Jakarta Fashion Week 2014

One of the biggest annual fashion events in Indonesia is back. From 19 to 25 October 2014, Jakarta Fashion Week instantly became the ‘IT’ destinations for fashion editors, blogger and fashionista.

Almost all local designers showed their collection in Fashion Tent, Senayan City. You name it, from Oscar Lawalata, Tex Saverio, Barli Asmara, Soekamto Era, Tri Handoko, Angie Blaire and designers on the rise, Peggy Hartanto. Unfortunately, Gerson could not accompany me because he was busy with all his work and deadlines.

 

Eya- Jumpsuit: (X) S.M.L, blazer: Zara, beaded bag: H&M, shoes: Schutz

My partner to attend JFW, Anya- Top: M)phosis, pants: Zara, necklace: Chanel, clutch bag: Kate Spade, shoes: Aldo

H&M Grand Opening & VIP Night

 

Our wait is over! H & M finally opened they first outlet in Jakarta. Me and Gerson was invited to attend the grand opening event which was held at Gandaria City mall on Thursday (03/10/2013). The event was very festive with 2500 invited VIP guests, there were a lot of celebrities, fashionistas, socialites, fashion editors and well-known blogger.

The opening ceremony of the first H & M store was not just an introduction to their store, but it was also giving the invited guests a direct shopping experience. The most exciting thing was, they gave all the products a 20%! No wonder everyone was so crazy resulted in a very long queue to the cashier.

For pricing range, it seems that some of the products that H & M Indonesia offers are much lower than their outlet in Singapore. Accessories are sold at an average price of IDR 50k to IDR 200k, Sweaters are sold IDR 200k, IDR 60k for plain Tees and for the shoes the price starts from IDR 129k.

The first Indonesia H & M store is consisted of of two floors: the first floor is for the women’s collection, from accessories to office apparel. While the second floor are for children’s and men’s collection. If you want to shop, we suggest you to come during working hours to avoid the snaking queue. By the way, happy shopping!

Shirt: Topman, sweater: H&M, denim: Levi’s, belt: Pull n Bear, shoes: Seer Footwear

Jumpsuit: unbranded, pearl necklace and tranparant clutch bag: Zara

This is what Gerson got: neon beanie, polka snap back and t-shirt.

This is what Eya got: mohair sweater, camo snap back, floral cap, Hello Kitty lunch bag and a nice beaded sling bag as merchandise 😉

One Week in Bali

Last week, my and my family, had our holiday in Bali. Just like other local tourists, we spent a lot of time playing water sports in Tanjung Benoa and tried some restaurants which offer Balinese cuisines.

For nearly a week, we stayed at the Royal Beach Club Hotel Seminyak. It’s surrounded by cafes, boutiques and concept stores that have unique decoration. There was also a bazaar which was held in the parking area of our hotel during our staying. Just like any other bazaar, you can find clothings, accessories and also home decoration.

Cape: H&M, Maxi skirt: Zara, Sunglasses: Forever 21, Rings: Diva

To visit some beaches while you are in Bali is like a must thing to do. I visited Kuta, Petitenget, Jimbaran, Pandawa and Geger. The last two were my favorites! They have beautiful white sand and great scenery, it’s such a beauty to my eyes. The road to Pandawa beach has a lot of turn points, it became one of the perfect spot for my husband to play longboard.

Shirt: Massimo Dutti, Pants: Uniqlo, Straw hat: Forever 21, Bag: Original Garment

Straw hat: Forever 21, Sunglasses: Topman, Sandal: Zara

Sunglasses: Topman, Short: GAP, Bag: Original Garment, Shoes: New Balance, Watch: Daniel Wellington

On the weekend, we attended our best friend wedding, Wildan and Anya, at Sanur beach. The wedding is quite simple yet very beautiful and memorable. The decoration were all in white to match the atmosphere of the beach. One of my favorites is the hanging lanterns above the dining area. Happy wedding to Wildan and Anya!

Accesories: Diva & Forever 21

Vintage Rockabilly Friday

Had a fun dinner last night threw by the soon to be newlyweds, Ricky and Raisa, two of my good friends. It was held in Kembang Goela, and only attended by Ricky and Raisa’s closest friends. Such an intimate night full of laughter and love.

The dress code was black and white vintage look. I decided to put a rockabilly look though to mix with the vintage dress code. Here are some photos of last night.

with the soon to be newlyweds, Ricky and Raisa

suspender and bow tie

with the groom to be

my vintage rockabilly look

Deer Bow Tie: Noeud Papilon, Shirt: Zara, Suspender: local online store, Rolled Up Pants: Forever 21, Socks: Topman, Boots: Portee Goods

GDF – Female Magazine Malaysia, August 2013

The long awaiting edition of Female Magazine Malaysia, August 2013 issue is has been published!

We were featured as one of Indonesia’s fashion bloggers and shared the same page with our dearly newlywed friend, Heidy from Fashion Maverick.

Go grab your copy!

(ps: please ignore the typo in Eya’s name)

Happy Wedding!

Spent the weekend attending our blogger friend wedding, Heidy Kalalo and Carl Ronaldo. Wishing them a happy and healthy family, a huge house along the way and a bunch of adorable kiddos.

Eya- Dress: Hansel, Neon Clutch: Zara, Wedges: Schultz
Gerson- Suit:Salt & Pepper, Shirt and Pants: tailor made, Dress Shoes: Zara

Happy Eid Mubarak

Hi Everyone, just wanna say Happy Eid Mubarak 1434 H to our moslem friends and readers. May Allah forgive our sins and allow us to see another Ramadhan. May the guidance and blessing of Allah will always be poured upon you and family.

Gold top, Pants & Necklace: Zara, Headband: Rubi, Clutch: Marc by Marc Jacobs, Shoes: Jeffrey Campbell.

In Indonesia, Kaftan dress is the most worn fashion item during Eid. The lightweight material, loose cut and glamour detail are the main reasons. But for this Eid, i decided not to wear Kaftan as last year and preferred a loose gold top match with jodhpur pants. What do you think?

Well whatever it is that you wore, the most important thing is to celebrate the real meaning of Eid with the people you love.

Cultural Trip with Cita Nirvana – Day 3

And as time blinks, we’re already in Day 3. The itinerary for today was more relax. We visited the batik museum, the batik monument, and then the kampung batik Kauman.

Kauman was very interesting. It has a lot of batik patterns painted on the wall all along the street, just like graffiti. Overall, it’s been such a great experience joining this cultural trip by Cita Nirvana, couldn’t thank them for the opportunity. I really did learn a lot about Indonesia’s culture from this trip.

Who knows that a small city in Java could have a very rich potential. Can you imagine how rich we are if all the cities in Indonesia could grow and develop their local area through their signature masterpiece. I just hope that there will be more people, hopefully the local people, not the foreigner, who raise their awareness to preserve this country’s heritage. Batik is just one of the so many heritages that we have. We can start by buying a local product and wearing it in our daily routine, it’s simple but it’s gotta start from us.

Sigh. I honestly didn’t want this trip to end.

Here are some photos of Day 3:

the batik museum

the batik monument

kampung batik Kauman

last meal before heading back home

ready to go home

For more of:

– Cita Nirvana’s pictures and post. Click here.

– My photos about this trip. Click here. Or here.

Cultural Trip with Cita Nirvana – Day 2

We started day 2 with a quick breakfast then revisited the house of Lim Pieng Wi. It’s a business ran by a family inside an old traditional house. They have the workshop at the backyard.

Their design is so beautiful and surely is very expensive. One piece (around 2m) of their design could worth for more than $1000. Before this cultural trip I never really knew why could a Batik could be so expensive and why would people buy and collect it. But now, after seeing the process with my very own eyes, I understand and agree that the price is indeed very reasonable. And it makes me proud of my own country that we could preserve this beautiful heritage for decades or even centuries.

The Lim Pieng Wi family, although they have such a beautiful design and good production, they don’t really think about regeneration. They don’t have the next generation of the family to take over the baton, and that’s just sad for me. They should have at least preparing themselves for years ahead with good planning. Perhaps hiring a professional to continue the family business could be the solution.

Anyway, at the Lim Pieng Wi, I bought two Batik shirts. After that we went to another workshop managed by Mr. Sapuan, one of the local artist/designer. His design are way too exquisite. The details are crazy, I was amazed I literally dropped my jaw a couple times haha.

My brain was filled with new knowledge about Batik, while my tummy was filled with a lot of good foods. After visiting Pak Sapuan, the rest of day 2 was spent with culinary experience. *burp*

Here are some photos of Day 2:

the Lim Pieng Wi shirts

batik stamps at lim pieng wi workshop

the drying process at Lim Pieng Wi

in front of Lim Pieng Wi’s workshop

at Lim Pieng Wi’s rooftop

Mr. Sapuan’s workshop

For more of:

– Cita Nirvana’s pictures and post. Click here.

– My photos about this trip. Click here. Or here.

Cultural Trip with Cita Nirvana – Day 1

As you guys know, GDF was invited to go to Pekalongan, the city of Batik in Java, with Cita Nirvana. But too bad, Eya couldn’t come so I had to leave alone, accompanied by two of Cita Nirvana’s team, Lita and Noel.

My first impression about Pekalongan was immediately created within the first one or two hours. It’s really a small city, unlike Jakarta, and very decent. There are a lot of people who wore Batik there, but they didn’t add their personal style or any other fashion item, so it doesn’t really look stylish and modern, ironically it made the Batik looks plain. While in Jakarta, people wore Batik boldly.

I think, the batik designers should provide more variety of the clothing design by doing more research about what is the current trend right now. So they don’t get stuck in selling batik in a boring way. It’s just sad if this keeps on happening because plenty of international designers are now using Batik as the material for their collection, and it’s all very urban, edgy, and just up to date. Batik is used as part of the trend internationally, why can’t we have it here locally?

We went by train in the morning, and we arrived in Pekalongan at noon. Our super kind host, Mrs. Wulan Utoyo,the owner of Bulan Batik Galeri, took us directly for a yummy lunch. And then afterwards we went to her boutique and workshop.

It was my very first time witnessing the process of making a Batik. Honestly, I never thought it would be that HARD! It takes a lot of patience. I did try to create my own design, and it sucks haha. Now I really appreciate the effort and price of every single Batik design especially the ones that are handmade.

Bulan Batik Galeri has the most modern design, at least for Pekalongan. I fell in love with some of their men’s collection. We went back to the hotel for shower and had a little power nap. Then, in the evening we went to the house of one of the Batik designer, Lim Ping Wie. I’ll tell more about their story in the next post. In a mean time, day 1 was ended by having Fried Javanese Noodle as our supper. Yum!

Here are some photos from day 1.

the workshop of Bulan Batik Galeri

drooling over Bulan Batik menswear. I bought the harem pants.

my Batik part 1

my Batik part 2. I told you it sucks, eh?

the workshop of Lim Pieng Wi at night. it takes year or even two to create this.

For more of:

– Cita Nirvana’s pictures and post. Click here.

– My photos about this trip. Click here. Or here.