The Great Fashion Finds at Robinsons Midtown

I know I said I’d disappear for a couple of days, but it turns out that my styling internship won’t be as hectic as I thought. Yay! I won’t reveal any details about who I’m working for just yet because I don’t want to jinx it or worse, hype it up in public. If all goes well though, you can expect to read about my experiences here. For now, I want to talk about this fun event I went to with real fashionable bloggers last weekend, and my shopping finds at Robinsons Midtown Mall.

There are two things that compel me to say yes to an event invitation – an interesting product, and the people who are attending. Obviously, I’ll only make the effort to dress up and deal with city traffic if it means learning about a product I care about. But aside from being informed about brands and products I like, I treat events as an excuse to bond with friends and bloggers I wouldn’t be able to see otherwise. (I suppose I could just call and ask them to hang out, but that’s not something socially awkward people do.) The invitation Jeff sent me to Robinsons Midtown’s Great Fashion Finds was intriguing in both respects. Not only were we invited to check out and shop at the high street stores at Robinsons Midtown – a mall I never go to because of its distance – but I could ask a reader of my blog to come with me! I immediately thought to ask Lizz, because it’s been a while since I last saw her and because I knew she’d have fun checking out what the mall has to offer.

Aside from Lizz, I got to finally catch up with Sasha, who I haven’t seen in forever. She looks really great right now, and I’m glad she started updating her blog again! Looking forward to our lunch date with Liz sometime soon-ish.

I spent some time talking shop with Liz and meeting two bloggers I’ve always wanted to get to know – Aisa and Melai! I hope I get to hang out with them again in the future, they’re so much fun to be with. I’m also kind of hoping that if Aisa’s ukay juju will rub off on me if we spend enough time together.

And then there is Jeff, the organizer of this whole thing. He was nice enough to give me a ride back to Quezon City too! (Can you tell I was standing on tiptoes for this photo? :P)

The “rules” of the day’s event were pretty simple. We were asked to visit five different stores at Midtown and put together an outfit for a photo contest. It sounded easy enough to do, but I was feeling a little burnt out from planning a shoot the night before. I very nearly didn’t join the contest but in the spirit of game-ness, I made the effort to style a simple outfit and take a shot at winning.

My first stop was Topshop and Topman but oddly enough, I didn’t see anything that inspired me. Maybe it’s because of my evolving sense of style, but I found the clothes a little too trendy and young for my tastes.

I was pretty obsessed with finding a boyfriend blazer though, and Topshop was the only store that had one that was a) loose but not boxy, b) properly lined but not too thick, and c) extremely comfortable. Just to make sure, I checked all the nearby stores and the department store, but I couldn’t find one that came remotely close to the fit and quality of this one. It cost a whopping P5,198, and I wouldn’t have bought it if I didn’t have the sense to save P5,000 worth of Robinson’s gift certificates, which you can use at stores like Topshop. As you have seen from the photos above, I ended up wearing the blazer out of the store because the mall was cold, and also because it was just that comfortable.

Our second stop was Dorothy Perkins, whose clothes are surprisingly Ukay Manila-like at 100x the price. It took me about five minutes to come up with my outfit for the contest – a body-hugging rose dress, and a corset belt, dark green cardigan, and blush pink doll flats. Even though I don’t dress like this anymore, this outfit is something I imagine a Dorothy Perkins girl would happily skip out of the store with.

Once we were done with my outfit photo, Lizz and I wandered into the beauty section of the Robinsons’ Department Store, which was brightly-lit and unexpectedly upscale. They carried brands like YSL, Guerlain, and Shiseido too; I have never seen the first two outside of Rustan’s before.

Lizz bought two cream shadows from Shiseido while I swatched YSL lipstick and sighed over the Guerlain Meteorites.

The second floor of the department store held another surprise – a section called Runway which sells clothes from local designers, just like Crossings’ The Ramp. There were only six stores, but I didn’t expect one of them to be Coexist, an online store my friend Rica keeps raving about. If only Midtown weren’t so far!

I didn’t leave Runway without buying something – a tunic/dress from Ilaya Couture, which was on sale for P1,000. Seriously, when it comes to fashion, never say never. I never thought I’d wear anything but colorful prints, but this is the sixth neutral-ish item I bought this weekend. (The rest are from my favorite store in Megamall, which I want to keep a closely-guarded secret for now. :P I can be pretty selfish about where I buy my clothes.)

Near Runway is Accessorize, the aptly-named high-street accessories store. My eyes went wide when I saw the huge sale sign but unfortunately, the items I wanted were being sold at regular prices.

I fell madly in love with this purple cloche hat, but I didn’t love it enough to pay P1,300+ for it.

By the time Lizz and I reached the Thai store Espada, we were as tired as a rickety pair of old ladies. I’m glad we stopped by because I bought a braided black necklace for just P400, which I need for my shoot with Dollface Cosmetics the following weekend.

Needless to say, my outfit didn’t win the photo contest, but I’m glad I was able to come up with a presentable one despite being slightly burned out by styling. I thought you might want to see what the other girls wore too!

I honestly think that Liz’s photo was the best one. The photo itself is well-composed, but the detail I love the most is the tiered tulle skirt peeking out of the dress’s hemline. I think she was also the only girl who didn’t wear something from Topshop or Dorothy Perkins. That should have earned her a consolation prize, at least!

A sexy bandage dress and tough chick glam complement each other in Sasha’s collage. I love the bomber jacket Sasha picked up at Topshop! I hope she took a full-body photo because I’d love to see the full details of her outfit.

Aisa was simple and sweet in a dotted dress from Dorothy Perkins. Statement rings from Accessorize decorate her fingers.

Bestie looks disarmingly pretty in an androgynous ensemble from Topshop. I wanted to introduce myself to her, but she looked happy with her boyfriend and I didn’t want to bother them.

Congratulations to Tin, who won the contest in an all-Topshop outfit!

Sigh, if only Robinsons Midtown weren’t located in far far Manila, I’d happily go back. I’m glad I got the chance to visit it anyway and I do hope I find the opportunity to return one of these days. Better yet, I hope that the Gokongweis eventually renovate the department store at Robinsons’ Galleria and make it as upscale and fashionable as the one at Midtown.