Quirky 50's

Quite a quirky look for a comeback post don't you think? That is if you've even noticed that I haven't blogged for about 2 months. Even this look, I'm afraid to say, is a backlog. Still better than nothing, right? The direction I was heading for this was reminiscent of the quirky 50's laundry/resort wear look, made modern by itty-bitty distressed denim shorts and a contemporary print.

Of course, such an outfit required an equally fun occasion to wear this to. A mini vacation with my boyfriend seemed perfect for this. More specifically, in time for Labor Day weekend. Man, this just shows how old this post is though! Haha. No matter. Every outfit I post here is like an entry to a diary anyway.

top- Forever 21
shorts- Cotton On
leather sneaks- Forever 21
headband- Forever 21

XO.

The Little White Dress

The LBD is indeed an essential in every girl's closet but there's also the LWD which I think is given little appreciation. After all, wearing white has proven to be quite challenging to put on while managing to look pristine the whole day. Nevertheless, it's just as important and effortlessly stylish as its black counterpart. 

dress- Forever 21
denim jacket- Forever 21
shoes- from Hong Kong

XO.

Emerald City

Dressing in theme for much awaited movies and stage plays is so fun and exciting for me. This is one of the few times I get to expose my geekery for something and use fashion to show it. Last time I did was for Harry Potter, I think. The event for this one was Wicked the musical staged at the CCP in Manila which offered me this great backdrop for this outfit. Quite ironic to shoot this look near the water since the Wicked Witch of the West, Elphaba, fears water as it's the cause of her doom. But that bit of weird coincidence was a fun inside joke in my head. 

It was very nice to see that a lot of people also dressed in theme. What was real funny for me though was noticing a bunch of guys wearing pea green shirts who were smiling and looking amused at my green skirt as I lined up for the entrance. I guess they found a fellow geek in me haha. My outfit was actually inspired by Elphie's look when they went to Emerald City. My bowler hat served as the Witch's black pointy hat, spherical sunglasses that every Ozians wore at the city, black crop top to signify her black frock and of course my skirt that matched her green-colored skin! 

My boyfriend even joked how I could've won best costume of the day if there was indeed one. Haha. #commitment

crop top, shoes- Forever 21
bowler hat- H&M
skirt- vintage from the 90's (mom's)

XO.

Color

Before the year ends let me post a look that in my opinion is perfect for all the festivities happening around us now. Quite frankly I didn't have Christmas in mind when I put together this look. My inspirations though were nothing short of fun and color that's for sure. Upon picking up this skirt, an onslaught of vivid images of anything Latin America coursed through my mind. Cuban lady dancers wearing ruffle-y rich-colored skirts and headwraps. Chunky gold jewelries that clinked and clanked. Fruit baskets and headdresses. The feathered costumes found at the Carnaval in Rio. Of course, the resulting outfit wasn't a literal and direct translation. I subdued all the excitement by pairing the skirt with black and finished it off with gold accents. As you might have observed I am quite cerebral when it comes to dressing up. Nothing quite compares to the thrill of interpreting inspiration through fashion for me. It's like having an inside joke for myself. :)

crop top- Forever 21
necklace- Forever 21
shoes- Scarlet for Zalora
skirt- Landmark

 XO.

Panels

"You seem to be wearing just tank tops lately", that's what my boyfriend noticed about my style choices recently. Very keen my dear. I'm guessing it has something to do with feeling kind of lame because it's that time of the month. Need I say more, really? Let's all be thankful I'm not just lounging around in sweatpants. Haha! Quite fascinating how hormones also play a huge part in our way of dressing. Logical though and not improbable as it directly affects our moods which consequently, affects the way we express ourselves. 

The theme for today's outfit post is, unintentionally, panels. You can see it on my leggings and on my bag. This type of detailing is subtle but it makes a flat monochromatic attire look more interesting. The sheen from the patent and leather somehow go well with my silver accessories too, don't you think? This was my outfit when I went to see Sarah Geronimo's (a local singer/actress) concert last night hence it was also practical that I wore something comfortable and concert-friendly. 

tank top and leggings- Forever 21
shoes- Scarlet for Zalora
bag- Kate Spade

XO.

Flora

Nothing quite like a good pair of floral printed shorts (in this season's hottest cut--the origami of course!) to spruce up your wardrobe. This print though is quite different from my usual. For one, it reminds me of those resortwear graphics without bordering on garish. What I also find nice about this is that by being in this print, this trendy skort can still remain usable even when it has finally run its course because floral is practically timeless. Even when this particular style of skirt/shorts is no longer trendy, you could still put it to good use by wearing it to the beach for instance! In my recent browsing of Zalora's runway report for their Ezra line, it was shown there how much of a staple in women's closet this print is! Because really, what would scream girly/feminine better than flower power? 

As for what event I wore this to...this was my outfit when I went to see Lisa Macuja-Elizalde's last ballet performance of La Bayadere. It was such a fantastic experience to have watched it for the first and last time. You can view some photos that I took on my instagram! This get-up was perfect for such an art-filled event, I must say. 

top- Bench
skirt- random brand
shoes- Gibi
necklace and sunnies- Forever 21

XO.

By The Cafe

You know how some people have this love-hate relationship with junk food/desserts/whatever-their-guilty-pleasures are? Well, mine's coffee/tea. Just last week I was sent to the ER for hyperventilating and my doctor advised me to avoid anything that has caffeine seeing that I stress over things too much and don't handle uppers well. It's not the first time I've been told this and I obediently let a whole year pass me by without it but I gradually eased it back in my system again last year. Now though I'm back to abandoning coffee and specifically my latest addiction: milk tea. I'm a late convert, you see. 

It's quite funny how this whole post is so ironic now. :)

crop top and skirt- Forever 21
stockings- random
shoes- S&H
bag- Kate Spade

XO.

Tie Up

I guess this get-up didn't help in making me look approachable and friendly. My default *sungit* face went well with it. Completed the look, I must say. Don't hesitate to be friends with me though 'cos I am nothing like my facial expression (Oh keep quiet Mark I can hear you protesting from your office!). *laughs* 

The focus of this outfit was obviously the tied up button down around my waist. I just wore an all black ensemble to make the red accents pop. Et voila, an automatic/instant 90's grunge look. What really went on in my mind during the time I was dressing up for that day was I needed to at least partly conceal my ant-bite marks behind my thighs. So that was me hitting two birds with one stone, right? Fashion and function. What do you think? #medyobadgirl signing out hahaha ;)

flannel shirt- Forever 21
tank top- SM GTW
leather skirt- WAGW
shoes- S&H

XO.

Loving You Is Red

Today is my mom's birthday and I wore this earlier to her lunch celebration. For some reason I would always wear red on birthdays even though we don't normally follow Chinese traditions in my family. It's just something I picked up I guess when I was young when my family would tell stories about our Chinese relatives. Anyway I feel weird just talking about it since my siblings and I have about 1/8 of Chinese blood running in our veins only. Haha! I just noticed that it's become an unconscious yet natural move to wear red for me. A couple of blog posts away I also sported red on my boyfriend's birthday and also a gown in this shade on my debut. I think it's perfect and apt for celebrations. I'm also biased because it's my favorite color---if it isn't very telling yet, what with my blog title and all. :)

tank top- Forever 21
skirt- Forever 21
cardigan- Forever 21
ribbon necklace turned brooch- Flatterbuy
shoes- Celine
bag- Coach

XO.

Casual Sophisticate

I had been such a busy bee. So much so that for the month of August I got to publish 2 blog entries only! I don't think that has ever happened to me before until now. Forgive me. I am back to blogging now though as I had just finished with my first term as a *legit* fashion design student. Gosh. I am over the moon.

Now, now, I feel like my writing has gone rusty! Please bear with my stunted thoughts and fragmented writing! For sure I'll get my groove back soon.

Here's an outfit that I wore to a celebratory date with my main man at our new favorite wine place, Terry's at The Podium! I went for a pencil skirt because my thighs are still blemished and currently healing from ant-bites. Curse them ants. The itching is just pure torture! I was just being a sweet girl. Get it? Sweet and...ants? Alright, I'll stop. Haha! Since I didn't wanna go the prim and proper route like I did before, I made it look casual by pairing my skirt with a simple t-shirt and wedge sneakers. The result was a fresh and interesting contrast of casual and sophisticated. What do you think?

top- random brand
skirt- Forever 21
sneaks- S&H
bag- Kenneth Cole

XO.

The Sweetheart

I recall telling our household help Ate Gina, one busy morning when I was rummaging through my cabinet, that I needed more dresses in my life. Being someone who just recently overcame her insecurities about her legs, I mostly have jeans and not enough delicate dresses in my closet. At that particular moment though, I wanted to just slip on a one piece garment because I wanted an easy and no-brainer look! Alas, the only dresses that I found were just too formal-looking, specifically bought for gatherings and special events. I left wearing a complicated outfit that day. 

When I saw this dress during one of my online scours, I thought it looked really pretty, young, loud and crazy. I'm usually safe when it comes to my purchases---making sure I can wear and style it in various ways on different occasions---so naturally my first instinct was to close that tab and look elsewhere. But then a voice in my head (I'm not schizo don't worry) challenged me to step out of my comfort zone and go for something that I won't normally buy for myself. This was the dress that I chose. The sweetheart neckline and cut of the dress looked sweet, dainty, and classic but because the print was practically screaming in your face, it became a little less boring. It somehow reminded me of Katy Perry too and 3 weeks before this purchase I just recently watched her movie on HBO so I guess I was also influenced by that in some way. 

dress- Apartment 8

belt and necklace- Forever 21

shoes and bag- Mom's

 XO.

Prison Break

This would be odd but my inspiration for this outfit is a jail cell. The stripes would be the prison bars, the gold chainlink necklace would be the binding chains, and the tattered shirt symbolizes the unglamorous living conditions. And if I were to complete this "fantasy"; I would have gotten out of prison---with my crime being a "shopping addict" (as imprinted on my shirt)---in this outfit and equipped with a deadly weapon that came in the form of my spiked platforms. What do you think?

DIY shirt- Mom's
pencil skirt- random brand
shoes- Oasap
bag- Furla
shades, necklace, earrings, neon yellow bandeau- Forever 21
watch- Guess
bracelets- Divi

 XO.

I Want Candy

This cropped sweatshirt had been sitting in my closet for a year. My boyfriend gave this to me as his first monthsary gift to me last July and I only got to wear it now. Mark was getting tampo that maybe I didn't like it saying that by the time I'd finally don it, the world has spouted tons of crop tops already. What do you know, he's damn right. The crop top trend is in its full swing now. This whole time I was just looking for the perfect garments (a specific cut/style to my leather skirt) and accessories (chunky gold chainlink necklace which was not so readily available before) to go with it to complete the image in my head. It's not surprising at all that it takes me months/years to wear an outfit especially if I had envisioned it in a certain way. There is no way for me to just wear it out the first time styled in another look. This outfit from before took me two years to complete (click that link why don't ya). My stubbornness, being idealistic and a perfectionist (throw in a lil bit of OC) show so much through this.

crop shirt, skirt, necklace, sunnies- Forever 21
shoes- Gibi
bag- Kenneth Cole

XO.