Although Vietnam International Fashion Week (VIFW) passed almost 4 months ago, I don't think the heat of the biggest fashion week in the country has gone down ever since. Not even a little bit. It was my second time attending #VIFW. The first time was in October last year.

I still remember very clearly how excited and nervous I was to think of attending the very first fashion week in my motherland. It was more nerve-wracking than New York Fashion Week. I didn't know if I could blend in well with the fashion industry in Vietnam as I've been away from home for too long. I knew no one there except for Trang Le, the busiest woman who founded the fashion week. But things went well in the end and I was so glad that I made a decision to attend this event at the last minute.

This year, I was not only a show-goer but also a contributor to a successful fashion week. It was my honor to be given an opportunity to lead their social media channels. Being the face behind VIFW's online images is challenging and fulfilling at the same time. It requires me to come up with relevant, engaging, and interesting content as fast as possible from 9am to 1am every day. Ironically, it took me only 5 minutes to compose an English paragraph, but 30 minutes to create a Vietnamese one. I hope I didn't sound silly after all and you enjoyed following the #VIFW journey with us on Facebook & Instagram.

On the opening night of VIFW, I wanted to make a bold statement so I chose this ASOS sequin colorful jumpsuit. It was the brightest and loudest outfit I've worn to date and to be completely honest, it wasn't my favorite choice. But guess what? Everyone I met that night loved my outfit including Harper's Bazaar Vietnam, SaoStar, Kenh14, and a few others.

Perhaps, a striking outfit can speak louder than any whistle to get everyone's attention. I learned that on this trip.

THE SHOW

Vietnamese fashion designer, Nguyen Cong Tri opened VIFW with his Haute Couture collection called "Lua" aka Paddy, featuring 41 looks in total. His collection inspired by a paddy field and Lanh My A, a rare traditional fabric in Southern Vietnam.  

My favorite look from his collection! 

Fashion designer Joe Chia from Malaysia presented his "Chapter 9" collection on the first day of VIFW. If you love monochromatic style, you'll be obsessed with his designs. 

Closing day 1 of VIFW was a special collaborative collection between Harper's Bazaar Vietnam with Vietnamese- Amercian designer Cory Tran. 

Besides Cory Tran's East-meet-West collection, the appearance of Victoria's Secret's model Sessilee Lopez on the runway was truly a highlight of his entire show. 

Day 1 of VIFW ended with a bang. But wait until you see day 2, 3 and 4. 

I shall be back! 

Thank you so much for reading! 

Photos by Street by Chanh, Navian Photography, Harper's Bazaar Vietnam, Kenh14, SaoStar. 

::Outfit::

ASOS sequin jumpsuit (old)

Salvatore Ferragamo handbag

Alexander McQueen sunglass

Asos choker

Zara shoes- Similar here 

Although I spent two weeks in San Francisco, I actually had very little time to be a tourist. I was busy with work from Monday to Friday and by the time I came back to the hotel, the clock stroke 10 pm or 11 pm earliest. It turned out that I only had 2 weekends to explore San Francisco as much as I could.

I shared my first weekend in the Bay Area in this blog post, so here goes the second one, including a travel video and a recommended list of what to do in San Francisco.

On Saturday morning, my friend Rebecca and I woke up early as we had a long day ahead. We planned to rent a bike and ride across the Golden Gate bridge, took some photos at this iconic location so we can cross it off our bucket list. Our plan was ruined completely as stormy rain approached the city. The wind was so strong that it was incredibly hard to walk against it, let alone riding a bike across the bridge. Unless we wanted to be blown off the bridge, we'd better off staying inside the building. That stormy sky in the photo above proves my point.

A healthy lifestyle plan became a shopping plan instead. What can you expect? Right?

We went to the Ferry Building Market Place for brunch and had a quick tour of this famous farmers market. It is the center of a transit hub that connects all of San Francisco's neighborhoods and the surrounding bay communities. If you love cooking and food as much as my friend, Rebecca does, you'll absolutely love this place.


A quiet walk on Saturday morning

San Francisco looked beautiful after the rain.

It wasn't difficult at all to find our favorite mall, Nordstrom. In fact, all of my favorite stores are in one place, standing right next to each other. These places that my wallet doesn't love so much, but I do.

Sipping my favorite Green tea latte while waiting for the rain to stop

That's how Starbucks spelled my name. Good job!

Next morning, we were luckier as the sun came out and the sky was clear. We headed to Alcatraz Island as planned.

Alcatraz Island, also known as "The Rock" is one of the most popular tourist attractions in San Francisco. From the 1934 until 1963, Alcatraz was America's premier maximum-security prison, the final stop for the nation's most incorrigible prisoners. Today, Alcatraz is a place of contradictions, with a grim past and an enduring future as one of San Francisco's most prominent landmarks and tourist attractions. You can view more on my travel diary video. The view from the top is amazing.

When in San Francisco, you'd better eat and drink like the locals. There were so many beautiful restaurants, wine bars, and clubs around town that my friends brought me to.

Girl's night out at West Coast Wine. Cheese 

San Francisco is beautiful regardless what time of the day

to the early morning.

On the last day in San Francisco, we had a few hours to explore the city before heading to the airport. There was nothing I wanted to do other than visiting the Lombard Street, the world's most crooked street. 

Crossing the street in style. Check!

It took me a little bit longer time than expected to put this San Francisco travel diary post together as I have so many photos to share and a video (still in the making) to publish. Finally, here is a blog entry that is worth waiting for. Instead of writing about my itinerary spontaneously like I used to, I'll try to summarize the entire trip and make it a list of recommendations, so if you are visiting the Bay area for the first time, you know what to do in San Francisco. 

First thing first, an iconic airplane window view. Leaving Singapore during sunrise and catching the next flight to San Francisco during sunset, I couldn't ask for a better time to fly. After a 7 hour flight, we landed safely in Narita (Tokyo). 

We flew United Airlines. Although the flights were quite pleasant, the food didn't impress me much. The portion was small and the food quality was just average. Nonetheless, I had a smooth and comfortable flight and that's all that matters. 

Arrived at San Francisco on Sunday morning, my friend and I had time to settle down and had a good rest before we started exploring the Bay area. First stop, Fisherman's Wharf of San Francisco.

Fisherman's Wharf is a must-visit place whenever you are in San Francisco. It offers a wide range of land, sea, and air activities such as: San Francisco bay boat cruises, seaplane rides, or bay city bikes. My friend suggested me to try the famous clam chowder so I did. I ordered the seafood spaghetti as my main course and by the time I finished the clam chowder, I was already full. The food was so fresh, so tasty and so much that no matter how much I tried to eat, I couldn't finish it all. 

To cut the long story short, the first thing you should do when you visit Fisherman's Wharf is have the clam chowder and seafood spaghetti. 

The second thing is watching the sunset at the Pier. Trust me, it will blow your mind. 

From this sunset view on the street 

to this view at the Pier 

and the cotton candy sunset that I shared in this blog entry, everything will make your heart sing. 

When the tummy was happy (and full), my eyes started "demanding" for a little rest. Pier2620Hotels knew how important a good sleep is, they put me in a big room with a spacious bed. The rest was a history. 

Next morning, we headed to our office after a good night's sleep. The weather was pretty chilly in the morning (Spring time), but when the sun came out, everything was looking at its best. The sky was blue, the air was crisp, and the flowers were blossoming. In my To-do list, I wrote "Visit The Presidio of San Francisco". Little did I know, I did not only visit this beautiful place, but I came here to work every day when I was there. 

I mean, how lucky could it be for us to call this place our office playground? 

Having a short walk to our lunch place. 

Our office window view. 

Said "Hi" to this little guy, Yoda everyday when I was there. 

Our bright and beautiful canteen area. 

With my awesome team on the first day at work. 

I missed this Vietnamese beef noodle soup. 

And here is the scenic walk around our office in The Presidio of San Francisco. 

If you still don't want to visit this place after seeing those photos, I don't know what else to recommend you. 

Perhaps, you'll find something interesting in my next blog post. For now, thank you for being so patient and following along my journey.