I’ve always believed that the easiest way to tell your story is through the things that you love. For me, that usually means through song and dance. But sometimes, it’s through style – Disney Style to be exact.
Disney Style in a women’s Barong Tagalog
Best day ever!
If you’re just tuning in now, I created a blog series called #DisneyPrinsesa where I reimagine my favorite Princesses into versions of them that are a little closer to home – as Filipinas. Last year I did Disney Princess inspired looks for Philippine Independence Day. This year for my birthday, I worked with their actual costumes.
I’ve already featured two Princesses in my previous blog posts – Belle and Cinderella. (I suggest reading those first before coming back to this one for the full story)
But for the final installment of this series, I saved my favorite look for last – Continue reading
Part II of my #DisneyPrinsesa series is here!
As part of my birthday month celebration, I took my original idea last year of making Princess inspired looks out of Philippine fabrics and design elements, and decided to up my game a bit by making Filipina versions of their actual live action costumes instead.
I picked out my 3 favorite Princesses for this, and started off with my childhood heroine Belle (which you can read here).
Next up on this blog series is –
What would a Filipina Disney Princess look like?
On Philippine Independence Day last year, I wrote a blog about finding inspiration and hope in the Disney Princesses despite never quite finding one that looked like me growing up. Though the qualities and morals of each Princess have helped shaped me into the person I am today, and though I strongly believe that we are all the same where it matters, I wanted to bring my love for Disney and my love for my country together.
So I decided to start #DisneyPrinsesa – a campaign to promote Philippine culture by showcasing local textiles and design elements through what I know best – Disney Style.
Weeks were spent planning, sketching, gathering materials, and sewing eight different ensembles (and even Mickey ears) to come up with the Disney Prinsesa lookbook I would have loved to see as a young girl. And finally being able to see it all come together was definitely a dream come true for my Filipina heart.
But as a little birthday celebration this year, I wanted to take #Prinsesa one step further. Instead of Princess inspired looks, I wanted to work with the actual costumes of my favorite Princesses, and come up with Filipina versions of each of them.
So before my birthday month ends, I am sharing 3 blogs – one for each of the Princesses who have most influenced my childhood, and guided me in adulthood.
And I am starting this series off with –
Growing up as a young Filipina, there was not a single Disney Princess that looked like me.
But I always found something I could relate to in each of them – qualities, morals, and values that I could find myself in even with my brown skin. Disney always made me feel like a Princess not because I looked like one, but because I was taught to dream like one. And though Disney always got the inside covered, I have always wondered about the outside – what would a Filipina Disney Princess look like?
“When you’re curious, you find lots of interesting things to do.” – Walt Disney
Today we celebrate Philippine Independence Day. And I’ve decided to answer this question by combining what I’ve related to most in these beautiful characters with both Disney Princesses’ and Filipino style.
It’s International Women’s Day!
And after watching the Academy Awards, and well, all that’s been happening with the world lately, I remembered this little piece I wrote for Portkey Events when we first started. Two years later, and this is still exactly what I want to say. Here’s to every woman in the world. Be strong. Be you.
Hermione wasn’t bossy. She was strong, and smart, and unafraid to stand up for what was right. Luna wasn’t weird. She was insightful, and loving, and brave. Ginny wasn’t weak. She was fearless, and clever, and kind.
These were the women we looked up to growing up. These were the women who taught us that being a woman does not, and should never limit you to what society dictates. A woman can be strong without being bossy, a woman can be quiet and insightful without being weird, a woman can be kind without being weak, and a woman can be herself without being less than a man.
As a little girl, I grew up thinking that I was a Princess. Not because I had everything, but because my parents always taught me to believe that I could be anything. And because I was a typical little girl, what I wanted to be was a Disney Princess. Eventually, I wanted to be a Gryffindor. Then a Rivendell Elf. Then a Rebel Pilot. And with every book I picked up and every movie I watched, I wanted to be something different. And through those stories, I did exactly what my parents said I could do. I went on grand adventures, and I became everything that I wanted to be.
Another year has come to a close. Another year to be thankful for. Another crazy, beautiful, wonderful year where so much has happened, I can hardly believe it all fit in 365 days. Like every year, there were many ups and downs – mostly ups. People who left, people who came, and of course, people who stayed. Things that went perfectly, things that didn’t quite turn out as planned, and things that ended up being some of the best surprises I’ve ever received. So here I am again at the last hours of the year, looking back at the gift that was 2017, and looking onward with excitement at what 2018 holds.
Thank you to everyone who was a part of this incredible year. I’ve got some special mentions down below, but I’m sending this message out to everyone. If you gave even just a second of your time to the 525,600 minutes of my 2017, I am thankful for you.
If you’re staying for the ride, buckle your seatbelts because I already know 2018 will be quite the adventure.
2017
At the beginning of 2016, I wrote that “…adventure only truly begins when you learn to embrace it”. I wrote about the things I learned in 2015, and how those lessons would arm me for the year ahead. Now I am not one for New Year (and in my case, Birthday) resolutions, because I’ve never been able to keep a diet longer than two days. But I’ve always been about learning. Learning through mistakes, experiences, and time. And through a pretty rough 2015, I did indeed learn. I learned how to embrace change and adventure, and I took some pretty amazing leaps too. Thus making 2016 one of the most exciting and fulfilling years of my life.
So I’ll be honest here. I couldn’t get on the “Can’t wait for 2016 to end” bandwagon. Sure, we lost a lot of beautiful, magical people. *All hail The Half Blood Prince and General Organa! Wands up and Sabers off!* And that depressed and pained me as much as the next Wizard, Witch and Jedi. But 2016 was special to me. (So special in fact, that I didn’t have a single free day to write.) My year was wonderfully full. 2016 changed my life for good, and showered me with enough happy thoughts and pixie dust to fly through the years to come.
These are the happy thoughts that stop me from complaining about how old I am and about the fact that I literally add another year to my existence at the start of every year. (That’s what happens when your birthday comes so close after the New Year.) So as I turn 29, I’ve decided to list the 29 things that 2016 gave me. I’ve decided to count my blessings instead of sheep, if you will, and to share with you the adventures I’ve so wholeheartedly embraced.
Well past 16 going on 17
“I feel like a part of my soul has loved you since the beginning of everything. Maybe we’re from the same star.” – Emery Allen
I like this quote by Emery Allen. It speaks of two beings originating from the same star, two halves of a whole finally meeting, two souls remembering that they love each other – and that’s exactly how I feel when I think of the friendship I’ve had with AJ for the past decade.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned in all my years with AJ, it’s that you don’t need to be in love with someone to find your soulmate. I found mine in the form of a rare and beautiful best friend. He shone so bright the first time I met him, that I knew I had found the missing half to my star. And from that moment on, I never felt lost, or lonely, or empty, because I had him.
Katsie Llave 