It Started with Some Earrings

And a pair of barrettes

It started quietly.

With a few pairs of earrings.

Nothing dramatic or loud.

No grand declarations.
Nothing that felt like a turning point at the time.

Just something I picked up during a visit to Museo Kordilyera in Baguio—
handmade pieces, woven from stories I didn’t fully understand yet,
but somehow felt.

I wore them every now and then.
Not out of intention.
Just because they were there.

But something had already shifted.

Not in how I dressed—
but in how I started to see what I was wearing.

I became brand conscious.

Not how the world perceives that term.

But I was becoming conscious that I was wearing too many brands.

Too much fast fashion.

I never understood how a shirt with a heart with eyes on it could cost Php5,000 (about $82).

(I’m not throwing shade at you if you like wearing expensive, branded things. You do you! 😊 This is my story.)

But as an artist and creator,

I do understand the hard work and creativity that goes into every artisanal piece.

And I understand that those should be rewarded.

Looking back, I see it now.

Those small pieces weren’t just accessories.

They were a beginning.

A quiet pull toward something more grounded.

More intentional.

More mine.

And when the inabel skirt came into my life,

it didn’t feel like a new choice—

It felt like a continuation.

Like something I had already started…

and was finally ready to step into.

Because I’m realizing now—

I don’t just want beautiful things.

I want pieces that mean something.

And this?

This is where that shift begins.

—-

With elegance and quiet fire,
Lady E

Founder, Glow by Lady E
An editorial space for stories, art, and intentional living

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