- Phil Younghusband!



2 thumbs up! With that, we all called it a night! I promise you, we were all dreaming of only beautiful things!
HUGS!
RAJO!



2 thumbs up! With that, we all called it a night! I promise you, we were all dreaming of only beautiful things!
HUGS!
RAJO!
OMG! I just have to share this with all of you! Piolo Pascual was just in my studio and he certainly made the earth move under my feet! LOL! He looks at you with these piercing brown eyes and you literally melt! This man is a MAJOR MAJOR HEARTTHROB!
So this is the story. I was asked if they could film in my shop for an upcoming project with KC. I did not even hesitate……I said yes in a nano second! I mean, it’s Piolo, right?
So there I was, pretending to do some overtime, but in reality, I was just waiting for him to come to my office for the shoot! LOL! I have never seen my entire team shiver with delight and glee. We all turned into awkward 16 year-olds blushing at the sight of Piolo! I was not alone, as I had a dinner to go to and they were still shooting; my entire barangay Poblacion came out to witness this gorgeousness of manhood!
What I really like about him is he is genuinely nice! NO AIRS at all! I was also delighted that my friend KC came to visit! LOL! All in all, it was one MAJOR KILIG MOMENT!

My store virtually became the center of attention in our Barangay! Hordes of people were waiting excitedly for the movie stars!
HUGS!
RAJO!
There are two major events that I really look forward to in my personal fashion calendar. One is the Academy Awards or the Oscars, and the other one is the Metropolitan Museum’s Costume Institute Gala, or The Met Ball. I look forward to these two events because I love seeing the beautiful dresses on display. Apart from the visual stimulation, I also study the trends on the red carpet because these dresses have a major influence on what the market will be looking for in terms of color, cut and overall style. One of my dreams is to one day attend the Met Ball, who knows? Maybe next year?! LOL! FYI: the Met Ball is on May 4, which in Manila is actually today!
This year’s theme is Designers and their Muses. The chair persons for this year’s Gala are Marc Jacobs, Kate Moss and Justin Timberlake. Sounds like a really fun group. I spent a couple of hours over the internet trying to find images to show you, and I am happy to announce that I am able to show all of you a tiny peek at The Met Ball.
There was a bit of drama over this year’s gala, as a lot of people decided not to attend. Some say that it was the financial crisis. Other important non-attendees were a couple of the supermodels, like Naomi Campbell and Linda Evangelista. I hear it’s because Azedine Alaia was snubbed at the exhibition. As they say, the show must go on and as a spectator, I am just happy to look at the photos and enjoy the beautiful and the not-so-beautiful dresses on display! Enjoy!

I was able to get these setup photos from Glamchic.com. I love the drama of that draped mannequin on top of the fountain. The floral trees are also too chic! I wonder who designed the party?

I am not sure about the zebra carpet? HMMM... But I do love the idea of thousands upon thousands of white roses! I

I was able to get a peek a the exhibition from Stylecaster.com. I hear that they will have a multimedia display filled with photography and video clips. The show opens to the public on May 6.

This is the Christian Dior tableau. I read that the exhibit is arranged according to the different eras of fashion.

Ivanka Trump neesds very little to look fantastic. I am responding very positively to this dress by Brian Reyes.

Gossip Girls Leighton Meester took a very daring approach to dressing up for the ball. I think this is Prada? But the shoes are Louis Vuitton, so I maybe wrong? I like the idea of the beaded leggings but overall, this outfit is too busy for words.

Rihanna walked in Dolce & Gabanna. The exaggerated shoulder is a big trend now and the tuxedo look is always a classic! I like the play on being trendy and classic at the same time so this outfit is a winner for me.

Chairperson Justin Timberlake looks a bit goofy here, but I think that is part of his appeal. His lady love Jessica Biel is in a red hot Versace couture number. I know Ms. Biel is reed thin, but how come she looks a bit heavy in this dress? HMMM... Fail or Pass? What do you think?

Kanye West and his main squeeze Amber Rose look like an updated version of Old Hollywood. I am loving their classic vibe, but the shaved blonde head gives this that modern edge.

Shalom Harlow ....ROCKS! Give me an opera coat any day! I love her stirrup stockings - so FRESH! I think she is wearing Christian Lacroix. I just love the VOLUME and the DRAMA! EYELAHVET!

Chairpersons...Marc Jacobs looking very dapper and Kate Moss... I am not loving her outfit by Marc Jacobs. It looks a bit lazy and was not given a lot of thought. The Stephen Jones Turban is also a letdown. Sayang! This could have been a fabulous fashion moment.

Kate Hudson is giving off this '70s disco vibe! I am digging the sparkle. LOL! She is wearing Stella McCartney together with Liv Tyler in a navy beaded number harking back to the '40s. Stella seems to be a really fun girl! I want to be her friend! Funny how she was like time traveling that evening. Kate-'70s, Liv-'40s and her in a '50s lace jumpsuit number.

Heidi Klum in a J Mendel gown. Now this, for me, is very challenging! I really love J. Mendel and I study his work very closely, but I have never seen him do things as haphazard as this. HMMM... It really looks like a Project Runway DISASTER! Goodness...check out the seams and all that puckering! I am so allergic to that! Is she pregnant again?

Emma Roberts is wearing Versace couture! I think the shoes are wrong, but she is pretty. I love this dress, but not on her. The dress needs a taller girl to properly do it justice.

The queen of Vogue Ms. Anna WIntour in Chanel couture! I am feeling a Duchess of Windsor vibe with this outfit. I am liking the bold shoulder. Goodness she is so skinny...check out her arms.

The legendary Iman in liquid champagne! I love her and I love this dress by Donna Karan. Ms. Karan is a master at draping! This dress is inspiring!

Claudia Schiffer in a magnificent Versace Couture gown! I love this gown, as it's really well thought out! The drama of the folds and the sheer/nude lining are just SENSATIONAL!

Kate Bosworth is slowly carving her way up the fashion ladder. I have seen her in many events and I am loving her style. I am not sure who made this dress, but it's fantastic! Love the classic idea of sheer lace but look at it closer and you will see that it has been cut and manipulated so expertly. I LOVE IT!

Mary Kate Olsen is in a Christian Lacroix. Another daring choice for her, as she is so tiny! I mean this dress has a lot of things going on: the lace, the layers the beading. It looks like a costume from the musical Les Miserables! BUT....I like it! CARRY NYA!

I can't seem to figure out Anne Hathaway's style. One day she is classic and another she looks like this...a clone of Jennifer Lopez? This dress does nothing for her and it's an overall failure. Sayang....I love her pa naman.

Blake Lively of Gossip girl looks a bit dated in this dress. I am loving her from the neck up with the clean and tight ponytail and the fresh makeup, but the dress is so 1988! LOL!

WOW! Ashley Olsen is so beautiful here! I am loving the new clean look! I adore her BF also. I forget his name but I have seen his films. I like this look on her! Its sophisticated and very polished.

Kate is werquin this Marchesa gown or is it the gown werquin Kate? Hmmmm... This has this Ursula the sea witch kind of vibe for me. I think she is pretty but the dress is OTT! LOL! (Red Carpet shots from Fabsugar.com)
HUGS!
RAJO!
My New York correspondent has done it again! PJ Pascual just emailed me new photos of a spectacular exhibit featuring HOT American shoe designer Brian Atwood! The designer collaborated with actress Rene Russo to create his Spring Summer collection!
The event drew some really beautiful people and I am responding positively to the photos! The shoes themselves are beautiful! I wonder if they are available in the Philippines? HMMM….. Thanks PJ for putting all of us in the loop!
PLACE: OPEN HOUSE
TITLE: ROLE PLAY RENE
HOST: BRIAN ATWOOD SHOE DESIGNER
RAJO!
Goodness! I never thought that I looked anything like Johnny Depp or even Gary Barlow! LOL! I found this site online and it was kind of fun to do, so try it out yourselves and see who you look like. The site is called myheritage.com! I got a kick out of it! Thing is, half the people I looked like were LAOS na! HA HA HA!
I am a HUGE fan of the Academy Awards Night! If you’re anything close to a lover of fashion, you all know that the OSCARS is like our version of Christmas. I actually skip work so that I can see it, and this year was no different.
My favorite part is the red carpet walk! I have always done a review on my own for the dresses that are worn by the actresses, but this is the first time I will be reviewing it for many to see. I actually was quite impressed with this year’s gowns, and the show itself was sensational! I loved that the show took us on a journey on how movies are made. Hugh Jackman was just a stellar host! Listed below are my rants and raves!

This dress, worn by Marissa Tomei, was one of my favorites! I love how modern the skirt is. It's a novel version of how to do a book pleat technique. It was done by Atelier Versace which is the couture arm of the house. The silk satin organza was the perfect choice for the design, as you can really see the drama of the pleating.

This woman is FIERCE! I actually do not know Evan Rachel Wood or what she starred in, but this gown by Ellie Saab is just beautiful! I love how the pale nude/blush peach chiffon just matches her dewy skin and red hair! The draped bodice is just perfect!

This dress was from Christian Dior Couture Spring 2009. I loved that show; I thought that the collection was FABULOUS! Actually, several stars wore gowns from that collection to the Oscars. One such star is French actress Marion Cotillard. I love the '50s silhouette with the patent belt and the voluminous skirt. The sheer skirt added some modernity to the classic shape. She could have ditched the double necklace though, as I thought that it was distracting.

She looks like a modern day GODDESS! Anne Hathaway was stunning in this Armani Prive gown. I love the way the beadwork cascaded into bigger paillettes as it reached the hem, and the color is so soothing,. I love a bare shoulder and I noticed quite a number of strapless dresses that evening.

This gown is so Carrie Bradshaw! LOL! I mean sometimes I can't separate the character from the actress. This gown is by Christian Dior Couture Spring 2009. This is a lesson to all the ladies out there: if you find a silhouette that works for you...stick with it! I have seen many versions of this on Sarah Jessica Parker but it looks great on her, so why change it? I love the fact that you can see the horse hair crinoline lining and the asymmetric beadwork gives it that certain edge.

Mrs. Pitt was just flawless that evening! This black chiffon Ellie Saab number seems simple, but upon closer inspection, the draping is just genius! I mea,n that hint of sheer leg is so darn HOT! I also love the jewelry she had on. Those large emerald ear drops and her cocktail ring added the right hint of color! I am in love with Angelina! LOL!

Penelope Cruz was definitely channeling her inner Audrey Hepburn that evening, what with the cropped bangs and the vintage Balmain (I read that the dress is 60 years old!!!). This is what I call OLD SCHOOL GLAMOUR! It's a true classic, and a lot of my gal pals voted this as the best dress that night. I could see why, as it's very feminine.

I have to say that I LOVE Tilda Swinton! She is one of my style ICONS! I love this ensemble from LANVIN. I think it's very, very chic! Ms, Swinton has always been a directional dresser. I love that this was just so easy and simple, I mean this is STYLE! It's EFFORTLESS!

Kudos for Ms. Freida Pinto for wearing color! God knows the red carpet needed some bit of life, I mean, everyone was in safe neutrals! This gown is by John Galliano. I love the color but I am not so sure about the style. I mean, Ms. Pinto is very petite, I think she must be under 5 feet 4. So I found the style a bit overwhelming. A huge trend that night was asymmetry. There were several ladies with skewed necklines.

Meryl Streep is in a league all her own! I mean. if I ever met this woman I would probably faint! LOL! I like the style of her gown but this Alberta Ferretti has some fitting issues. I can live with the color but all that puckering would drive me insane! Styling wise, Ms. Streep looks gorgeous!

While watching the show I got a message asking how old Miley Cyrus was? I think she is 16, I answered. Then she popped in on my TV looking like she was 30! LOL! I think the gown is OVER! It reminds me of a gown from the SAGALAS in Santa Cruzan, maybe if it was worn by an older woman, then perhaps it could work. The fit and the design is OK, but it was worn by the wrong actress.

I could not understand why a woman as sexy as Jessica Biel would wear something that makes her look fat and frumpy! I mean, this heavy satin gown by Prada is just SOOOOOO wrong on so many levels that I am left baffled. Sayang, she is so pretty pa naman.

OK! I have to say that I have seen this Roland Mouret dress and I loved it! It was really beautiful and the origami pleating was genius. However, when it was worn by Heidi Klum, it looked like a Project Runway disaster! I think that she is just too big for the dress, so it would be better suited for someone more lithe and waiflike, not an AMAZONA like Ms. Klum. The styling was also questionable. I mean, this dress does not need that much bling, for it loses the modernity when piled on with busy jewelry.

All I can say it YIKES?!!! Ms. Beyonce is such a beautiful woman, so I can't imagine why she put herself in major mishaps such as this dress from the house of Dereon. Did your mother make you wear it? I love this look from the neck up! Two words...WOW MALI!!!!

This Rodarte dresss worn by Natalie Portman is BORING!!!!! I love pink - it's my favorite color - but somehow seeing this Pepto Bismol gown might make me rethink my fave color.

This is one SCARY outfit! It is so painful to the eyes that I did not want to find out who did this dress for Whoopi Goldberg. I would not wish this atrocity on my worst enemy! It is just plain AWFUL!

I was not feeling the look and the vibe of Ms. Jennifer Aniston. I thought that she was actually forgettable. The gown was decent and her makeup looked OK, so maybe that was it? She was just OK? I thought that she could have upped the ante a bit as her EX was there with Angelina! Diba she could have done a style showdown? LOL!

Sophia Loren is one of the most sensual women on the planet! I was just thinking, does she need all those ruffles? Mr. Armani was probably out to lunch when he was designing this dress because it sure needs some major editing! She is still so beautiful....Goodness, she must be in her mid 70's!

Let's begin with the good news... I love Kate Winslet and I loved her in The Reader. I also love her hair style! I thought that she had the best hair that evening. I also like the gunmetal gray color of her gown.. HOWEVER, I did not like her gown by Stefano Pilati for Yves Saint Laurent. The gown looked like it was schizophrenic, like two very different gowns being fused into one.
(Photos from style.com and oscars.com)
BIG HUGS!
RAJO!
I am a HUGE OSCAR FAN! I mean, it’s one of those rare occasions that I actually skip work, stay in bed and have a full-on relationship with my TV! LOL! So you can all imagine my delight when I got an invitation to Velvet’s OSCARS party! I have been privy to the concept of the party and I loved the idea! I am soooooooo excited to share with you the photos, which were AMAZING! Before that though, I want to show you who was at the party because it was really a fun night!

I only know a few ladies who can get away with a dress like this, and boy did Leica work it! LOVE YOU TO BITS!

Sibling chic!!! These two are the coolest brother and sister team I know! Stacey and Junie Rodriquez!

Leah Puyat was instrumental in organizing the photo shoots for the evening, and I really think she was in her zone! I mean, the woman was BEAMING! I love the fact that she was wearing her father's suit that evening! She showed me the jacket and the coolest lining! This woman is so FUN! I love her energy! Love the fact that she is doing something that she really LOVES! Good job, girl!

Mrs. Fe Rodriguez is one of the most stylish women on the PLANET!!! I loved her Celestina necklace that evening! Here she is with Anton. ( Anton is going to kill me, as I just overexposed him on my blog...LOL!)

The Divine miss Lee! I want that purse!!! For me, that would be the best passport/travel document holder.

Looking younger and younger each time I see him is Raymund Isaac! I think he has like a Dorian Grey portrait somewhere. He does not AGE!

Everyone wanted to have a photo with Ms. BB! I had the camera the entire time. Sayang wala akong photo tuloy...next time.

It was wonderful to see Tita Diday, the Mom of Anton, that evening. It brought back so many good memories.
BIG HUGS!
RAJO!
After my wonderful retreat in India, it’s good to be home! One of the best things about Manila is that we have one of the most SURREAL showbiz personalities in the whole world! Thus….when I received this juicy photo shoot in my email, I just had to share it with all of you!I
I would like to share these awesome pictures of the new “IT” girl that is making all of Manila denizens flip into somersaults! It’s none other that Bebe Gandanghari! My friend Nicolo Cosme did an awesome job of capturing this alluring creature’s persona. I myself am totally amused!!! What do you think of Ms.Bebe? Do tell!
BIG HUGS!
RAJO!
OMG! I just came back from the most amazing show on Philippine TV: WOWOWEE! It was super hilarious! OK, let me tell you how I ended up there. They have been inviting me for a few months now to be on the show, and for some reason, my schedule would always be in conflict with the time that they need me. Finally my schedule opened up and I agreed to come. At first I thought I was going to play in one of the games, then I realized that they wanted me to sit as judge at the Ms. Fitrum finals!
I am so glad that I agreed because it was the most amazing experience ever! Time seemed to zip by as the energy of the show was so high and there was never a dull moment. The star of the show is Willie Revillame – he is one funny man! He really has talent, as it’s hard to be that quick-witted. He is really one of the most successful hosts in the land. I was surprised to find out that there was no script and everything just happens spontaneously.
I read about him recently and he has 2 yachts, several huge homes and fabulous cars! However what I love about him is how low key and humble he was to everyone. He made me feel at home immediately. His dressing room is like an apartment filled with sofas and lots of food. WOWOWEE is the highest rated show in the Philippines, and some 20 million people watch the show daily, not to mention the rest of the Filipinos all over the world! I was really impressed with the show and the fact that the candidates for the Ms. Fitrum were not only beautiful, but they were really smart. Not a dumb answer in sight ….I lie, maybe one or two. LOL!
In the end I was really happy to be there and to experience the show live. Believe me when I say that you end up laughing till your tummy hurts! Congratulations to Willie and his team! Bravo! Bravo! Bravo!

Check this out! I mean, she is an ICON! I was so lucky that she offered to do my makeup as she said I would be too shiny for TV!

The studio set seems smaller in real life. It's so high tech though, with moving floors and a full screen for the back drop.

The Cover Boys did a number and they were really so cute! I have worked with Marvin and Jon several times, and I am really happy there careers are on the upswing!

Funny how I could not concentrate on the candidates because I was enjoying the Cover Boys more! LOL!

This one is for Ms CVS! I know that she finds Jon cute. I trust her taste 100% LOL! Jon just gets cuter and hotter as the years go by.

The lovely canditates for Ms. Fitrum. They had incredible prizes: a car, half a million Pesos, and a trip to Singapore! That's a huge prize!

I actually found Number 19 beautiful, but she did not make it to the finals. She should not give up though! She should join again.

The judges for the Ms. Fitrum. Quite a panel actually! Very impressive if you ask me. Renee Salud, Me, Willie, Glora Diaz and Miriam Quimabao, Margie Moran-Floriendo and Gabby Concepcion!

Number 26 won Ms. Fitrum! She is from Davao. She is very smart and has an excellent figure. She was not my bet though, but I was happy that she won nonetheless! I liked 9 more! LOL!
BIG HUGS!
RAJO!
Around the first week of December, something really fun and interesting will be happening at the Araneta Coliseum. 4 major stars will be sharing the stage for a very unique concert. Most of these women I have had the pleasure of making clothes for and I am giving Style Bible readers a peek at one of the costumes for the show.
This one is for Zsa-Zsa Padilla who will be doing an 80’s rock number, so I am channeling Azzedine Alaia with a dash of old school Madonna. This is not the final design.
As early as now we have to be ready as this will be something to look forward to! Guess who the other divas will be?
See you soon!
HUGS!
RAJO!
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