CUBAO X

Being a venue for the multi-faceted and is a hodge-podge of culture, Cubao X is a place where everything artsy is welcomed. With restaurants that cater delicacies that are equally enticing as it sounds and stores that provide sartorial creations that people wouldn’t really find just anywhere else, a visit to such a complex place would be worth the drive.

Coming to that side of the metro is a totally different experience; it caters to everyone in the industry of the arts. For film buffs who are interested in independent films, there is such a place called “Mogwai” that shows films from the past to the present, from tacky vampire films from the 50’s that clearly has been left out with the advancement of technology to low-budget films of the present here and abroad that despite lacking financial back-up still has relevant stories to tell. For the fashion-savvy people, there is a boutique called “I love you store” where vintage finds are deconstructed for a fresher silhouette. It’s a place where creativity and fun is perfectly amalgamated and where the “new” set of “cool” kids who thrive with artistic independence rendezvous. If you ever want to be inspired and would love to preview an unmarked culture, a visit to Cubao X would certainly arouse your artistic point-of-view.

- ORLIE JANE BACARRO -

more cubao X pix...

HIGH STREET FASHION By: Ann A.

Ever wondered how it feels to "stalk" somebody and take pictures of what they do or what they wear? My my, I did for a day, a day that our sole purpose was to actually spot trendy people frolicking around High St. It was fun, at the same time disturbing for me (haha), I hate the idea of actually taking pictures of someone with out permission (well, it depends :)haha) so for this activity, i braved up and actually asked them if I may take their pictures. Some were gracious enough to have their photos taken and some were not so thrilled about it. Perhaps, in the near future, I shall exercise my paparazzi skills and actually take photos of people by not asking their permission ( hmmm, this doesn't sound so good. haha).
*Oh, i re-did this activity because I was not satisfied with the pictures I took and ended up taking pictures of my 2 friends and 1 stranger :)

Tribal Prints (Skirt)

Ah! the quirky instant touch-up to your classic black or mix and match it with colors! Tribal prints has been around and almost every season it comes back with a few tweaks.

Tights

One of my favorites to wear. Tights. May they be colored, textured or printed its a matter of learning how to incorporate the right tights for your outfit or the look you're trying to achieve.

The High-Waist Skirt

Of course, the ever classic high waist that debuted back this year. Cinch your waist girls with a classic or a jeweled belt to make you ready to go.

Fashionistas Out and About by Paola Lorenzo

Being a paparazzi for a day was actually fun, though at some point it got tiring because of all the running after and hiding behind the bushes we needed to do. So of all the fashionistas I was able to capture on that day, I narrowed down my list to three.

The picture above is one of a lady wearing a black men’s inspired top with studs, boyfriend jeans and sexy high heels. This trend is actually still peaking as of the trends of Fall 2009. In the runways of Balmain, Versace, Lanvin, Sophia Kokosalaki, Lowe, Yves Saint Laurent, Christian Dior and Charlotte Ronson. Hardware glam is definitely back this fall. Punk is experiencing an immense revival, with studs of all shapes and sizes in every clothing and accessory piece imaginable. The stud trend goes hand in hand with the leather craze the fashion world is currently in.

Fashionista number two is the epitome of the one shoulder trend. Not too keen on having the oversized and overemphasized shoulder? This is another way to flaunt your shoulders but in a subtler way. Designers such as Alexander Wang, Derek Lam, Balmain, Miu Miu, Marchesa, Versace and Chloe utilized this trend for Fall 2009. The one-shoulder trend was popularized during the 50’s and 60’s by the ancient world movies in Hollywood. This approach is trend is booming because of the romantic and sensual approach it provides women.

Animal prints are also showing up this season. It can be seen in the runways of Ruffian, Ashish and Topshop to name a few. Though usually these are epitomized in the form of leggings and party dresses, such prints may be also be seen in bangles and bags. Moreover, there has been a dramatic increase in other types of prints such as zebra, cow and giraffe. Animal prints started back in the 90’s. Such were created for the army as a form of camouflage.

HIDDEN TREASURE OF MANILA

Who could have known that at this hidden little area at one of the busiest places in Manila is a small district with big surprises? I did. Only by hearsay. Till we had the chance to actually visit this quaint place which i have been dying to see! I was really pushing to go to Cubao Expo than that of Greenhills which i bet we all have been to, may not be frequent, but just done with it.

It was a friday night when we ventured traffic, and it gets really terrible especially on our scheduled time, but surprisingly it was not that traffic when we went and lucky enough I had friends who rode with me who knew where to go and how to get there fast (ahh, the perks of location knowledge).

As we got to the place, I did not want to expect a lot, but hey! the place was not so bad and we were excited to start our mini adventure only that our stomach went first (haha) and headed to this famous Italian restaurant, Bellini's, which had awesome food and an ambiance that makes you feel somewhere in the world.

After our mouth-watering meals, and their iced tea too!, we started walking around and checked the stores. There's so many interesting boutiques that we don't even know where to start! An interesting store, that caught our attention by their window display which was located on a 2nd floor, was this quaint shop that at the bottom they were sell paintings and trinkets. As we enter their store and went up through their hidden stairs we were happy with what we saw. They were selling vintage stuff from Europe to the U.S. Despite of our happiness with what our eyes laid on, the prices were not as cheap as we expected. There was this vintage hounds tooth jacket that cost P6,000 and he was offering it for P4,000 only. But the fact that it cost THAT much for this apparel that was "vintage", pretty much cost a lot. We prefer to buy a new one if it was the same price. We also went to this store that sells antique furnitures and displays with a hidden library of old books that i guess were for sale as well. They were well preserved only that the covers had some rips and chips obviously from the age of it. Another one that struck our attention was this reading room. Our friend wanted to get his future "read". And we pretty much got in to it and agreed to do it too. To our disappointment, when we entered it was close, so we went to the nearby store, checked some clothes and shoes that they were selling and the girl from there overheard us about the reading room and told us that it was only by appointment actually. Nevertheless, we enjoyed our Cubao Expo experience and had a good meal as well. :) - Ann A.

Bellini's

Outside Bellini's while waiting for our food

Anavie, Orlie and i

The Reading Room, where you can get your future "read" for P500. By appointment only.

Where finds from Europe and The U.S. can be found

Gil "reading" at the store with hundreds of old books

blog cubao expo

Last Friday our Fashion Trends class had a field trip in Cubao Expo and I must say going there was an experience of its own- from the heavy traffic to the very unique place that is Cubao.

Cubao Expo is an artsy place; and what I like about it is that it has a very laidback atmosphere. Also the stores are very out of the ordinary, they mix art together with fashion. They have very unique pieces just like the ones in the I Love You Store. I like their accessories especially their very witty pins. In addition, their clothes are very artsy and I think they only sell a few piece per design, which makes it more special since you won't have a problem bumping with another person having the same design. Another store that we checked was Heima, which sells home décor and furniture. Their decors are so pretty and they also have cute and colorful lomo cameras, which for me looks like a toy. 

Cubao expo is not just about stores and thrift shops; they also have bars and restaurants. It seems fun to hang out there. One restaurant that I would want to go back to is Bellini's. Bellini's is an Italian restaurant, which I think, offers good food at an affordable price. Sadly I didn't get a chance to eat since I went home early. But then Bellini's would be one reason for me to go back to Cubao Expo.

         All in all, Cubao Expo is a very nice place, very different from the malls that we have in the metro. It's nice to see that we have places like this so that once in a while we can have a break from the very busy, commercial and crowded malls in the city.

- by Tin :)  

LMC : Trend Spotting

LMC signing in..

A few months ago we had our first trend activity : TREND SPOTTING. Held at Fort High Street.

My partner Anavie, so here are our top list.

Boots, leggings and bermuda shorts. They are still apparently in! O, Makati! You're so full of surprises.

Sense of Culture at Cubao Expo

Last Friday, our Trends class went to Cubao Expo to check the retail trends there. I haven't been there so I was curious about the place. So Tin and I braved the Friday traffic and off we went to Cubao Expo. When we reached Cubao Expo, we first met up with some of our classmates at Bellini's, more on that later. Then my partner in crime, Tin toured me around the place.

First, we checked out Heima, a home design store. The place has a lot to offer from lamps to lomographic cameras. The store has a very lovely interior and I fell in love with this frame that I wanted to buy but I was kinda short of cash. I'll definitely go back to Cubao Ex and get the frame, and if its still there then it was really meant for me. :-) And, I think it would look great at my place.

After Heima, we went to I Love You store which is located at the 2nd floor. The ground floor is a bar, I think. :D The place was amazing. We went crazy trying on their merchandise. The prices aren't so steep either considering their items are vintage.

I wanted to check The Reading Room, but sadly, the store was closed when we went there. I wanted to check their accessories and try the tarot card reading.

Then we had dinner at Bellini's, the restaurant serves authentic Italian food and its affordable and yummy! Most dishes are served family-style so I would suggest if you visit Cubao Expo have lunch/dinner at Bellini's and bring the whole family.

We checked a lot of stores but I forgot the store names. Sorry. The shops in Cubao Expo are worth checking.

Cheers,
Jaq

back in time by paola lorenzo

Just this weekend, our trends class was given the opportunity to visit Cubao expo. It was my first time to chance upon this area because up north isn’t really my territory. What was surprising was that there were actually some great finds here! I found the place quite quaint and interesting. Entering Cubao expo was a different experience because this wasn’t your ordinary shopping area. The place exuded of vintage, art and Filipino culture. For those seeking classic and modern art, traditional Filipino essentialities and out of the norm buys, Cubao expo is the place to be.


This reminded me of old Filipino cinema, which added a vintage and classic Filipino feel to the place.


This place just exudes Filipino! The name of the store simply screams Filipinoness!

Going around the place, I observed that the usual Filipino approach with Christmas was already evident. It isn’t even December, but we’re already getting ready for the Christmas season. This attitude is so Filipino. As they say, the Philippines celebrates Christmas for the longest period. Starting October, which is the first “ber” month, us Filipinos already get ready with our Christmas shopping and décors. Hence there were a number of stores dedicated for this.


Aren’t the snow globes just dear? This store has every piece of snow globe imaginable! A recommended visit to fire up the inner child in you! ☺



During our visit, I also discovered that Cubao expo was the place to shop for shoes shoes shoes! The shoes they sold there were quite cheap, plus most of them were boots, which I totally adore! Another bonus factor is that you can have your shoes personally made there! I’m looking forward to this part. I was able to talk to one of the managers of the stores and they told me that I could design my own shoes and they could execute it for me. I can’t wait to sit down and meditate upon the next pair or shoes I want to have! And oh yeah, the prices here are really cheap! Php 450 for a pair of booties? Not bad! I love this place for their shoes!


In this store, you could find every imaginable pair of boots in every imaginable color. From te gogo boots of the seventies to the modern sexy knee high boots of today!

The various shoe stores actually reminded me of the Fall 2009 trend of knee high boots. Just goes to show that these stores are right on track!

Another store that especially caught my attention was the one wherein they sold various handicrafts. This store invoked the girly girl in me. Upon entering the place, the aura reminded me of Sonja’s cupcakes back in the fort. Everything was just so cute. I loved the trinkets and the different beads they sold. Here you could create your own accessories or you could buy a already pre-crafted one (everything they sold were really nice! Too bad I wasn’t able to take a picture of the necklaces, earrings and bracelets… the saleslady wouldn’t allow me!)


This is an upfront picture of the store. The front display was actually what grabbed my attention! Everything was just so pink and girly.

Cubao expo also gave me an artsy vibe. For all those art aficionados, this is definitely a place to check out! They have the classics and the modern abstracts that would cater to each and everyone’s tastes. I especially loved all the abstract art I saw in the various studios. Yet again, my sweet talking skills failed me, thus the lack of pictures of the paintings that reached out to me!


Above is a stolen shot of one of the paintings that intrigued me. I had to take it from the shop across so that the saleslady wouldn’t suspect! Hahahaha


This is an upfront picture of a clothing store. Too bad the shop was closed when I visited! It would have been interesting to check out the clothes and accessories they sold. From the art on their front window, I’m guessing it’s a mix between punk, grunge and a little bit of boho. If my guess is correct, this store would also be right on trend with the likes of punk and grunge being so hot in the runway and on and off the racks of local and international brands.

Another detail that gave me the impression of artsy for this place was the fact that it had an appealing minute studio. One wouldn’t even notice it if not for the big sign. The art studios, café and recording/band studios all add up to the impression of cubao expo as an old New York art scene.

Overall, my experience at Cubao expo was a memorable one. I would definitely visit this place if ever I would need a point of inspiration. I’d also like to see this place at night. I’m sure it is better that during the day!

anaviesarmiento-cubao expo pics

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cubao expo

When I heard that we we're going to cubao expo for our small field trip, I was a bit intrigued with what that place is all about. We were talking about it the whole time while we're traveling from school.

 

Arriving there, it was just a small street, shape like a horseshoe. There are a lot of vintage stores around. It was such a different place.

 

We were so hungry so we went to this small Italian restaurant there. It was Bellini's. The façade of the resto is so interesting. It really looks like you are dining out in the streets of Italy. The inside is even better! There are murals on the ceiling and all over the walls The Tower of Pisa is there. Spices hanging. And I've heard that even their crew speaks Italian! The ambiance was really great. Looking inside I remember that this was where they shoot "one more chance" popoy and bachang?

 

After dining, we went around to see the place. We "vintage shop hop" if there is such a thing. There are a lot of cool items in this place though a little bit pricey. We went to this really nice vintage shop. We found a hounds tooth blazer. It was really unique and rare, but it costs P6000!! The shades started from P200 mounting to P1500!! That is for a second hand thing! There were a lot of cool and good finds but the price is just too much. It seems illogical to buy them.

 

We we're talking in the car on our way home and we were a bit disappointed. We thought we would be able to find great stuff here, meaning rare finds but with good price. If you are a real fasyon and really want something that not everybody has. This place is a treasure for you.

 

PAPARAZZI SURPRISE @ HIGH STREET

So two months ago my Trends class had to go to High Street for a trend spotting activity, we walked around high street taking pictures of random people who we thought wore trendy outfits. It was a funny experience because we had to figure out ways to take pictures of people without them knowing, but at the end of the day we were all able to get a good amount of photos for our class.

Here are some of the photos my Partner and I took:


This photo is of a woman wearing a Punk Rocker inspired outfit, nothing says punk rocker other than STUDS STUDS STUDS. ;)














This photo is of a trendy couple, the girl wearing a HOT HOT HOT pink one-shouldered dress and glads, and the guy wearing a hot fedora hat.















This last photo i took is of a woman in a zebra prink top, this trend has been going for a while and it appears almost every season in so many different ways.


-ianna

For The Love of Art!

Who would've thought Manila had an art district?! Man was thrilled when my trends class went on a field trip there.
Welcome to Cubao Expo guys! Ok so there may be a few of you who have been there already but I'm not a Manila local and having been able to go was really exciting. So many of the shops had so many things that i would've loved to buy, the vintage pieces, the bold furniture, and all the fun looking clothes and not to mention this little Italian restaurant called Bellini's!



My fave shops at Cubao Expo were "I LOVE YOU" (fashion/lifestyle/bar), "HEIMMA" (furniture/home decor), and "KARMA" (fashion/furniture/vintage). I FELL IN LOVE with so many things there, and with so many of the little shops, it was all so artistic and different. A great thing about the shops too is that they were mostly up to date with trends. One of the sales ladies i encountered even said that they regularly get new drops, and the clothes she had displayed were of recent trends. There were also a few shops that had a bunch of vintage pieces like clothing, shoes, furniture, and accessories. It was fun to see what were "IN" in the past and also starting to make its way back into the present. So if you ever want to go through a blast from the past or maybe just chill at an artistic getaway, CUBAO EXPO IS THE WAY TO GO! it may be pretty far from where i live but i'd definitely not miss a chance to go there again! ;)

-ianna

LMC : Cubao Ex

Hola Fashionistas!

Lil Miss Cham, signing in!

Everyone who's been living in QC knows about Cubao Ex. I knew it for quite some time but it was my first time to actually be there and take some memorable snapshots of the place. It was small but full of life especially at night, it's like a little part of the city that's quite cool & chill. No late night dramas--riots & chaos.

After a quick look around I headed off with some friends to eat at Bellini's (warning photo overload!)

(L-R: Gil, Anne, Orlie, Anavi, me, Eunice & Mariana)

Apparently, these breadsticks were the ones who caught my attention. I figured its cone-like shape and tried to remember where I saw it before. Then a gush of thought came to mind : "AHA!" "It's from the movie, "One More Chance!!!" You know, the John Lloyd-Bea movie. But what the heck, I was just happy that I get to be in that little 'scene'. Teeheee..

See? It's just like the movie. But I'm guessing they had a little renovation after since it's been 3 years now. lol!

Forgive me, but I forgot to took a picture of my pasta. I just remembered the dessert part. This ice cream cake is TDF! It's called After Eight.

And last but not the least, here's a couple of last snapshot pics:

Our cheerful and bubbly Trends teacher, Miss Nela =)

(L-R: Jaq, Mariana, Eunice & me)

Goodbye Bellini's it was a good one! I'm thinking of going back for some Risotto's! YUMMM!!

LMC, signing off!

The Cubao Xperience

The first time I went to Cubao X, I thought I found wonderland in Manila. It's rugged, urban, unfinished, unpolished and raw. It's my type of wonderland. In one word, I could sum it up to be one big "surprise". Everytime I go there it would be for different reasons and I feel like it will always be that way. It's a treasure throve: Each store is a gem.

Last time, I went with my classmates from my Fashion Trends class. Again, I found different surprised--although not necessarily ones I took home, but I always enjoy different things even when I don't get to keep them.

We had dinner at Bellini's, an Italian restaurant. It was a quaint place, which you would choose for an intimate dinner. The prices were reasonable. The selection was different. Chami, my classmate, got an After Eight gelato slice and it was awesome, I think I finished more than half of it.

This time around, we checked out this store called Heima. Like all the others, it was small and full. But it had a different feel--it felt quirky in a chic and contemporary way. It was actually pretty polished, but not to the point of intimidating. Mainly, they had things for your home: the kinds of trinkets that will surely uplift the spirit of a sombre apartment (like mine!). It was another wonderland--albeit this in particular or the interior design enthusiast.

We also went to the famous I Love You Store where it always feels like going to a hideaway with pink clouds and metal chandeliers. Quite literally, it was. Going there with different crowds each time is a fascinating experience because everyone has their own reaction (you can't not have one).

--EUNICE ACOSTA