Mich Dulce Blogged

In Dreams You Are

2012-02-11T23:55:00.000+08:00

As part of my presentation for London Fashion Week's International Fashion Showcase, we are screening a film directed by Jason Tan.

Directed by Jason Tan
Producers: Erwin Romulo / Mads Adrias
Cinematographer: Dom Dycaico
Production design: Heima
Music: Mikey Amistoso (Liquidpost)
Hair/Makeup: Gela Laurel-Stehmeier • Emmanuel Concepcion/MAC
Dress: Proudrace
Styling: Melvin Mojica
Supported by BENCH

If you are in London I hope you can come to my exhibition at the Philippine Embassy, alongside Jerome Lorico. 10 Suffolk Street, London SW1Y 4HG between 10am to 530pm.

xx
m

Yesterday's shoot

2012-01-31T14:45:00.002+08:00

Yesterday we shot our AW 2012-2013 collection, and I didn't have time to take a single still, or even a freakin cast and crew photo!

In fact, this is the only photo I have from yesterday's shoot, and will have to serve as our sneak peak for the new collection.

Wow. bad quality pa. hahahaha.

I love how I put lipstick on just to take a picture with Ely Buendia in my house. LOL

Thank you to my super cast and crew, you'll find out who they are when we release it!

Ok back to work!

Thinking of Paris

2012-01-28T01:14:00.002+08:00

This is seriously the wrong time to get re hooked to blogging, but for some reason, I have to update. Maybe its because I've been under house arrest for so long that I need to try and make myself known to the outside world. Lol.

Anyway I finally booked my Eurostar to Paris for this coming season, and I can't wait. I remember before me and Leslie used to totally cringe at Paris, there was one season when we were just complaining the whole time. I couldn't be arsed to leave her flat, we whined about the metro, and I just kept saying, "Oh my GOD I can't wait to be back in London".

But somehow between then (2009 I think?) and now, I have completely fallen under its spell and I cannot wait to head back. Though to be honest its probably all because I have such amazing friends there.

To be fair though, I kind of now have my Paris routine down pat.

1. Eurostar in.

Arrive in the morning, completely banjaxxed and head over to my French hotel which is always my jolie tart Sandrine's flat. Smoke out the window.

2. Rent a velib. Sandrine taught me how to cycle when I had forgotten how!

Cycle non stop and try not to get killed. Best when drunk.

3. Eat at Les Philosophes.

2010

4. Go to Pop In.

5. Chill with Leslie at the Plaza before heading out.

6. Have La Duree hot chocolate.

And foie gras

7. Visit nuns at Sacre Coeur.

8. Hit the NYNY party at Regines.

9. Get ridiculously drunk with Sandrine.

10. Talk to people who you cannot recall the next day.

WHO IS THIS (2009)

WHO IS THIS (2011)

11. Bump into someone from London on the street when on a bike.

12. See Diane Pernet.

2010

2011

13. Visit Colette during the weekend and fangirl.

14. Buy Pierre Herme macaroons and eat with coffee.

15. Eat amazing food.

16. Smoke outside with Leslie right after eating too much amazing food and say "Its a nightmare, its a nightmare, we have to stop eating."

17. Eat at Cafe Charlot.

18. Have 30 minutes in the meal where you don't talk and just check twitter, followed by a conversation which includes the line "OMG We missed EVERYTHING" about everyone else's tweets and rant about how we should have gone to things the night before.

19. Go to one of Sandrine's shows. (Because DUH she's only Valentina Del Pearls, premiere French Rock and Roll burlesque superstar!)

20. Eat at L'as Du Falafel

21. Get something signed for EverywhereWeShoot

2010

2011

22. End up drunk on a sidewalk.

23. Trash Sandrine's flat.

24. Head back to London with a shitload of crap and too many bags to carry.

Totes cant wait to do it all again.

xx
m

Suck My Left One

2012-01-26T01:49:00.000+08:00

I really should be working but instead I'm on you tube obsessively watching Bikini Kill videos.

I. Cant. Stop.

And this is us paying tribute through our soundcheck at our reunion gig. Obviously nowhere as good as Kathleen Hanna.

I like a lot of music but riotgrrl will always have a special place in my heart.

xx
m

ps i was watching this video from our reunion gig and hearing "Magkano ba ang kailangan pa?" made me totally feel like a whore. In a good way. IT WAS FOR CHARITY!

Tim's Mad Hatters Ball

2012-01-25T01:24:00.002+08:00

My blog has been dead for ages, but I honestly blame my broken camera.
But now, after about 2 months its working again, and finally I can actually write AND post pictures!
Alleluia!

As I am still a busy bee, I will keep this short, I just feel like I owe it to my blog to update.
I broke my house arrest today for the first time in ages, and only for an hour (I'm totally Cinderella) for Tim's Mad Hatter's Ball at the Marriott. I had to go!

I took one picture of Tim and fucked it up, but you get the idea.

My favorite hats of the night:

Andre Chang

Robby Carmona

Charmaine Palermo

(obviously i'm super biased, LOL)

Here's my outfit

Hat by me, dress from a Dutch designer who I cannot remember (bought from SPRMRKT), belt and shoes by Vivienne Westwood.

Time to go back to work now. Happy birthday Tim!! xx

I will try to be better at blogging. Did you miss me?

Our Stock Sale on Dec 2 - 3!

2011-11-27T22:41:00.000+08:00

Cash only please xx

See you then!

All I want for Christmas

2011-11-21T08:55:00.000+08:00

All I want for Christmas is this Vivienne Westwood + Liberty London crown!!!!

Oh and an iPod (I swear I go through them like peanuts!!!)

Hi everyone! I know I've been bad at blogging but I'm still here.

Save The Date - Ella Dror PR Press Day SS2012

2011-10-25T17:54:00.002+08:00

PRESS DAY SS2012

Monday 31^st October 10am – 7pm

at The Swarovski Lounge

24 Great Marlborough Street W1F 7HU

WOMENSWEAR

Alex Noble

Aqua

Bernhard Willhelm

Craig Lawrence

Kitty Joseph

Void of Course

Brooke Roberts

Sorcha O Raghallaigh

MENSWEAR

Alex Mattsson

Aqua

Astrid Andersen

Bernhard Willhelm

Erevos Aether

Void of Course

ACCESSORIES

Bethan Wood

Fred Butler

Mich Dulce

Piers Atkinson

SPECIAL PROJECTS

Alun Davies

Dr Noki

Margot Bowman

Studio XO

Fred Butler Style

with Astrid Andersen Private Sales

www.elladrorpr.com

Mich Dulce AW 2011 Stockists

2011-09-21T16:57:00.003+08:00

Just a quick post to update everyone on our stockists for Autumn Winter 2011.

No-One

   1 Kingsland Road
   Shoreditch
   London
   E2 8AA
   http://www.no-one.co.uk

International Gallery Beams

B1F/1F/2F, 3-25-15 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo

Japan
http://www.beams.co.jp/

Kika Style

   3-1-14 JIngumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
   Japan 150-0001
   http://www.kikastyle.com/

Blackmarket no. 2

   #2-10 Orchard Central , 181 Orchard Road
   Singapore 238896
   http://www.theblackmarket.sg

More to be added once the stock is in store :)

i-D & Alberto Guardiani - Shoe Design Competition

2011-09-20T09:13:00.000+08:00

i-D is proud to announce the official launch of the international footwear competition with the Italian shoemakers, Alberto Guardiani.

In an open call, i-D will be accepting submissions of shoe designs from the 22^nd September – 11^th November. The ten most innovative shoe designs will be presented to a prestigious panel of industry superstars including i-D’s Editor in Chief -Terry Jones, Anna Dello Russo, Georgina Goodman, Sarah from Colette, Rubina - one of the Guardiani daughters, and Andrew Keith - president of Hong Kong’s premium department store, Lane Crawford. The judges will invite 3 finalists to present their creations during an event at 10 Corso Como during Milan Fashion week, February 2012 and the winner will receive a cash prize of £5,000 and see their shoe become part of the Alberto Guardiani autumn/winter 12 collection, sold within the brand’s stores as well as key retail partners, Corso Como and Colette.

All the submission details can now be found on www.i-Donline.com/2011/09/cinderthriller where you can also keep an eye out for our gripping Cinderthriller films, a series of 5 short films which will accompany the worldwide search for the next big shoe designers.

Mich Dulce Spring Summer 2012

2011-09-18T09:51:00.001+08:00

At long last, here is my full collection for Spring Summer 2012.

(click to enlarge)

Photography & Design / Everywhere We Shoot
Styling & Direction / Melvin Mojica
Models / Samantha Lewis & Jujiin Samonte
Make Up / MAC
Text / Erwin Romulo & Ramon De Veyra

Site Design / Inksurge (new site coming very soon!)

For Sales & Press, contact hello@michdulce.com

Filipino buyers, please note that the collection is not available for retail until March next year so please don't email me asking for prices, etc for this collection! :) The AW 2011 collection though (posted here) is now available to buy so for enquiries about that email hello@michdulce.com.

Many thanks to my wonderful team for my beautiful lookbook!! I am nothing without you :)

Mich Dulce SS 2012 Preview at No-One, London

2011-09-06T17:49:00.001+08:00

I haven't blogged in ages due to the making and preparing of my new collection, so its only fitting that my first blog post in what seems like years is the preview event i had last night in Shoreditch.

early birds, thank you for helping me set up!

leslie did an amazing job w the treats table

Rob Gardner of Ace of Clubs provided the soundtrack, in Westwood rocking horse shoes, no less!

had to snap Amelia Gregory and her bike!

Thank you Tomo and Adelya for being the most amazing hosts!!

It was a lovely night, I'll wait till later to share the lookbook with you because my computer is wonky, but its never too early to give credit to the people behind it!

Photography & Design / Everywhere We Shoot
Styling & Direction / Melvin Mojica
Models / Samantha Lewis & Jujiin Samonte
Make Up / MAC
Text / Erwin Romulo & Ramon De Veyra

And many thanks to CJ Cruz for taking pictures at the event!!! xxx

xx
m

Have you picked up i-D's Pick Me Up issue yet?

2011-08-23T21:54:00.000+08:00

i-D's Pre Fall 2011 issue is now out (actually it' been out for more than a week, but being in the third world, we STILL don't have it)

Congratulations George on your first cover :)

Sneak Peak at SS 2012

2011-08-12T02:17:00.000+08:00

Taking a breather from work to bring you a behind the scenes shot from my SS 2012 lookbook shoot last Wednesday.

Me, Jujiin, Melvin and Sam
shot by Everywhere We Shoot of course!

It was meant to be a moshpit photo. Lol.

Fun shoot as usual, I am dying to upload the photos!

Thank you to the whole team!

Busy Bee

2011-07-26T23:51:00.003+08:00

I've been so completely buried in work, I can't even fathom when I can blog all the things I have been meaning to blog. I've been sleeping about 4 hours a night and I don't really eat, so I'm just totally exhausted.

So for the moment, I'm just back to brainfarting.

I've been so busy as I've been training loads of people as I've been expanding my team. It's quite tedious especially since I don't have a supervisor for everyone, it's just me. (If anyone knows anyone who is interested in a studio manager job, please let me know!) I've been working with Gawad Kalinga, taking my second step into really transforming my business into a social enterprise. Its been fantastic so far, not without the usual difficulties of training new folk, but a lot easier than I thought it would be. I'm blessed with really nice people.

One of the girls who is now working for me is a 21 year old who was working in a factory in Binondo. I nearly cried when she told me she was getting paid 135 pesos a day (thats 2 GBP for my UK readers, and about $3) , no meals included, no transportation allowance. How can that even be done?! Her friends who were working for me brought her to the training day and I told her there was no way I was going to let her go back to her ridiculous old job. The most ridiculous part of it all is that she has been working there for 3 years, and gets a 5 peso raise every year. I can't believe that shit.

Anyway. Sorry I just had to let that out.

A few nights ago, I went to Cubao X for Meiday and Ping's restaurant opening, and I realized I was just too old to be doing things like that. It seemed like such a chore, despite being with some of my dearest friends. I just couldn't deal.

Oh old age, I am coming to terms with you.

Despite that, I feel like my life is slowly coming together and falling into place. I can't explain it, but I actually feel kind of zen about not having to need to go out, not being needy about friends, not desperate to get married and not worried about love. I'm quite happy just working and sewing right now, I don't feel like I need anything else at the moment, there are many things I want to achieve career wise and I'm quite happy to to focus on that.

I don't think I've ever loved my job as much as I do now. Work is my boyfriend and right now, thats ok.

Maybe it'll help me stumble on someone. Then again, everyone I meet because of my work is gay.

Ok back to corset making.

Hunger

2011-07-18T23:01:00.002+08:00

Hello world.

I've been so busy and yet i've been doing this new diet.
These two don't really mix.

I'm absolutely starving and its been hard for me to concentrate on my work lately.
The first week wasn't so bad, I could still function. But now I'm just starving!!!

I haven't actually gone on a proper diet i intended to keep for a long time. At some point around 5 years ago i decided I didn't want to be on a diet anymore, and that I was going to just accept that I wasn't destined to be thin and just be happy and not torture myself by depriving myself of food, but to go to the gym instead.

I used to be thin though, but not without issues.
Back in high school I was chubby and round, then when prom came along I decided I really wanted to be thin.
I forced myself to develop an eating disorder.
I would eat one apple a day, cut into little pieces to last me the whole day and exercise for 2 hours each day. And of course when I would binge and eat a shitload, I would throw it all up.
We didn't have toilets that could flush in high school, so I would throw up into the trash bin.
After about 2 weeks of doing that, a sign was posted on every toilet door that said "if you want to vomit, please use the toilet bowl"
I still never did, because if I did that, the person in the queue behind me would know i threw up. So I continued to vomit into the bins and covered it up with paper or what not.

I was so thin, and i really felt good about myself.
I would faint every so often, but no one knew my secret.
My mom was so proud of me for being skinny.

But in college it was harder to vomit. So i decided to try other methods to lose weight, not limited to diet pills alone.
I think that really fucked with my body.
I started to put on weight slowly, and after college, without the hours of dancing (I was a dancer my whole college life) I put it on a lot quicker.

I don't know why I let it go to this point though.
I suppose I'm not obese fat but I'm not normal either.
And sometime when I got home from the UK I just realized, OMG I really am fat now.
I can't even angle my face to look cute in pictures anymore. I just look fat.
So I decided I was going to be serious with my diet, attempt a lifestyle change, and make a conscious effort to lose weight.
No dodgy diet pills.
Its so not easy. But I really would like to get married.
Which means I have to start looking better.

So I'm going to stick to this diet even if it kills me.
And for that, I am going to put up my favorite thinspiration pictures.

I will not break my diet.
I will not break my diet.
I will not break my diet until I look like this again.

xx
m

Spotted: Chalk and Numbers - Lets Go Away

2011-07-14T15:53:00.002+08:00

I never got to blog this, so...
My friend Sable wore one of my hats this season in the Chalk and Numbers music video.

Yaay!
Many thanks to Paolo Raymundo for introducing me!

xx
m

Boy George's 50th Birthday Party

2011-07-12T13:08:00.000+08:00

Such a late post, but better late than never!

Almost a month ago, we all went to Boy George's birthday party, thanks to the lovely Princess Julia.

I did a pretty good job of documenting the night, from starting off at Julia's to ending the night at Retrobar where I slammed 4 of my fingers between the door of the ladies' toilets (let it be known my middle and ring finger of my right hand is now permanently deformed from this night)

Door bitch

Of course I had to camwhore with the naked macho boys

Everyone was there, including Imelda Marcos

I swear I started to flip out when I saw her in her terno !

Dance-a-thon

Emi playing bartender

Sleeping Henry. Hahaha.

Brilliant night, sore fingers and all.

I'm alive!

2011-07-12T01:36:00.001+08:00

Hello all!
I am alive!
Im so sorry I haven't been blogging for ages, its been more than a month!
I've just been insanely busy with work.
But I promise to make it up to you and post everything i haven't had a chance to blog.

I am back in Manila, which also means I am always home as I am always sewing and working.
So at some point tomorrow I will drop my needles and write you a proper blog entry.

xx
m

Last Weekend: The House, Pooldisco, Shop visits, Ponystep (aka how to get sick)

2011-06-06T18:49:00.001+08:00

Being sick really makes me depressed.

I have learned to transpose sadness into productivity, which is the only way I survive.

But alas, when I am sick, my mind floats away and I can barely focus and I can't do anything.

I hate feeling useless.

This always happens to me though, I work and play too hard and then my body just can't handle it anymore.

Anyway.
Let me chronicle last weekend for you (aka the events that led into this nightmare of a flu I am stuck in)

Friday: off to see these two at their funk club night The House

Saturday: Off to The Amwell Street Knocking Shop for Rob Gardner's Seven Deadly Sins project

Sunday: Pizza for Chrissy and Brendan's leaving party (reuben is going to shoot me for putting this up)

Tree the rapist killer and AN ACTUAL RAPIST at the tip of her scissors (seriously avoid this man if you ever see him)

Pooldisco for Susanne Bartsch & Mark Moore

How Jack does it for every single party is beyond me.

Asian, represent. LOL.

Maaaark!

Love. Her.

Ended up at Ponystep with one photo as I was just too fucking tired.

I think I may have gotten exhausted all over again just by looking at these photos.

I am totally getting old.

Home Sick

2011-06-05T20:37:00.000+08:00

I am home this weekend because I am ill.
I hate being ill in this country. Last night I was so weak but had to walk all the way to Tesco just to do the shopping and then I had to cook myself a meal.
This would never happen in Manila.

In Manila I just need to scream and food would be served on a tray and brought to my bed. And when you're sick you can pull the craving and sick card and say 'oh i'm really feeling for Japanese' and then your driver and your maid will go off, buy your food, and in 30 minutes you're eating exactly what you want while watching your film of choice, in bed.

I would kill for someone to take care of me right now.
I really feel like death.
I need love and a really amazing hug!!!

huhuhuhu.

xx
m

How Adam Ant Got His Hat

2011-06-02T22:34:00.003+08:00

I met Adam in September last year.
I had just gotten off a 10 hour coach ride from Antwerp, and was walking from Victoria Coach Station with a shit load of luggage at 6 in the morning, tired as fuck as the woman next to me smelled like a foot and I couldn't sleep.
I was struggling with 4 bags, and at some point my beautiful new hat box fell on the floor and a really well dressed man asked me if I needed any help.

"Nah I'm alright, thanks though".
"What do you do?"
"I make hats. What do you do?"
"I'm a singer."
"Oh. Cool."

"Is your scarf Vivienne Westwood?"

"Yeah, like your whole outfit. Can I take your picture for my blog?"
"Sure."

So I was taking the picture, but then at some point some guy went up to him so I couldn't get a proper one and ended up with this.

I motioned that I was leaving as this guy was still in the picture, and he said "Wait, I need a hat" So I kind of just stood there.

After the guy left, he says to me, "Sorry about that, it's just that I used to sing for a band called Adam and the Ants."

"Oh. Ok."
I knew one song, my favorite one on a cd my ex's brother gave me, Press Darlings, which I used to play back when I would DJ at Fluxxe. It was also a tune I had sent to Melvin to include in the soundtrack of my Spring Summer 2007 fashion show. Coincidentally, the styling for that same show was inspired by Derek Jarman's Jubilee (which Adam was in, but I only realized that after I met him), which my stylist Michael Salientes brought in for me to watch at our production meeting.

Joan Bitagcol by EverywhereWeShoot, 2007

as inspired by Jordan in Jubilee, 1977

We even decided to make a version of the backdrop of that exact shot of Jordan in Jubilee for our look book shoot.

Ria Bolivar in Mich Dulce SS 2007, shot by EverywhereWeShoot

Anyway, so back to Adam.

He and his friend helped me with my bags, which I thought was so sweet so I snapped this:

And we went for tea.

Since then, we became friends.

Right before I went back to Manila, I measured him for a hat. He showed me a film called The Duellists and wanted this hat from the last scene.

So I made my version of it when I went back to Manila.

And sent it over as a belated birthday present. I remember it was my intern France's first day, and I was cringing at FedEX charging me 180GBP to send it over, so we tried to charm the delivery man to give us a discount on shipping. It didn't work and I reluctantly handed over the cash.

It was worth it though, as a couple of days later, I saw these pictures of him online wearing the hat to Matthew Ashman's tribute gig.

Then on the cover of Vive Le Rock

And now on his The Good, The Mad, and The Lovely Tour.

(Christian D'Or and Fall In must be my favorite Adam Ant songs, I have actually redeemed myself from when I met him and now now ~~all~~ most of his songs)

When Daphne Osena Paez asked me to do a special hat for the Unicef Auction, I thought that with my being in the UK at the moment, there was no better idea than to do the miniature hat with Adam, that would be the most special it gets! I had asked Adam about doing the UNICEF project at a hectic time right before his tour started, he said yes right away, and despite his busy schedule he made time to squeeze us in to do the shoot right before he went off to Brighton for his first tour date.

\
photos by RJ Fernandez, assisted by CJ Cruz

I have been very blessed in life with amazing friends and Adam is one of them.

He is a beautiful soul, completely genuine, really kind, generous, has the most wonderful stories and will be there for you if you need him.

I am completely grateful that Adam is a part of my hat auction, and even more grateful to everyone who has placed bids on the lot. It is for a fantastic cause - as you know Unicef is an international organization for children, and the Unicef Philippines Auction is for our children in the Philippines, many who don't even have the opportunity for education and barely have the basic necessities: 44% of children in the Philippines are living in poverty, and almost 5,000 babies are born in the Philippines each day.

I hope that you will continue to support the auction, we are now less than two days away from the end date.

The auction ends on June 4, 2011 at 4PM Manila time, which is 9AM UK time.

You can view the auction here.

Thanks everyone! xx

The Amwell Street Knocking Shop Launch

2011-05-26T09:18:00.000+08:00

Last Friday was the opening of The Amwell Street Knocking Shop at 63 Amwell Street in Islington.

A photo of the (incomplete) team

Piers Atkinson, Chris McMillan, Princess Julia, Karlie Shelley, Henry VP, Josh Quinton, me, Felicity Hayward & Emily Rose England.

Read more about it on the i-D Online article I wrote:

(though you should really click here so you can watch the video)

Home » i-Spy » The Princesses of Pop-Up

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Published by i-D

14:54 GMT 20/05/11

The Princesses of Pop-Up

Following the success of The Glorified Pound Shop, i-D’s Princess Julia and A Child of Jago’s Karlie Shelley curate The Amwell Street Knocking Shop, open today!

The Knocking Shop is a lifestyle pop up boutique in the heart of Islington with a mix of designer archives from Pam Hogg, Judy Blame, A Child of Jago, Vivienne Westwood, Piers Atkinson, Noki, Superfine, Mich Dulce, Simon Preen and Yasmina Dexter. There's also an expansive selection of vintage (which Princess Julia describes as ranging from “contemporary vintage to vintagey-vintage”) courtesy of The House, Josh Quinton, Lauren Webb and Retromania Vintage. Knocking Shop is not just for the fashion hungry – it also stocks vintage books from Maiden, immaculate hand painted plates from the talented Ben Ashton and a collection of Karlie’s personal vintage magazines (early issues of i-D included!)

Kickstarting with a bang-in party tonight, the shop will be open every weekend from May 25th to June 26th. In the basement, the ladies are offering a series of workshops and classes including a badge making workshop directed by PINS, film screenings by Today Is Boring, a vintage hair salon with Sammy Knight, life and fashion drawing classes and an i-D Straight Up day with Emily Rose England. Hesitate and you might miss your chance to own prized pieces like one of Pam Hogg’s first ever catsuits that she made in her kitchen, 80s Vivienne Westwood World's End pieces, a new still-in-the-box Margiela cork necklace or a classic Marjan Pejoski swan top. So what are you waiting for? Well, we’ll allow you a few minutes to watch Princess Julia and Karlie talk you through it. Then on your bike.

The Amwell Street Knocking Shop is located at 63 Amwell Street, London, EC1R 1UR. Open Friday to Sunday 12 noon to 7pm and by appointment during the week.

theworldofprincessjulia.blogspot.com

Text Michelle Dulce

In the garden

Outside

A piece of mine from 2007 and a Pam Hogg jumpsuit

These two are such a great couple

Judy Blame shirts + old school The Face and i-D

Downstairs

The 'kitchen': photographer RJ Fernandez, Phoebe of Ponystep and Fred Butler

Piers puts on his Pam Hogg badge

Josh and flamingo

Smoking break

Party

Terry brought me flowers, so sweet!

Me and Karlie

Love these kids

And this kid wearing my porn belt from 2007. Sick and wrong.

Love her outfit. I have the same dress but don't look this good in it.

Julia working the hat.

I had to try the Anna Dello Russo cherry hat by Piers Atkinson. J'adore!

After we went to Felicity's fantastic flat

Off to Josh's club night Ace of Clubs at Vogue Fabrics

Terry had a laugh

Mark Moore was brilliant

Wish I could have stayed longer, but had to catch a flight to Geneva the next day.

Come visit the shop soon! Open 12-7 Friday - Saturday until June 26!

Royal Wedding Day

2011-05-15T01:43:00.001+08:00

I have been beyond busy so have not been able to blog about my Royal Wedding day last April 29.

I have been completely excited about the Royal Wedding for ages, and really was determined to be in London for it.

Bori, Adrien and I went over to Hyde Park to join in the celebrations. Basically we wanted to watch the wedding on a big screen - thought it would be pointless to go to Westminster Abbey, The Mall or Buckingham Palace since I'm so small anyway and wouldn't see anything, and if they rode the carriage past it would only be for a few seconds.

I think we made the right choice. It was fucking awesome, really comfortable, and lots of fun.

This was when Will and Kate walked out of the church, confetti was everywhere.

Me!

So festive, it was like a music festival, but with Britain fever.

Everyone had such cute outfits

These guys were like, take our picture! Uhmm. Ok.

Kate grabbed my boob. Cringe.

Bori and I were crying, it was so perfect, and I really was so happy to be in London for this experience.

Everyone cheering for the balcony kiss.

We got the fly past on top of us

And the band played a medley of wedding songs, and did a full version of Aerosmith's I don't want to Miss A Thing, which everyone danced and slow danced to, it was so cute.

And of course the cutest most perfect couple that is Bori and Adrien were hardcore sweeting it up

Lots of Brides

Napoleon?

Royalty

I got totally drunk

me with Will and Kate (and black lines from my fucking sunglasses haha)

Ece and Karine joined us later

Fun times

Post Hyde Park, I went to Shoreditch to do some vintage shopping at the Leonard Street Wedding Party

Cute cupcakes

Ended the night with Best Coast at Koko

It was the perfect day.

I'm so happy I spend half my year in the UK, love it here so much!

I am officially determined to be in London for every Royal Wedding from now on.

xx
m

My Dirty 30 50's Birthday Picnic

2011-05-09T07:31:00.002+08:00

I had the most epic 30th birthday picnic.

It was absolutely perfect, the sun came out, and it was just a total miracle.

Leslie came straight from Milan and brought the sweetest most beautiful pink flowers which became our center piece

Adrien brought pink flowers too

Bori and her hungarian wine

Off to the toilet we go

The toilet for us was this bush

THE BEST PEEING BUSH EVER!

Cherish brought her badminton set so we made a drunk attempt at it

We saw these guys and a drunk Leslie started screaming "Jerseyyyyy shooooreeee, show us your abs!!"

Thank you so much to everyone who came. The pictures don't do it justice but it was absolutely amazing.

xx
m

Birthday Wishlist

2011-04-27T20:34:00.003+08:00

I'm turning dirty thirty in less than two weeks and I'm totally cringing at the big 3-0.
But as always I'm going to make my wishlist.

1. Picnic Weather!

I have always wanted to have a birthday picnic but Manila is cringe hot so it's never possible as no one wants to turn into a sticky sweaty mess. But my number one wish is sunshine and heat so I can finally have my 50s picnic dream!

Omg I totally don't know how to make picnic food but hopefully everyone who is coming will know what to bring hahaha!

Therefore I am going to add to my list:

3. Food for my Vintage Picnic
hahahaha. Pimms included! Yummmm!

If only Jeroen was here... :)

4. The perfect vintage 50s dress for my birthday picnic

If I had either of these dresses I would die of happiness. (actually the one on the right is just perfect)

I have a back up one already but I really want to wear cute pink and poofy!

5. Everyone Dressed up in 50s for my birthday picnic
which leads to my next wish which is..

6. Really cute pictures from my 50s picnic
I need you Ryan!! I need you Reuben!! :(

7. Bike Gear
I just bought my cute red foldable bike (which was so totally cheap) and am now totally obsessed with it. I want to get a wicker basket

but if i could really get any basket i totally want this but it costs more than my bike, haha.

I am also really fucking obsessed with this bag!!! In fact i'd be happy with wicker basket plus this:

OMG ITS SO CUTE!!

8. A Birthday Date

I have been completely unfortunate that I am always not in a relationship when it gets to my birthday and I have never EVER gone on a proper date with anyone on my birthday. So that is a total major wish but well... hahaha. Birthday momol pwede na rin! hahahaha.

9. A Cambridge Satchel

I love these bags so much! I want one in brown multicolor (with embossed Bitch Dulce, blind)

And a 15 inch one either in Yellow or Light Pink (with Bitch Dulce written in silver on the pink, or in black on the yellow)

Actually I think the pink is more me than the yellow! But yellow cute too... hmm.

The florescent pink one is tempting too, but maybe too dayglo...

10. A really nice sturdy big black bag

My Westwood fake croc bag is totally dying on me so I need a replacement big black bag. I am actually REALLY hard to please when it comes to big black bags because black always looks so plain, and it has to be able to hang on my shoulder, i cant deal if I have to hold. Plus I put a shitload of stuff in my bag so it has to be sewn really sturdy.

I love my old westwood one, but the handles are totally close to getting ripped (NEVER buy the faux croc one like mine because the folds in the croc rip.

Im debating getting the exact same style in a non croc if I can find one because its just easy and I love it but it gets kind of annoying in the winter because the straps aren't that long.

I have no other potential bags, though maybe I should make like a Leslie Cohen and get a Givenchy one just because I know its really sturdy coz hers is still alive

This one is cute too but plain-ish so I need to hang cute stuff on it. LOL

I don't know why I even bother torturing myself by looking when I already got my big budget 30th birthday present from my mom by buying the Fafi Chanel in Paris.

I kind of wish I got a big bag instead which is far more practical though, I can barely wear my chanel because Im so scared because the art might rub off!! Anyway, too late :(

And for the things I want every year (or at any time to be honest)

11. Anything pink
12. Vintage hats and dresses
13. Anything cute
14. Anything Westwood
15. Prayers
16. NICE SKIN (oh please God I beg you for nice skin)
17. A marriage proposal. (LOL)
18. A 20 GB iPod with Quark's music preloaded on it (I swear I need this to live, I am suffering in London without it I am never leaving Manila without an iPod synched to Quark's computer ever again)
19. Art! ! ! From Tracey Emin (dream on) to work made by my friends (means more :) )
20. A really happy day with all my friends :)

And that's all I can think of for now.

xx
m

RIP Poly Styrene

2011-04-26T18:11:00.000+08:00

When MySpace was still cool, I remember one of my most favorite comments on my page was a girl from America who said 'You have a serious Poly Styrene X Ray Spex vibe going on, Awesome.'

I was so pleased with myself.

I love Poly Styrene!!! :(
I am so sad that the world has lost another amazing female punk icon.

Punk icon Poly Styrene dies

X Ray Spex, with Poly Styrene, right, recorded just one album before splitting up

Punk singer Poly Styrene, former singer with the band X Ray Spex, has died. She had been suffering from cancer.

She was one of the first female punk icons, with an influential style that was unorthodox but infectious.

Real name Marion Elliot-Said, she had cancer of the spine and breast.

A statement on her official Twitter feed said: "We can confirm that the beautiful Poly Styrene, who has been a true fighter, won her battle on Monday evening to go to higher places."

Poly Styrene formed her band after watching the Sex Pistols perform on Hastings Pier on her 18th birthday and became known for her unpolished vocals and energetic rallying cries against consumerism and environmental destruction.

X Ray Spex's signature tune was Oh Bondage, Up Yours!, a riotous rejection of social and gender norms that began with Poly Styrene's spoken line: "Some people think little girls should be seen and not heard."

The band released just one album, Germ Free Adolescents, in 1978, before splitting up.

The singer went on to record a more subtle and subdued solo album, Translucence, in 1980, before retreating from the music industry to join the Hare Krishnas.

She moved into a Krishna temple in Hertfordshire with her daughter, and struggled with bipolar disorder.

Boy George - who once tried to break her out of the temple - was among those paying tribute on Twitter.

He wrote: "I was a fan of Poly before I got to know her, she was a Krishna follower too, oh bless you Polly you will be missed! Legend!"

She occasionally re-emerged into the limelight, and released her third solo album, Generation Indigo, last month.

"I know I'll probably be remembered for Oh Bondage, Up Yours!" she told BBC 6 Music. "I'd like to remembered for something a bit more spiritual."

HUUUU! RIP Poly Styrene!

O Cancer, Up Yours!!!!

The Weekend

2011-04-18T06:21:00.007+08:00

Friday night I went to the Barbican for the More Soup and Tart performance

30 artists had 2 minute performances

David the type obsessed outside

Saturday was Hazel's going away BBQ with everyone from i-D.

It was my first BBQ ever! I loved it.

I gave my camera to Judy's 4 year old and ended up with some cute shots

After I dragged my over Pimms-ed self to the Hayward for the British Art Show

It was ok. The only piece i really truly loved was this piece called The Clock by Christian Marclay which was a 24 hour video which was made of thousands of film clips of clocks put together to synch with local time. It was awesome.
Anyway.

So excited for the Tracey Emin exhibition

(p.s. love is totally what i want!)

Sunday I cooked nilagang manok (which literally translates to boiled chicken) at mine for the Liverpool kids (for lack of a better term). I've been telling Reuben I'd cook him Filipino food for about 2 years now and I thought i'd finally do it before he went on tour (you can view the Ladytron tour dates here).

I didn't have enough cutlery, and watching some people eat with tea spoons was really painful (sorry I am the worst host ever!)

Reuben took some polaroids

I can change my facebook picture everyday now. haha!

Reu is selling one of photos as prints to help Japan, click here to buy

The only time you will ever see me without a hat is if you come over my house, I swear I'll always look like crap.

My friends have such fancy rides

Yaay :)
Bye Reuben! Please come back to London before I leave!

EverywhereWeShoot at Ayala Museum tomorrow!

2011-04-15T22:14:00.000+08:00

As you know, I always work with a super talented pair known as EverywhereWeShoot.
Ryan and Garovs have been friends of mine for years now, they are my ultimate creative collaborators, along with our other graphic design friends Inksurge. I swear I would be anything without them.

Like we always say, what Juergen Teller is to Marc Jacobs, EverywhereWeShoot is to me.

So it pains me so much to not be there at their first solo exhibition and talk at Ayala Museum!
I would have been sitting in front like a proud parent and crying !

So please go for me and kill me with envy!

Good luck Ryan and Garovs!!! Miss you so much!!!

AW 2011 Hats Pre Order Updates

2011-04-12T07:52:00.000+08:00

Hello,
Just a quick note to let everyone who wrote in and sent their pre order requests that I have received them and just have been beyond busy so unable to reply one by one, but you should hear back from me within the week :)
Thanks for your patience, and for those who are interested in ordering the collection, please click here.
xx
m

It's your Write: A Celebration of The Self Published

2011-04-10T09:43:00.003+08:00

I've been such a bad blogger, but I will continue to attempt to redeem myself.

I've been back in the UK for a week now.

My first Thursday of April was spent at the V&A Museum of Childhood at the It's Your Write event.

The Papered Parlour hosted "It's Your Write", a mini festival celebrating a new wave of DIY counter-culture and craftivism.

It was awesome.

Paolo Cruz and Alice Sarmiento would have loved it.

Outside, I was already wishing i could roll around on this. Sharon!!! Lara!!!

Inside, over 20 stalls of independent creators and groups.

Obviously I loved The Women's Library's collection of women's zines.

They had talks, workshops and lectures throughout the night.

Sam Lee talking about Romany Gypsy and travelling music

Typewriter Art

Really enjoyed the New Age of Protest discussion with Lindsey German (the UK's most prominent female socialist), Tim Matthews of UK Uncut, investigative journalist Shiv Malik and Climate Rush founder Tamsin Ormond (love her!!)

They had a needlecraft workshop upstairs

Sharon and Alice, we have to get our craft club up and running I tell you!

The Letter Lounge booth where you can write letters and send them off for free

Wedding poster printmaking

Such a great night. I hope they do it as an all dayer next time instead of just 3 hours!

The Hat Shop

2011-04-06T11:38:00.000+08:00

Apologies for the lack of blog posts recently, my life has been absolutely mental you cannot even imagine what i've been going through.

On my last day in New York I was lucky to meet a beautiful soul who completely brightened up my mood.

Her name is Linda and she owns a wonderful hat shop in Soho.

Its a lovely shop with a great selection of hats. Plus Linda herself is a milliner so she knows her stuff! Its always such a delight to meet people who are as passionate as I am about hats!

A picture of her in the book 'An Englishman in New York' which is now currently on display at the National Portrait Gallery in London

I loved this top hat of hers

If you are a hat lover in New York, this shop is a must visit!

The Hat Shop is located on 120 Thompson Street, New York

Visit her website at http://thehatshopnyc.com/

What A Weekend

2011-03-29T12:04:00.001+08:00

Saturday JC I braved the cold to head to Coney Island

Just to have the original Nathan's hotdog

The bacon cheese fries alone were 1260 calories of yum

Then we trekked to 3rd Ward in Bushwick for Lara's Inflatable Sculpture show

She made the nun with beams called Apocalipstick

So proud of Lara! Her first NY exhibit!

Other works

This was freakin awesome

Lona and her super cute glasses

Jumbo gumball machine you can enter

I freakin adored the Space Kitties. They started out deflated

Then got fat

Then started to move! Watch this:

So many friends

With live momol action

LOL

After we went to Night Market, which happens 4 times a year in a secret location.

Artists rent U haul trucks, and each U haul truck is a different experience.

Pillowfight truck

Grandma's truck

Barn Truck

Circus freak truck

The crowd favorite Stripper truck required you to buy stripper money

But was totally worth it

Blind item

Camping bonfire truck

Quiz truck

Our new friends

Train ride home

Sunday we went to Columbia for the Japan Benefit with Yoko One, Sean Lennon, Mike Patton, Sonic Youth, Cibo Matto

I can't even describe how amazing Yoko Ono is. Seriously. She is 72 but still rocks out. Amazing.

Had to get a picture with Kim Gordon (eeeeee)

There was a fire in the building

So all the musicians were out in the street, so I sneaked this picture of Thurston and Kim. Awww.

We had to get a picture with Miho because we love her!

And we sang and danced Know Your Chicken on the street for her like the fan girls we are.

It was so sad that they only played 3 songs. I need to see Cibo Matto properly!

Met Kjersti on the train who is also a milliner who studied at CSM

Went to Morrissey night at Sway with Ryan, Paolo and Michael

Camwhoring on the walk home

And more camwhoring before sleeping at 6am.

What a weekend indeed.

I hate this stupid ad and you all can stick your straight hair up your ass

2011-03-28T00:57:00.005+08:00

I woke up to this ad on my friends very famous blog

And although I am running very late for lunch with Paolo i have to blog because this ad really pisses the fucking hell out of me.

First of all, thats not frizz. Thats curly hair.

As someone who has had curly hair her entire life I would like to say that the Philippines is so primitive in the sense that we are so fucking idiotic with people who don't fit in stupid set standards and it is just fucking ridiculous.

I grew up being teased and bullied for my curly hair, and as a child I always wanted straight hair because I thought it would make me normal and pretty.

In high school and college people started calling me Sto Nino which Im sure you all think is very funny because you are all idiots like that.

But for the record it isn't funny and as I child I would cry over how even my own family members would give me crap about something that is inherently me. I would never raise my child in the Philippines for the simple reason that it is an awful feeling to deal with that everyday for something you shouldn't have to be self conscious about.

It took me about 20 years to realize that my hair is not ugly, and I don't have to cringe at being curly. My hair has defined me to become the eccentric I am today. My life changed when I realized that I was never going to fit in in a sea of straight hair and I should just stand out.

So please take your stupid anti curly hair ads and go fuck yourselves for being close minded assholes.

I would never straighten my hair just to fit in because I am far better sticking out like a sore thumb than being a clone with a closed mind.

I don't want a way out, fucktards.

I am happy to live my life with curly hair, which ISNT frizz to get rid off and my future children should not subjected to the kind of bullying i went through because of ads like this that dictate stupid standards of beauty in our society.

Spotted: If By Yes's Yuka Honda (Cibo Matto) and Courtney Kaiser wear Mich Dulce

2011-03-26T23:50:00.002+08:00

Look who wore my hats last night

Yuka Honda!

For your reference
(I wanted to put the actual Cibo Matto Know Your Chicken video but youtube wouldn't let me do it)

It was the If By Yes record release party at Mercury Lounge.

Chimera is so my new favorite label, because everyone was sweet and the bands are just amazing.

Sophie

It was so cute because suddenly everyone had a hat on.

Charlotte and Heather

Katie and Courtney

I had to take a picture with the real Sean

So I could put it next to the picture of me and fake Sean Lennon, Mihk Vergara

who is fake Sean circa Home

Or maybe not.
Anyway.

If By Yes is completely amazing, although that is hardly surprising as it is fronted by Petra Hayden of That Dog and with an all star line up that included members from Wilco, Cornelius and Cibo Matto.

Some photos from the gig

Yuko Araki is so the cutest sweetest thing in the world, I adore her!
A video of her with Cornelius before the curly hair

I wish I could be in a band with her and Goldie, then we can be the curliest band in the world.

Imagine.

=
Band of my dreams.

Anyway.
Thank you Chimera, Yuka, and Courtney <3

MOMA PS1 Saturday

2011-03-24T01:00:00.001+08:00

Saturday was spent with Lara

We went to MoMA PS1 in Queens

To catch Saturday Sessions with comedians

This guy had this awesome recorder thing (i dont know what its called) which got me totally obsessed with making music again

We wandered around

We barely got to see Laurel Nakadate's amazing work, she had a piece called 365 days of Sadness which I absolutely loved

I have to go back just to see her work again, it was amazing

On the way home we walked by fake grafitti land

See what I mean.

Thats all for now as I need to go and marvel at the snow outside.

AW 2011 Hats Pre Order Information

2011-03-22T00:36:00.000+08:00

Hello all!
Just a little break from the diary blog posts to make a little announcement.
I've been getting a lot of emails asking about how to go about ordering my AW 2011-2012 hat collection from Manila.
They are now available to pre order, but will be available for delivery beginning in June or July.

Instructions:
1. note the style name and number from this lookbook

(click to enlarge)

2. email me at hello@michdulce.com stating the style name to request a quote for prices then I will be in touch and will give you next steps from there!

Thats all for now, off to do some work in NYC now! xx

xx
m

New York Day 3

2011-03-19T02:20:00.001+08:00

Today I met up with one of my original brothers, Mac Abad, who I haven't seen for 7 years, since the last time I was in New York!

It was St Patricks day and we decided to meet up at 5th Ave because our batchmate from Brent Byron is now in the marines and was part of the parade, but we didn't catch him, so here is the only photo I have. LOL.

Went off to Williamsburg for lunch then walked around

The obligatory Williamsburg hipster photo

Hat by me, glasses from Rayban, everything else from Vivienne Westwood

So great to hang with Macky.

You know its true friendship when you can still be exactly the same after years of not seeing each other :)

Went off to the Museum of Art and Design for a talk on the history of NYC Nightlife.

The panel left to right:

Susanne Bartsch, Ladyfag, Desi Monster, Hattie Hathaway and Michael Musto

The audience looked amazing, but i was too shy to take a picture so i just have this crap one. NY Paulo and Jujiin are in it, can you find them?

Ladyfag and her envelopes

I dont remember the names of the cute boys beside me but they went up to me because we had the complete Jeremy Scott Swatch collection between us so we decided to volt in

I am completely enamoured by Susanne.

Showing us her rings

Post talk

Had a few minutes left to go around the museum

Then finally FINALLY saw Paolo

Love!!

Obligatory cringe St Patricks picture

We were going to get a drink but I wasn't in the mood for naked men dancing

So we hit Taco Bell instead

Then headed home.

Love my friends so much!

Hello New York

2011-03-17T22:24:00.000+08:00

I've been a bad blogger, but I am going to try and redeem myself.

Things have just been way too hectic.

I arrived in New York Monday night, my first trip back here in 7 years.

It was amazing to arrive to hugs and love from two of my dearest girl friends ever.

The next day marked the beginning of my fat New York.

Met up with JC who started to feed me the best food ever.

Motherfucking artichoke pizza. Holy crap.

He also began his role as navigator and outfit photographer haha.

hat by me, vintage coat, everything else by Vivienne Westwood

That i do JC! love you!!

Went to FIT to attend a talk on minimalism.

Big fucking mistake.

No use trying to talk minimalism to a maximalist.

Off to chinatown with Lara for some more fat.

Woke up bright and early the next day for the Westwood exhibition tour at FIT

It was a small collection, but ah well, still love Viv.

Went over to JC's for fat day part deux then walked around the city.

day 2 outfit on the opening ceremony steps

hat by me, everything else by Vivienne Westwood

I am obsessed with that staircase. I wish i could do it in my house but we have no steps!

JC took me to have the best corn I have ever had in my life at Cafe Habana at Prince corner Elizabeth in SoHo

It. was. heaven.

Lara came to meet us

Then I met up with Crischelle, my old design partner when we made really crappy clothes.

(no really, it was beyond bad, i want to shoot myself in the head when i think of the crap we once made)

She is now a doctor, and now I have far better design sensibilities.

(Thank God for evolution)

Saw these Hello Kitty cars and had to take a picture for Sib and Jayne.

Nothing beats seeing old friends all over again.

I am so blessed to have the greatest friends in the world.

Thank you for taking care of me!

Don't they know, its the end of the world.

2011-03-12T17:39:00.002+08:00

Woke up to even more bad news from the Japan earthquake

and i had to play this song

I am scared shitless of natural disasters and am a paranoid mess. So please excuse any freak out messages you may have received from me or will receive.

Please pray even if you don't.

Michel Gondry's L'Usine De Films Amateurs

2011-03-12T01:50:00.003+08:00

On my last day in Paris I managed to do Michel Gondry's L'Usine De Films Amateurs at Centre Pompidou

You come in and create a film in three hours following a simple method made by Michel Gondry in this mini studio that was set up.

I was lucky to get the last of the 5 slots that are available on the day for each group, all the other slots are pre reserved.

It starts with a tour of the studio, so you can see the different sets that are set up to use for your film.

Then the 1st planning room, where you use decide democratically on the genre and title of the film

(45 mins)

On to the next room for more planning and costumes and props

(another 45 minutes)

Then shooting!

Then the screening of the film you made

I wasn't able to stay to make the cover as I had to catch the Eurostar, but all the movies end up on the shelf for exhibition and are screened for the rest of the project.

Here's our film, as I didn't speak enough French I just became the annoying extra. haha.

Spot the French Mackie Galvez and the French Ketchup Eusebio!

La vieille et le clochard from oxydia on Vimeo.

LOL

Super fun!

I wish I could have done it with Quark and Ramon and Marie and them! Would have been so fun.

Many thanks to everyone who helped me get through it even if i was the only non French speaking person in the group!

Paris Day 5: Fafi pour Mich Dulce!

2011-03-08T03:50:00.000+08:00

So today I trekked back to the Colette - Chanel popup store because Fafi was doing customized Chanel bags

I literally got there when she was on her second bag.

I didn't really have the intention to buy, as although I love Fafi im not a big fan of Chanel

(i know, it sounds horrible, but its the truth! im a Viv girl!)

But when i saw this blue one I started to die of cuteness.

I began to try bags on, but I knew I couldn't really afford it.

Then I decided to make the emergency call to my mom who then said it could be my 30th birthday gift.

So right before she left the store, I bought one and she started working on my bag.

it comes with a certificate

and i asked her to turn me into a fafinette

so she did!

Yaay!!

Thank you Fafi!!!!

Yaay!

Many thanks to Nina for moral support and for taking all the photos :)