RETURN TO INNOCENCE

Enigma? Enigma? Not quite ... but you can say this community event is beginning to look like an enigma to me. Its Sunday, 16 November 2008, my alarm clock rang and I got out of bed .... or shall I say, I lazied out of bed... its Sunday for goodness sakes! Great .... nosy on down to the bathroom, and taking my well worn red toothbrush out of the cup, I am beginning to wonder, what innocence is left in this world? Ahark! As i squeeze the toothpaste out unto my trusty toothbrush, it hit me. This is one of the times that you will get a fleeting glance into the World, Universe and Everything ...... the toothpaste! The toothpaste! THE TOOTHPASTE was WHITE!

Splashing water onto my already stubbly face, I reached for my jeans and trusty well worn polo tee, I bade my sleeping wife goodbye, which was not much of a farewell either cause she was still in "La La Land", and I headed out the door, the revelation still leering on my mind. Oh dear, what more will happen today? Opening the car door (not my Super Kancil cause its got a flat tire, battery died and me foreman promised to nosy down over but that didn't happen either) and starting the engine, I turned on the CD Player .... The Beatles were on, singing "Across the Universe" .... and lo and behold, I was drawn into a myriad of psychedelic hallucination of wondrous colours ... but wait! Lo and behold! There was no WHITE!

Ha ha ha ... I am currently in the 'pop art' mind set so you will have to bear with my ramblings about WHITE! Why? Cause 'tis Sunday and I am meeting all 6 Couples for their fitting at PRETTY IN WHITE! Gotcha!

This trip to Pretty In White got me thinking .... Big Boss Man Dennis did tell me they were doing something new and that we actually made the fitting appointment later cause they wanted to showcase their new style gowns. Erm ... interesting, I also noted that Pretty In WHITE and WHITE Gowns were synonymous weddings and innocence .... hence the Title "Return To Innocence."

I made my way to @THSH leaving my sleeping snoring wife (eh, she snores?) and met 2 couples who were staying at my place, Jessyca and Vanessa. They actually drove (one flew) from the north and I was impressed that they would come down this far for a fitting. Erm .... and we all went happily and gaily (sounds like some medieval word there) to PIW in Desa Hartamas on that fateful Sunday Morning ..... Reaching the "Highly Expensive Car Park", in case you missed out on the first one, here is the link ...... , we all got out high in anticipation. Me thought we were the first one to arrive, but low and behold, Veralyne and Stephanie (Designers from Pretty In White) were already there to greet us! Oh errr .... I kinda feel bad cause they came back specifically for us on the fitting. Also Jocelyn, Mindy and Niel were all there already!! Oh Oh Oh ... errr .... I need to buy an alarm clock. My usual one sleeps in on Sundays ... ha ha ha ... :P

Ah, bright and early ... Stephanie (PIW)
asking the couples to fill up the forms.
Here we have Mr. & Mrs. Doc To Be and Mr. & Mrs. Sassy .....

Oh, so early got phone call ar? Here is Mr. & Mrs. Bubbly


Fuyoh ... and this is Mr. & Mrs. Cheery Chirpy.....


Oh errr ... Mrs. Elegant came alone ... or issit??? Here Mrs. Sassy looks on.

Right. Those are just 5 couples for you, we're still missing 1 couple!!! Actually they were on their way from Johor .... hope it doesn't become like the first event when 1 of them gets lost ..... Heck .... now on to the fitting!!!

Mrs. Bubbly trying on her first gown of the day ....

The fitting started with Mrs. Bubbly as she had a final exam on that day, yes, she is still a student and is getting married in 2009! What I really like about Pretty In White, if you can recall, they believe that there is a gown out there for persons of different body shapes. And with 6 very different couples for the fitting, I was really impressed. Their philosophy proved correct! Basically, they had gowns that suits broader body to slimmer body builds! It was evident when Mrs. Bubbly tried on a their gowns..... I was almost blown away! Veralyne (had to double check your spelling .. hee hee) and Stephanie, whats your secret ar? Whisper to me lor ... I wont let Big Boss Man Dennis know ... If you do not believe in what I am blogging about, then let the other couple convince you .....

Mr. & Mrs. Cheery Chirpy trying out
their gown which she confirmed on the spot!

See? I told you so .... I would say that their choice of gowns were more of the "simple & elegant" cut, but it really suits them. Unfortunately, thanks to my point and shoot Canon Ixus and me shaky hands, you wont be able to see the minute detailing on the gowns ... nice. Not overly done and these are just Pretty In White's "Off The Rack" Gowns ... I cannot begin to imagine what their custom designs will look like! Someone, gimme a DSLR please! (Haven't got one since my post in August ... *sob* *sob*)

Eh? Mrs. Elegant invites friends for a preview


Mr. & Mrs. Sassy trying on her beaded gown


Mrs. Doc To Be and Mrs. Elegant trying PIW's new creations


Mrs. Elegant showing her back to us ..errr ... detail on the gown

Again Mrs. Elegant tries another of PIW's creations ...

Next was quite a frantic session. Mrs. Sassy, Mrs, Doc To Be and Mrs. Elegant all decided to try Pretty In Whites new creations. From the pictures, you can see that there is a slight twist to every gown. Part Evening Wear and Traditional Bridal Gown combined, these creations contain minuet detailing using baubles, frills and lace. In fact, Mrs. Doc To Be's gown has a Romanesque feel to it. I, being a traditionalist, felt that it suited the couples in fact it looked nice and it will be up to the photographers to be able to capture these details in the best light possible . I wonder how they are going to do that with a historical background ... hurm ....

And if you are wondering, I do not have any other photos .... Mr. & Mrs. Lost could not find Pretty In White, but luckily, Mr. & Mrs. Cheery Chirpy went out of their way to guide them here. I would like to say a BIG THANK YOU TO YOU!!! On behalf of our partners, we would also like to thank Dennis, Elaine, Veralyn and Stephanie from Pretty In White for being so ultra supportive of our community projects. Without you, this event would not have been possible. THANK YOU SO MUCH! We owe you lots, in fact I feel so indebted to you guys! Thanks for coming back on Sunday just for this fitting!!!

And I leave you all with this photos ....... like I said in August 2008, the speed of which women bond is unbelievable ....

for more information on pretty in white, please visit ;

www.prettyinwhite.com.my

LOOKING "PRETTY IN WHITE"

24th July 2008 - Been extremely busy running around with countless headaches and hurdles to cross, organizing this event.

This was the day for me .... the actual day when I had to meet all our selected couples at Pretty In White for them to select their gowns .... erm, now then, where the hell is Pretty In White anyway? A quick scan of their website showed that they were located in Desa Sri Hartmas ... great, am not too familiar with that area but it looks like they are just in front of 'highly expensive automated' car park once you turn left at the traffic lights if you are coming from KL ....

So, at 3.30 pm, I got into my 'ladybird love buggy' (Kancil lar), and flicked on the ignition switch (flicked?) erm ... After some highly aggressive driving, I found myself parked under the tree of the car park that was shown in their direction map ... and KaBoom! I saw Pretty In White! But wait! They are on the 3rd floor??? What the .........

Look for the Glitter of Diamonds
hidden inside the 3rd Floor

The saying of not judging a book by its cover is very very true indeed, or shall I say, in the case of Pretty In White. Walking into the corridor beside the Sports Toto Shop and going up the elevator (!) to the 3rd floor, I was very quickly welcomed by the 'high security - no shoes or heels inside please!' at Pretty In White, I the opportunity to meet almost all the guys and gals - Dennis, Veralyne, Stephanie and Elaine (unfortunately Elaine was away). I must say, you would never have expected to find such a venue for wedding gowns and formal wear here. With all the glitz and glamour of the Bridal Shops around Jalan Ipoh, Jalan Imbi, SS2, Pretty In White (or PIW for short) does not exude such and aura.

Veralyne - Designer & Consultant
Enticing Me with a Bare Back Gown!

At PIW, you won't find hard selling techniques or your general 'mass market' wedding packages. They don't have your standard run of mill wedding packages anyway. You won't even find any sales personnel lagging behind your every move. PIW in essence, is run by designers (Elaine, Val & Stephanie) focusing on the bride, and trust me, when the 3 couples came to try gowns, it was a big, big, fun family - boisterous and loads of ruckus in PIW. Luckily, we didn't run amok. I found most of their 'off the rack' gowns very interesting, from your typical romantic styled ones to the glamorous and post modern fair. In fact their 'off the rack' gowns can better most standard offering from your usual bridal shops, in my humble opinion.

Pretty Dresses all in a row,
PIW's Designer Off The Rack Range ...
Say, did you notice that the second gown
(from the right) has pockets
cleverly disguised as a pleat?
Goodness ... pockets on a wedding gown!

Dennis (big boss man) told me that they were currently renovating their outlet and they had been in business for about 8 years already! I really found my chats with Dennis very interesting, as he is also passionate about what he does, and definitely very into creative stuff! Its not very often I meet people who are like minded and willing to give back to the community, but my stint in THSH has made me feel more and more confident about our 'free' projects! As we were talking, you could really feel like you were in a big home, where they welcome you openly and really take you in, as part of their family... so nice, so warm, so fuzzy all over with a little touch of soothing light jazz in the background, erm, Dennis, you like Bossa Nova style don't you?

Valeryine & Stephanie, designers/consultants, propping up all the gowns that were already reserved ... oh my, never knew that there were so many ...

PIW is also going to launch a new range of dresses and gowns, and they have something up their sleeve, which I can't divulge right now .... you'll have to wait or go see them! What I like best is their CAMERA POLICY - TAKE AS MANY PHOTOS AS YOU WANT! Great! Unfortunately, despite having my handy point and shoot Canon Ixus (eh? what?), I had to quietly and very discreetly shoot the people cause they were all camera shy! Luckily its was a digital camera, as I was (PAST TENSE OK!) an advent supporter and hobbyist photographer of the film era .... can you imagine how many rolls I would have lost (eh? whats that again?).

Ok ok ... let me introduce you to our couples who were at PIW for their fitting so I can showcase to you guys their wedding gowns ....

Couple No. 1 - Mrs. Frilly & Dandy

Why have I covered up their faces? Erm ... namely for 2 reasons .... Reason No. 1, I am a otaku of Japanese anime and have always wanted to use the Laughing Man's Logo on a web page ... who you say? Laughing Man from Ghost In the Shell, go and wiki that. Secondly, I have heard (or been told) that photographers can be a picky lot. So, to build the suspense I have hidden their faces ... let your imagination take you along .... ha ha ha. Couple No.1 whom I like to call Mr. & Mrs. Frilly & Dandy, cause they tried all the gowns with frills, came at 5.00 p.m. sharp. And I mean really sharp. What can I say? Well, Couple No.1 does really remind you of your traditional romanticized wedding (based on gowns lar) and they were pretty bubbly too! I am getting pretty excited about this whole project!

Couple No. 2 - Mrs. Simply Elegant

Mr. & Mrs. Simply Elegant, dropped in about 35 minutes later ... and I must say, looking at her anxiety and happiness when she came in, really made me feel good, as this was the reason why we are doing this community based project. It just boosted my morale even more and well, all I can say was, her trying gowns session was feverish and full of nervous chatter. Whats really intrigues me is that the lightning pace of how woman bond when they are in a bridal shop. It just took a few seconds for Mrs. Frilly & Dandy and Mrs. Simply Elegant to become the best of pals ..... oh me, oh my .....

Couple No. 3 - Mrs. Cheerfully Hip

Mr. & Mrs. Cheerfully Hip could not find PIW and have been feverishly calling everyone in PIW to get directions. They managed to come in about 6.10 pm. Both Couple 1 and 2 was still hanging around chatting in PIW's lounge (didn't I say it was a conducive environment?). When Mrs. Cheerfully Hip came, she drowned out the entire sound system of PIW with a big smile, exclaiming, while pointing to the direction of PIW's off the rack gowns, "Oh My Goodness, I'm in Love with these!". Her session of trying on gowns was the longest as she could not make up her mind... she liked the gown with the pink ribbon but Mr. Cheerfully Hip thought the back ribbon should be like a bow until Stephanie from PIW pointed out that if it were to look like a bow, Mrs. Cheerfully Hip could possibly look like wearing a 'Minne Mouse' gown of sorts ... very interesting ....

"Amigos Para Siempre" - Remember?

Really. Our couples got on 'like birds of a feather'. I can't image the speed at how these people bond ... eh, Dennis, Veralyne & Stephanie, did you all use some special charm or what? What's your secret? Tell me lar ... I want to know!!! Ha ha ha .... But seriously, we owe you a BIG THANK YOU for all your assistance and help! If you would like to make a trip down to Pretty In White, I highly recommend that you make an appointment so they can allocate enough time to cater to your needs. With just these 3 couples, we took up 2 hours of their precious time. PIW will also be sponsoring matching veils for our community project ... once again, a big thank you to PIW!!!

If you want to know more about Pretty In White,
please visit their website at:

www.prettyinwhite.com.my