What if?

Doesn’t that question haunt even the happiest of people? Those people who seem to have no regrets — risk takers, dream chasers, the kind of people we all secretly and some not-so-secretly wish we could be.

What if we took a shot. What if we took a different path. Different job. Different relationship. Different city. Different continent. What if we had the guts to look at life, take it by the horns, and just jump in. We’d probably still have what ifs. But they may not be as nagging. That’s what I love about life. Imagine an infinite number of universes all hinged on the different decisions you make where everything can change in an instant and everything hangs on a second. Imagine the power each second holds.

A couple of weeks ago we entered the realm of unlimited possibilities when we were whisked away on a trip to Laguna by my all-time favorite accessory brand, Parfois. As usual, we were fed copious amounts of food—starting on the ride over up until the moment we left.

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When we got to the venue, we were immediately whisked right into our what ifs— our potential alternate realities. The set up of the event itself was beautiful. An empty pool drained of water and instead filled with the new goodies from Parfois’ new SS17 collection, Nowhere Can Be Somewhere. Think: bags, shoes, sunglasses, and heaps of cute and trendy accessories inspired by nature. A delicate mix of minimalist and romantic pieces that draw inspiration from the 50s, 60s, and the 70s, the collection boasts of a bevy of materials and looks from denim to patchwork, quilts to metallics, and straw to raffia.

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Susana Coerver, who flew in from the Parfois HQ in Portugal, introduced the collection to us and talked a little bit about her own inspiring what if— a dream she then pursued much like the rest of the people in that group. Not all events require audience participation but Parfois’ events are always intimate and we did talk a little bit about ourselves and chatted with friends we haven’t seen in a long time. We were then treated to a sumptuous seven-course meal prepared by The Gypsy Chef. Each dish was both beautiful and photographable. From experience, Parfois tends to come up with interesting activities throughout usually starting with something edible—which really is the only way to start. Our first for the day involved having to design our own deconstructed pavlova masterpieces— a task we took seriously.

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In between eating and heading on to the next activity, we found our way to the trenches of the empty pool ogling the items and trying on the pieces that caught our eye. My personal favorites included tiered straw earrings, pineapple studs, gold insect-studded slip-ons, and a red purse covered in a blanket of floral applique.

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We then headed to my favorite part of the day—when we had to draw our self-portraits. I was lucky enough to be seated at a table with such artistic people that I remember having looked quite a few times over at their work and having felt a little competitive. I also spent an absurd amount of time trying to blend the pastels on my work and ended up really getting my hands dirty.

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We then huddled in a group so that the expert could discuss our work one by one and, lo and behold, her prognosis on how we saw ourselves were pretty accurate. She analysed the colors that we used, the shapes, down to the little intricacies of the features. It was actually a really cool exercise and I would definitely recommend it for a fun day of trying to be creative.

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I always, always love whatever new collection Parfois offers. I’m in that store almost every two weeks just checking out new items in stock. But what I especially like about this particular launch is that aside from the fact that the pieces are objectively dope, the story behind the collection resonates with me. “PARFOIS introduces a collection created with adventurous, free women in mind, women who live every moment, enjoy every moment, embrace change as if it were an old friend, and are always ready for the unexpected. A true declaration of independence that is up to each one of us.”

And that, my friends, is such a beautiful way to capture the heart of the modern woman, don’t you think?

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