Blanc et Noir

Yesterday, while Manila had Bloggers United 3, I spent my day out with my friends Mithi, Lea and Jane. We went to watch Snow White and the Huntsman. It was good considering it was Kristen Stewart but I thought it was a mixture of different movies like Harry Potter (Mithi couldn't get why but just watch it and tell me if you didn't feel a Harry Potter influence), Narnia and a few others I forgot. We ate dinner at Lachi's, but Jane had to leave after and so Mithi, Lea and I had nothing left to do. We were driving aimlessly around the city then Mithi had this brilliant idea to drop by Blanc et Noir over at Casa de Habana compound.

owner of Blanc et Noir, Ms Irene Windley

necklace specially made for Ms. Kat Marfori

statement pieces

me and my fave find, a Christian Dior jacket

We first went to visit Blanc et Noir in December 2010 I think when we were trying to have a "Davao nightlife". Our first stop was Casa de Habana compound. We saw the store and thought "Why would someone have a store here?" but when we asked the owner, Ms. Irene Windley, she said ever since she opened, a lot of people drop by her shop. She has odd hours though. From what I remember then, it was open from 5pm-1 or 2 am I think--times when there would be people at the night life spot.

During our first time there, we had such a grand time talking to Ms. Irene that we ended up NOT going out for drinks. Back then, we were with our friend Julienne, and she managed to buy not only a dress, but a pair of shoes as well! Ms. Irene is super chatty and friendly and she definitely has a passion for fashion. Her inspirations are Angelina Jolie and Victoria Beckham. Like me, she dreams of owning (or even holding) something Marchesa. <3

Blanc et Noir sells well selected, pre-loved stylish clothes, belts and bags. They even have a lot of designer finds, which Ms. Irene would gladly show and share with you. She even taught us how to care for Hermes scarves. She also sells jewelry that her sister makes, a favorite of Ms. Kat Dizon-Marfori, she shares. She showed us dresses she has from Oscar dela Renta, Vera Wang and a couple of jackets from Valentino and Christian Dior. I spotted and fell in love with the Dior one which had a sort of reptile print--trendy but timeless. To my shock, it fit me perfectly!! I felt like a rock star in it! :) Thanks Mit and Lea for convincing me to take it, it's such a steal!

(Now, where to wear it? :))

But designer brands aside, the other items are good, trendy and importantly, affordable. Sometimes, Ms. Irene even has the clothes altered so they look better. Mit, Lea and I were there from 9-11pm (Again, we weren't able to drink! haha :P ). From catching up, our convo turning serious. I picked something up from Ms. Irene. She said something like, "Yes, I can afford a few luxuries like watching movies, buying coffee, etc, but will this shop make me rich, like I can buy a house? No. Probably 10 of these [stores] will. But I love what I'm doing. I love coming to work cause it doesn't feel like work. I love talking to my customers", and I felt so happy when I heard this. People nowadays don't know what to do with their life and they flit back and forth trying to get the best paying job which allows them to do what they want, but fail at it. But life is simple, just do what makes you happy. When you do what makes you happy, you make other people happy in the process.

I admire Ms. Irene all the more for this. :)

Thank you so much for the fun times and for remembering us! :-)

Visit Blanc et Noir at the Casa de Habana compound, Rizal St. Davao City