​Since the beginning of time, and I’m referring to BagLady Basics time, my friends and fellow designers have been advising and encouraging me to be the face of my brand. They suggested that I model my own clothes, and share more of my life, and myself in order to form a better connection with my followers and clients. 
 
Since the beginning of time, I’ve ignored most of their advice. Not because I didn’t agree with them or thought that their advice wasn’t valid, but just because I love being the “girl in the background”.  I absolutely enjoy working behind the scenes.

​I am about to embark on another transition in my life, and lets just say that without constant rumination on life’s lessons, I’d probably be stressed the fuck out. But life has taught me to chill…

​Name: Hélène Yon
Current City: Seoul, South Korea
Occupation: Industrial Product Development Manager at a top Cosmetics Company

How would you describe your style? 
​Casual, feminine and elegant.

​You live and you learn, that’s how the saying goes, and I am sure that you can somehow attest to the truth of that statement. It’s simple, and indeed true! I truly believe that sometimes life happens to us to help us become better people.
 
Life has “happened” to me a couple times, and I have grown in unimaginable ways because of these “happenings”.
 
My mom always referred to them as “muscles”. She’d tell me that the challenges I faced were helping me to build mental muscles, and that I would in turn become stronger. 

Name: Anya Ayoung Chee
Current City: Port-of-Spain, Trinidad
Occupation: Fashion Designer, Entrepreneur, Activist

I had a great time in HCMC, and would love for you to have a greater time than I did (if you plan on visiting). I hope that these tips and tricks would help you do so! 

​“I love it here!” I exclaimed. And with a big grin on my face, I literally jumped in the air (I do that a lot).

I felt like a kid in a candy store. Saigon was my candy store, and there were endless surprises in this city; yummy, beautiful, artistic, and kindhearted surprises waited for me down every alley and around every corner. 

What made my experience in Saigon even more delightful was the fact that I didn’t have any expectations for the trip. Ho Chi Minh hadn’t been a city I’d wanted to visit and only booked a ticket there because it was cheap and sunny. It came as a great surprise how amazing of a city Ho Chi Minh is. 

That's the question I've been asking myself recently!

First of all, I have a confession; I don’t currently own a selfie-stick as I keep breaking them, but for the most part, I’m a “solo travel girl”, and being solo goes far beyond travel.
 
I generally do a lot by myself as I just enjoy my own company. However, over the past few years (with all this growth and all), I have been putting in effort into being more social and engaging in more group activities. Surprisingly being “Social Shanya” is also fun.

I enjoyed my short stint in Palawan. It started off a bit dismal, but the sun came out and turned things around. It was time to head to Boracay! Getting there was an adventure in itself.   I had to take another 5-hour bus ride to back Puerto Princesa, where I’d catch my flight to Manila, then to Boracay.
 
I booked a van ride from El Nido to PPS airport, and was instructed to be ready at 6:00am. Long story short, the van came at 5:30am, unbeknownst to me and I stood there waiting for an hour. I managed to get another van and headed to what I thought would be the airport in torrential rain. I had some hours till my flight, so I sat unbothered for most of my ride. Then we got into Puerto Princesa town...

"I want to spend NYE shitfaced on a beach.” Those were my literal words for the past two years and I was determined to make it happen for NYE 2017! My year had been amazing- best year ever, and I needed to end it on the highest note possible.
 
I didn’t end up shitfaced, but did welcome 2018 watching fireworks (under an umbrella) on Boracay’s famous/infamous White Beach!
​
I chose the Philippines as my scene of the crime, as it had been on my “go as soon as I get the chance” list for a very long time. It took me a while to get there as I was just overwhelmed by the vast number of islands that I could have chosen to visit. The Philippines is made up of  7641 islands and counting! SO! How does one decide on which islands to visit?! I'm not sure I know the answer to that...

​I am that girl that screenshots beautiful places that I see on my Instagram feed, and then promise myself to make it there one day. The Puerto Princesa underground river/cave in Palawan was one of those first pictures, and was the main reason why I chose Palawan as one of my two destinations in the Philippines. I also decided to head to Boracay because I wanted a vibesy NYE, and Boracay is synonymous with vibes, crazy parties and known for its dreamy White Beach!
 
I spent 14 days in the Philippines, and this is how it went down…