Eva M.: pink culottes

Fashion Show for kids with autism

12:28 AM

While waiting for the show to start, me and my friends decided to take some photos of my outfit- which was also designed by me. I always dress up like a tomboy in all my previous fashion shows so this ensemble shocked some of my friends. They thought I'd wear sneakers and caps again. I say there's always a first time for everything... And this event definitely gave me a lot of 'first'.

As I look back at my first children's wear fashion show last Friday, I cant help but feel emotional. This was not an ordinary event for me because I was handling special children/ kids with autism. I have personally interacted with the girls for almost 2 weeks to get their measurements, check the right designs that suits their special needs and to finally fit their gowns before the show. To be honest i felt scared to handle them as clients at first because I have no idea how to treat or act around them. I was relieved to find out how lovely they are in person! Although they get moody too quickly so we have to get to their good mood before we meet. Truly a very humbling experience that I'll never forget. I hope we are all grateful for being blessed with normal (but still complicated) personalities because this thing is serious and requires special attention. This was an eye-opener for me since i don't know anyone close to me that has special kids. Listening to their parents share their struggle, despair and fear when they found out about their kids and how they finally accepted and loved them even more now. I cannot describe how brave they truly are for raising more challenging little angels. Now I am quite interested into helping these kind of fundraising events in the future. Just thinking about the wasted time I spent going out and being useless before made me wish I spent it on productive, meaningful events like this one.

Meet Kolen. She was the first girl to visit my shop and I thought she was gonna cry when I took her measurements because she flinched a lot and made a crying face. Later on I found out it was part of her personality- she made that face/reaction whenever she feels uneasy or uncomfortable. She has never really looked at my face or my eyes. I also found out they are not good in making eye contact. I think she's an emotional little angel, hence, the white flowy dress.

This is Ella. She's a very beautiful girl! Unlike Kolen, she actually looks at me all the time and she hugged me on the third day of meeting her. My original design for her was different but due to some of her conditions I had to change it to this one. I think she would look good with anything though. I heard she has a nice singing voice but I wasn't lucky enough to hear it. Hehe I must say I'll miss seeing that smile.

Her proud father walked with her in the catwalk as I accompanied them.

I couldn't take any close up photos of their dresses because they move too much.They cant stay put for a couple of minutes but I let them be. I was deeply happy to see them enjoy the gowns that was made specifically to cater to their comfort and for them to have fun while wearing them.

To this day, I still have that awkward walk even in the catwalk (I walk really fast in real life)

Friends for keeps! They have been my support system since Day 1. Thank you guys. Love you.<3

~ Here are some more of my outfit shots before and after the show. ENJOY! ~

I have finally accepted the fact that I am in love with the color pink. I swear my closet is starting to fill up with light colors and I'm loving it! I blame all my brides for this obsession... Every single bride clients I had, they picked the color 'pink' 'old rose' and 'rose gold' as their wedding theme. Being surrounded by all these pink shades in the form of fabrics, ribbons, laces and trimmings must have influenced my new found love for them.