cebu bloggers – Page 2 – Gizelle Faye Creative Studio

style blog journey: why i still do it

why do i blog? why did a start blogging? why am i still doing this after 19 months?

why i started my own style blog. i was enthralled by Karla de Rass of Karla’s Closet and Rumi Neely of Fashion Toast that i checked their blogs every day. i soon found other amazing bloggers like Tieka of Selective Potential, Elizabeth of Delightfully Tacky, Alice of Alice Point and Alice Xue of AliceX in Wonderland that my bookmark list was filled to the brim. i’d count the hours at work so i can go home and sit once again in front of another computer and blog hop. it was my escape. it felt really surreal to me checking ladies with real personal fashion, taking themselves out their and making a statement with the way they dress. soon after, i found local bloggers, Denise of Denise Katipunera and Dane of Trust Me It’s Paradise and i ultimately made the decision to start my own. i thought, if i spend 30 minutes to an hour a day just deciding on and composing my outfit, might as well document it right?

how i started. it would be hypocritical of me to say that i didn’t dream of getting recognized and getting my name out there when i first started. most of us belonged to the MTV generation and ultimately grew up with reality TV that it’s hard to deny that we want to become famous and rich one day. be honest, didn’t you dream of the same thing as a kid? i was adamant about getting more hits to my site that i spent hours visiting other blogs, even ones i couldn’t relate to and signed up for other social networking sites like weardrobe, chictopia, bloglovin, etc. to get more exposure. blogging soon became a chore. although i thoroughly enjoy posting my outfits but i became pressured at making a good post that people can relate to. ranking numbers started to frustrate me. blogging became something i had to do and not something i do when i wanted to.

what i realized along the way. i took a step back and reminded myself why i started blogging in the first place — because i love fashion. because i am an advocate of personal style over trends. my blog is simple and has little fuss. what i gained along the way is something i never thought i’d have more of if i didn’t start blogging: amazing new friends and a readership following of real people.

people ask me if i want to become a model because i style blog. no. not at all. i have given up that aspiration 15 years ago when i didn’t go past my 5’2″ height contrary to my parents’ belief (because my sister is 5’7″). i do aspire to be a fashion stylist though but i know that’s something i have to work towards to and not through blogging.

so you see, fashion blogging is not about the fame and fortune nor is it about getting free stuff or invites to exclusive events or parties. if they do come, then i consider it a blessing. it’s not even about buying the most expensive piece of clothing because it’s what is on trend. it’s about being real and expressing our passion for fashion through our personal style.

ruched cotton top – thrifted

grey crocheted cardigan – mom’s closet (thrifted)

black leggings – random

grey flats with embellishments – bangkok find

cutout pewter cuff – shopyapi.com

skull ring | layered necklace – carbon finds

boater hat – bangkok find

Vanilla with Orange and Banana in the Tropics! ♥

this is a long overdue post. met up with len david of orange and banana mondays over for lunch at bistro ecila 2 weeks ago and just had a blast chatting over just about anything. i tend to get shy with new people but both our talkativeness totally overcame any shyness or awkwardness. thanks len for meeting up with us. we should definitely get together when you visit Cebu again.

although i love how it got back on the runway because it gave me a reason to wear one of my favorite pieces of clothing but i’ve been wearing maxi skirts or dresses more lately as a better alternative to jeans or leggings when i am super lazy to shave my legs. i mean, what girl isn’t lazy to shave her legs? or visit a waxing salon. LOL.

current plans:

stay in and watch old romantic comedies or movies — sweet november, 10 things i hate about you, mad love, 500 days of summer, etc.
visit a charity with my friends this january 2 using the money we earned from the garage sale we had last october
go thrift shopping to fill some recently vacated areas of my closet

brown maxi skirt – thrifted

crocheted pink cover-up – thrifted

white tank top – thrifted

beige suede booties – gold dot

necklaces: diamond-shaped pattern – gifted from ivy | fairy – gifted from sis

owl connector ring – carbon find

bangles – carbon finds

brown sunnies – carbon find

‘Say What You Want’…by What A Girl Wants

i don’t think i’ve ever made such a tremendous effort to go on a girls’ night out until last weekend. the What A Girl Wants event at Shangri-la’s Cowrie Cove was aptly named ‘Girls’ Night Out’ and my blogger friends and i decided to grace it. WAGW was launching their current collection ‘Say What You Want’ and we had to drive through the craziest rain just to get there. risking the slippery roads was worth it though because the show was definitely a success. i was definitely obsessed with that knitted fringe vest. *wink*

(1) what i wore: vintage green polka dress – thrifted | crocheted sweater – thrifted | nude booties – parisian, sm dept store | bangles and rings – carbon finds | green clutch bag – borrowed from sis

(2) our shoes! i am still head over heels over toni’s black wedge booties…*sigh* eden rocked her lace-up heels too!

(3) with toni of perfumed red shoes and eden of chic in the tropics

(4-5) some of the awesome muses of what a girl wants

(6) the girls behind WAGW — Jacklyn Uy, Krystle Uy, Diane Uy-Ang

Blog | Cebu Street Fashion by Armand Alforque

“Above all, remember that the most important thing you can take anywhere is not a Gucci bag or French-cut jeans; it’s an open mind…” – Gail Rubin Bereny

behind-the-scenes: cebu fashion bloggers

armand alforque was looking for his next project and suddenly thought of us bloggers. of course we all were glad to jump on the wagon as it’s not only a chance for a little bit of publicity for us but also a chance for us, cebu style bloggers to get together and get to know each other. some our boyfriends tagged along and gillian even brought her dad. *smile*

the style bloggers who participated in this shoot are (left to right in the group photo by the truck): vanessa east of one frozen margarita, gillian uang of by details, toni pino of perfumed red shoes, eden villarba of chic in the tropics, philip lapinid of fashion toy gun and mildred zapanta of dred reveries.

we had to make it happen: BLOGGER MEET-UP!

i am really shy (or speechless) upon first introduction. i don’t know what to do when i meet strangers. the meet-up was not really with strangers as we have all been communicating in the blogosphere but it’s different meeting people in person. so on my way to loft where we were all to meet, i was thinking repeatedly in my foolish paranoia, “what are we going to talk about?” haha! i didn’t have any reason to be paranoid because the night did go well (maybe sans the stupid discrimination of the bouncer or management at loft)… we had drinks, we had laughs and of course, lots of photos! just imagine everyone bringing their own cameras and asking the waiter to take the group photos with all of them…it was crazy!

the night was not just a meet-up of fashion bloggers but also of fashion enthusiasts and up and coming designer. the roll call (from the first photo): rand, kelvin, kristine roa of instyle cebu, yves of yves style, angel of the great social nomad, iya, dane of trust me, it’s paradise, eden of chic in the tropics, ed and nym wales.

we still had a few who were not in attendance and i really hope they could join us next time!

of course, loft night is not complete without my sister and our friends. we also celebrated our friend, yami’s birthday and we were both dressed in animal print too! here’s how the rest of my night went:

leopard print dress – thrifted

black belt – part of my lil’ sister’s shorts that she’s wearing here

curtain necklace – props

stacks of faux gold bangles – gifted

wooden ring – thrifted at carbon

black peep-toe booties – celine (a gift from harry!)

"it’s a small world…after all" (repeat 3x)

rain or shine, january 15 was a date to mark. my good friend, edu, got married to kathi last night. and although i was hours late and didn’t get to see the cermony nor catch most of the reception because of the crazy – insane traffic, it was still very touching for me. my friend is happy. my friend is smiling. and most of all, he has found someone who can laugh at his jokes — when all the time we were making of fun of his humor in college..hehe.

and of all places, i bumped into eden of chic in the tropics at the party! we were laughing at how it could be a mini-(very mini) blogger meet-up…haha! we’re wishing dane was there. eden emceed at the party and is a good friend of kathi since high school. we took a few photos before she left but couldn’t really strike poses as it was pouring really hard. i swear, we were crowding ourselves inside the tents. eden sure knows how to do the smokey eye. while i almost got soaked in the rain and forgot to bring my make-up bag.haha! (i should have asked eden what she’s wearing…anyhoo, just check out her blog! it’s really good..)

while i loved the heels, i couldn’t bear wearing them to work because i had to run through the parking lot and it was raining all day. so i brought my trusty boots.

i work the night shift and always look forward to 6:00am and see the sun rise from our window. however, today was as gloomy as it could be. (i think this is the jinx from all the people who say they’s jealous of our sun…haha!) so i had to make do with whatever light i can find to manage a good photo inside the house. believe it or not, the light is from my sister’s reading lamp…LOL. so how did i do with my photos?

floral dress – thrifted

black blazer – thrifted

strappy heels – so fab!

black boots – mongkok ladies market, hk

chained watch (with floral design) – hk souvenir shop

pink shell cuffs – props

blue ring – props

black bag – lil’ sister’s