The petite Donna, though diminutive in size and has recently given birth to a bouncing baby boy, emmagem discovered this gentle lady to be gigantic in talent and big on fashion philosophy. You would not expect this soft spoken lady to be dressing the power women of today. But that is whom she designs for. She grimaces that a lot of time whenever her customers walk in and would see the filmy materials and described her clothes as feminine and that makes her cringe.

Her design philosophy , is about ying and yang, mixing hard fabric and soft together, offbeat colors like moss green, grape color which she dyes herself sometimes for the just right effect, filmy and see though sexy perhaps, but weak and girlish , no. Her ideal of a woman is feminine as reflected in the soft fabrics that she uses but with a twist, an underlying strength, because she mixes it with knit top or satin combination or even denim.  She designs for women who dare to make their own decisions, is financially independent and doesn’t keep turning to their men for approval and permission.

Cheekily, I ask her why this abhorrent for the “weak “ women” and  if she herself is like that with her husband or is she merely designing for the ideal of a woman? After some serious consideration, she said that she is like that although as a respect to the man she is married to, she consults him on his opinion but will make the decision herself.

To the question on how women dresses up today, according to her, most women and even young girls are not forward in their dressing ideas, conventional clothes still sell. She says that not many clients actually appreciate the aesthetic touches that most designers try to put in. There is an inner struggle still between wanting to stand out yet not be too different. So, they always go for safe and end up at the crossroads.

So, at her boutique, where she specializes in ready- to-wear cocktail and evening dresses, she gives consultations from top to toe, but most importantly, matching the outfit to the event  and location itself. It is so important to not be overdressed or underdressed especially if attending a formal company function.  We observed that most Malaysian corporate ladies, don’t really invest in cocktail dresses and usually ,will just wear a simple  black dress then do an “am to pm”  adjustment like taking off the jacket or just accessorizing  for  a cocktail event or if they don’t have anything suitable they would rather not go at all. Hey girls, that won’t do, because you have to be in the loop and be suitably sociable to show your interpersonal skills, especially if you are aiming for that promotion. Best way, to do be confident of yourself is to know that you are dressed just right for the occasion and looking good.

Visit her website at  www.donnachew.com  for a FREE personal consultation just for that special event.

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