Shopping spree!
I've never felt this tired from walking in the past few years...not even while we were taking tours abroad. What finally tested my endurance?
Why, shopping, of course!
I enlisted Therese's expertise and opinion to help me look for a gown for our friends' wedding. I prefer having another pair of eyes to find stuff for me, because they usually give me stuff that I might gloss over and may not personally prefer at first-but once I try it on, I'll enjoy it too.
Yes, I did find a dress that I daresay was worth skipping a pool party with a pretty French dude.
First off, I want to seriously thank the lady who returned my ATM card after I left it in the machine! ^^;;;;; WOW. There are kind and honest strangers here in Manila after all.
I met Therese at Landmark, but first, I had to help Brother 1 buy a new pair of sneakers. After we got him a pair at Adidas, he went off to the arcade. Therese was able to buy a gold clutch bag to go with her gown. She had already looked around for gowns while waiting for me, but she wasn't happy with any of them. She had already ordered a gown for herself online.
We started our search at the on-sale Zara, but we couldn't find anything long enough, or any dress in XS. We then headed to Rustan's, but Therese had to constantly call my attention, as I got distracted by shoes. ^^;;;; We would both get distracted by food (particularly cupcakes) though.
Sure, I had a bigger budget this time, compared to the last time I bought a gown, but a lot of the stuff there was way beyond my budget. They were also rather too dressy, considering I'm going to two day weddings.
Off to Debenhams we went then. Therese did find me a nice metallic brown knee-length tube dress at Début. The dress also had a bit of white tulle sticking out underneath. It fit nicely on me, so it was a very good candidate. I still wasn't 100% convinced, to be honest (I don't really like brown, or the flower in the center), so I still wanted to look around.
After lunch, we went to a local dress shop. We did find a nice cheap floor-length purple gown that also fit nicely on me, but I noticed a hole in the dress, and they had no other stock on hand.
What we noticed about the cheap local dresses was that they always had beads and sequins. Yeech.
Mango also yielded nothing interesting, but when we returned to Rustan's, Therese found an O Oscar by Oscar de la Renta dress that was just a wee bit over my budget, but was still affordable for me anyway. It looks a bit like this other Oscar dress, but with a big black dot on each pleat, and a big black vinyl belt.
I tried the size 4, and it was too big on me, but it was the smallest size they had. Too bad, but it was really cute.
It was already two o'clock, and I had to meet my family in two hours, and I was feeling a bit desperate at that point. I had the dress at Debenhams for back-up anyway. I suggested that we head to Greenbelt. Although we knew the stuff was going to be pricey, we knew that they were going to be pretty.
We couldn't find anything suitable at Greenbelt 3, so I suggested we check out the boutiques at Greenbelt 5, mostly stuff by (young) Filipino designers.
After hopping through a few stores, Therese tossed me the dress in one store that featured stuff from a trio of designers, each specializing in clothes, shoes, and accessories.
It was a purple silk jersey tube dress, actually a cocktail dress. It also had a gold velvet band around the waist. It was a small, but I wasn't happy with the fit at the top or around the waist. The two salesladies said that they could have it altered, for free.
When they pinned the dress to fit me better, and especially with the narrower waist, Therese and I knew-this is it!
Therese also offered to take a picture of me, but the saleslady wouldn't allow it-she changed her mind, though, when I informed them that I was buying it.
They also offered me a pair of purple pumps, which looked nice, but was a bit pricey for me. I liked how comfortable and padded they were, even if they were rather high.
But when I tried another pair of gold pumps that they offered, the ensemble just looked stunning. I knew I had to get the shoes with the dress too, even if I hadn't asked the price yet. Luckily, they were rather affordable, although still on the pricey (for me) side.
Even the salesladies admitted that they didn't think the dress looked all that great on the hanger, until I finally fitted it, with the alterations.
Success! I now had a gown and shoes. With one hour to spare. ...They also tried to peddle me a purple clutch bag that was decorated all over with amethysts (my birth stone), but that was even more expensive than the dress, obviously.
Here are the shoes. Therese had taken pics of me with the Oscar de la Renta dress and the dress, but her computer isn't reading her camera. Pics of the gown will have to wait, until after I go to the wedding.
We celebrated the end of our quest by having vanilla cupcakes and caffè lattes at Classic Confections, just across the boutique. Yum!
Then, we sought out to by some foundation for me. We went to Cinema Secrets, because that's what Trina told me to get. It's also heavily praised elsewhere. I know nothing about make-up, so it was Therese who picked out the shade for me. She also bought some sponges and eyeliner. It was my turn to look for a bag, and I also found a cheap gold clutch bag.
Shopping with friends is much more fun when there's actually money to spend. <3
* * *
Watched Get Smart with the family after that, and I actually quite enjoyed it. Masi Oka and Nate Torrence were criminally underused, and I thought Alan Arkin kicked ass. My dad said he even liked Steve Carell's Maxwell Smart better than Don Adams's.
When Harry Met Sally is airing on TV right now. I never knew Billy Crystal actually looked kinda attractive before. Well, in the college scenes.
* * *
Just thought I'd also post pics of my mom's chocolate cake, which tastes quite similar to the blackout cake at the Cheesecake Factory.
Have a good weekend!
Need: A new strapless bra, because I lost a whole cup size when I lost weight.
Also need: A manicure and pedicure.
Want: A nice new haircut to go with the dress.
Love: Shopping. With friends. And money.
Hate: Warm and humid weather
Why, shopping, of course!
I enlisted Therese's expertise and opinion to help me look for a gown for our friends' wedding. I prefer having another pair of eyes to find stuff for me, because they usually give me stuff that I might gloss over and may not personally prefer at first-but once I try it on, I'll enjoy it too.
Yes, I did find a dress that I daresay was worth skipping a pool party with a pretty French dude.
First off, I want to seriously thank the lady who returned my ATM card after I left it in the machine! ^^;;;;; WOW. There are kind and honest strangers here in Manila after all.
I met Therese at Landmark, but first, I had to help Brother 1 buy a new pair of sneakers. After we got him a pair at Adidas, he went off to the arcade. Therese was able to buy a gold clutch bag to go with her gown. She had already looked around for gowns while waiting for me, but she wasn't happy with any of them. She had already ordered a gown for herself online.
We started our search at the on-sale Zara, but we couldn't find anything long enough, or any dress in XS. We then headed to Rustan's, but Therese had to constantly call my attention, as I got distracted by shoes. ^^;;;; We would both get distracted by food (particularly cupcakes) though.
Sure, I had a bigger budget this time, compared to the last time I bought a gown, but a lot of the stuff there was way beyond my budget. They were also rather too dressy, considering I'm going to two day weddings.
Off to Debenhams we went then. Therese did find me a nice metallic brown knee-length tube dress at Début. The dress also had a bit of white tulle sticking out underneath. It fit nicely on me, so it was a very good candidate. I still wasn't 100% convinced, to be honest (I don't really like brown, or the flower in the center), so I still wanted to look around.
After lunch, we went to a local dress shop. We did find a nice cheap floor-length purple gown that also fit nicely on me, but I noticed a hole in the dress, and they had no other stock on hand.
What we noticed about the cheap local dresses was that they always had beads and sequins. Yeech.
Mango also yielded nothing interesting, but when we returned to Rustan's, Therese found an O Oscar by Oscar de la Renta dress that was just a wee bit over my budget, but was still affordable for me anyway. It looks a bit like this other Oscar dress, but with a big black dot on each pleat, and a big black vinyl belt.
I tried the size 4, and it was too big on me, but it was the smallest size they had. Too bad, but it was really cute.
It was already two o'clock, and I had to meet my family in two hours, and I was feeling a bit desperate at that point. I had the dress at Debenhams for back-up anyway. I suggested that we head to Greenbelt. Although we knew the stuff was going to be pricey, we knew that they were going to be pretty.
We couldn't find anything suitable at Greenbelt 3, so I suggested we check out the boutiques at Greenbelt 5, mostly stuff by (young) Filipino designers.
After hopping through a few stores, Therese tossed me the dress in one store that featured stuff from a trio of designers, each specializing in clothes, shoes, and accessories.
It was a purple silk jersey tube dress, actually a cocktail dress. It also had a gold velvet band around the waist. It was a small, but I wasn't happy with the fit at the top or around the waist. The two salesladies said that they could have it altered, for free.
When they pinned the dress to fit me better, and especially with the narrower waist, Therese and I knew-this is it!
Therese also offered to take a picture of me, but the saleslady wouldn't allow it-she changed her mind, though, when I informed them that I was buying it.
They also offered me a pair of purple pumps, which looked nice, but was a bit pricey for me. I liked how comfortable and padded they were, even if they were rather high.
But when I tried another pair of gold pumps that they offered, the ensemble just looked stunning. I knew I had to get the shoes with the dress too, even if I hadn't asked the price yet. Luckily, they were rather affordable, although still on the pricey (for me) side.
Even the salesladies admitted that they didn't think the dress looked all that great on the hanger, until I finally fitted it, with the alterations.
Success! I now had a gown and shoes. With one hour to spare. ...They also tried to peddle me a purple clutch bag that was decorated all over with amethysts (my birth stone), but that was even more expensive than the dress, obviously.
Here are the shoes. Therese had taken pics of me with the Oscar de la Renta dress and the dress, but her computer isn't reading her camera. Pics of the gown will have to wait, until after I go to the wedding.
We celebrated the end of our quest by having vanilla cupcakes and caffè lattes at Classic Confections, just across the boutique. Yum!
Then, we sought out to by some foundation for me. We went to Cinema Secrets, because that's what Trina told me to get. It's also heavily praised elsewhere. I know nothing about make-up, so it was Therese who picked out the shade for me. She also bought some sponges and eyeliner. It was my turn to look for a bag, and I also found a cheap gold clutch bag.
Shopping with friends is much more fun when there's actually money to spend. <3
* * *
Watched Get Smart with the family after that, and I actually quite enjoyed it. Masi Oka and Nate Torrence were criminally underused, and I thought Alan Arkin kicked ass. My dad said he even liked Steve Carell's Maxwell Smart better than Don Adams's.
When Harry Met Sally is airing on TV right now. I never knew Billy Crystal actually looked kinda attractive before. Well, in the college scenes.
* * *
Just thought I'd also post pics of my mom's chocolate cake, which tastes quite similar to the blackout cake at the Cheesecake Factory.
Have a good weekend!
Need: A new strapless bra, because I lost a whole cup size when I lost weight.
Also need: A manicure and pedicure.
Want: A nice new haircut to go with the dress.
Love: Shopping. With friends. And money.
Hate: Warm and humid weather