’s shoot again soon, Andrea! And thanks for the mention!
aimee rae
Aimee is one of my most loyal clients (and a cousin as well) — here are a few photos of her wearing dresses that I made for her.
Maxidress worn at a recent beach outing.
una on pazette
Here’s one of my clients wearing my best seller from last year’s Art to Wear collection. Looking great, Pazette!
maffy soler at TV5
Singer/model Maffy Soler has been making the rounds at TV5 to promote the network’s latest teleserye called Nagbabagang Bulaklak. She sang the theme song of the show along with Marvin Ong — great job, guys! Here’s Maffy wearing one of my designs from my Satin et Lacet collection at her Lucky Numbers guesting.
morphing stills
Some of you guys know that my husband Miguel is my resident photographer, web designer, videographer and editor. How lucky can a girl in my position get, right? I’m proud to share with you this video that was part of the Collaburature group show at The Collective last December 16, 2010.
He morphed his still photos to come up with this video and my designs can be seen from 3:05 until 4:21. Enjoy the video!
creating silk
It’s amazing how something gross (sorry, I don’t really like worms) can make something so beautiful. I remember a visit to a silk factory in China years ago and it was great seeing how silk was made. Went through my old photos of the tour so that I could share some with you guys, along with some info coming from this website.
The silkworms are fed mulberry leaves. (more…)
prom season
Prom season is upon us again! I don’t remember much about my own prom . . . . but I do remember I wanted to dress up too much like a grownup. I felt super cool back then but now I cringe at the thought of my beauty queen gown with matching beauty queen hair.
So when a client showed me her peg for her own prom, I tried to come up with something that will meet her expectations but still have a tinge of youthfulness. Not only was my client so happy with her gown, but also her mom AND dad! That’s no easy feat, I tell you. I’ve had countless mother and daughter arguments in my studio so I’m happy that this particular fitting was a success.
So here’s what we came up with for a Paris-themed prom. The best part of the dress for me (and the client’s mom) is the belt with rosettes.
Enjoy the prom, Maxinne! And happy V-day to you guys!
birthday promo!
Because it’s my birthday tomorrow, I’m giving you guys 20% off on all orders placed between February 3 until the 19th. Send me a message if you’re interested!
I’m looking forward to some fun in the sun this coming weekend to celebrate my birthday . . . I’m going to a place where there is no signal so if I don’t answer your calls/text or emails, I’ll get back to you as soon as get back to Manila on Sunday night.
In the meantime, here’s another summer inspired outfit I made for my kids line, modeled by Natalia.
walking advertisements
Ok, so we’re not celebrities (far from it, actually) but Miko and I try to be walking ads by wearing my designs most of the time.
I’m wearing a piece from A2w and Miko is wearing one of the dresses from my Diamond Collection. Wore these to a party a couple of weeks back and I got some new clients from that event!
summer on my mind
I need some Vitamin D after all the holiday madness and stress at work! I actually squeezed in a couple of designs for my next collection while making holiday, wedding and entourage dresses and I wanted to share this sample dress with you guys.
This can be worn as a coverup for a bandeau bikini at the beach or it can be worn as a summer dress.
I also made a similar gown that I plan to wear to a friends summer themed wedding and I just realized now that the color is honeysuckle, Pantone’s 2011 Color of the year. I’ve always been a sucker for all shades of red so I’m looking forward to wearing this gown soon!
