“The most courageous act is still to think for yourself. Aloud.” - Coco Chanel


Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Hola weekend, you sure were long!

For some people, the Thanksgiving weekend marked three whole days of rest and family time. Sadly, I had to work. Sure, it was tiring and kinda stressful but it was hella fun too! My lovely friends tagged along with me to be my trusty helpmates! For three whole days I was going to and from the Makati/Pasig area for a feature I'm doing and they came along for the ride.

Leng and Ron — they're one of my favorite couples.

Krista — she's one of my oldest kabarkadas, since grade 5!

Ooh, and I got to do my first pull out ever. Fuuuunn. It was fun pretending I was one of those girls who regularly go on a shopping spree with a couple of shopping bags to show for it at the end of the day. Sadly I had to return my lovelies in three days. Boo. But I think I might end up buying a couple. Tee hee. 

Of course, we couldn't pass up the wonderful south extravaganza that is the St. James bazaar. Was it just us or is this year's bazaar the most packed ever?! I guess that's what you get when you roll a long weekend and a payday weekend in one. Whew, by the end of the day our feet were killing us. But we came away with some great finds! So all's well.

Imma put all the outfits I wore for the three days here coz I'm too lazy to put them in different posts. Sooooo, here's what I wore:

Day 1:




Striped dress: Heritage 1981 by Forever 21 | Embellished flats: random Bangkok bazaar | 
Quilted doctor's bag: Mango | Watch: Guess | Bracelets: random bazaar finds | 
Clay flower earrings: my mom's

Day 2:





Poncho: bazaar find | denim shorts: bazaar find | 
T-strap wedges : Nine West | Quilted doctor's bag: Mango
Necklace: Valera by Freeway Art | Jeweled cuff: Forever 21 | Tiger ring: Avon

Day 3:






Black V-neck shirt: bazaar find | Harem pants: thrifted | Woven belt: gifted | Black flats: SM Dept. Store |
Tiger ring: Avon | Rice grain ring : bazaar find | Bejeweled gold cuff: bazaar find

So that's what I did on this wonderfully long and exceptionally tiring weekend. 

Side note: It's almost Christmas!

Lovely poinsettias at the Salcedo Market

Our glowing Christmas tree, officially lighted last night.

Can't wait for the parties and get-togethers to start filling my calendar.:)

Friday, November 26, 2010

SPIT it out

After weeks of invites from Jana, we were finally able to catch the improv comedy group SPIT (Silly People's Improv Theater). They're our version of the American show Whose Line Is It Anyway and was brought to life by Yakult Okay Ka Ba Tiyan endorser Gabe Mercado. To be fair, the group was really funny. Loved their skits/games. And my gosh, they seemed to know everything! As in encyclopedic knowledge at work, seriously! I think it's safe to say that our group enjoyed the show. It was worth braving the horrendous Makati traffic for.

Image via Teresa Barrozo's Flickr

If you wanna catch them in action, they'll be performing in Bonifacio High Street on December 4 in the open space in front of Krispy Kreme. With a landmark like that, I'm sure you'll know where it is. Krispy Kreme yum! They'll also be performing again at Hexagon, RCBC in January 2011.

Here's what I wore to the show:





Lace sheer top: Topshop | Purple sundress: F&H | Quilted doctor's bag: Mango | 
Ankle strap heels: Charles & Keith | Capiz-inspired bangles: H&M | 
Plastic bracelet: Valera by Freeway Art

Let's add a hat! 


Straw fedora: H&M

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Off to work with some play on the side

As I've mentioned in my previous post, our dress code at work is fasyon casual. I thought I'd show you guys how I usually dress for work:




Cotton long sleeved top: Zara | White eyelet skirt: Topshop | Turquoise fringed sandals: Schu |
Bronze cameo-inspired locket: gifted | Cross necklace: Jerusalem | 
Watch: Fossil | UP Baller ID: gifted | Beaded bracelet: bazaar find

On a side note, isn't our little kitty so cute? Her mom left her in our backyard so we adopted her. We named her Ping Ping out of sheer love for cuteness.



Oh and inspired by Karl of Inkarlcerating's recent blog post, I decided to contact the monster shoe maker too. Too bad the Skull heels that I wanted are not set for production any time soon. Kermit offered me the Heel less  extravaganza instead. So, now I'm in a pickle: should I get them for Christmas? In leather too! Boo, the woos of a non-moolah endowed.

It's lovely how our own designers are bringing the world to our shores. See the similarity?

Heel less

Olivier Theyskens for Nina Ricci Fall '09
Image via pearlsandpoison.buzznet.com

Kermit Tesoro Holiday '10


Bone Heels

DSquared Finger Bone booties Fall '10
Image via myfashioncents.com

Kermit Tesoro Holiday '10 Skull heels
 (done in fabric)

Image via Lookbook.nu

 Skull heels (done in car interior material)
Image via Kermit Tesoro's Facebook page

Personally, I would love to get my hands on either Kermit's or DSquared's Bone/Skull heels. I'd love to wear them for my graduation. I'm already in the talks of having my dress made by a fellow blogger. The Bone heels would just be the perfect icing on my proverbial cake. Well, a girl can dream!

Monday, November 22, 2010

Job hunting for the holidays

A one-day work week just isn't cutting it for me. So I'm looking for more work to fill up my otherwise freewheeling week. Got a callback from one of the biggest publishing firms in the country. Clue: they're my favorite. Here's what I wore:





Navy cotton blazer: Seventy Seven | Zebra print top: Notations | Trousers: Random Bangkok bazaar |
 Nude pumps: shoecrazeee.multiply.com | Capiz bracelet: gifted | Quilted doctor's bag: Mango | 
Floral locket watch: gifted | Cross necklace: Jerusalem

Given that at work our dress code is fasyon casual, I jump at every excuse to dress up. What do you think of my version of corporate dressing? Would you hire me?

I treated myself to a mani/pedi after at my favorite nail salon: Get Polished. Got fuschia nails called Samba by Orly - my favorite nail polish brand. O.P.I. and China Glaze are close runners-up. Aren't they lovely?



Speaking of work, I was able to catch the Shangri-La Plaza holiday 2010 collection fashion show a few weeks back. It was nothing really new and the clothes could be for any season, well except for the coats, but they were still beautiful. Here are my favorites:

MANGO
Black + sheer + paisley + shimmer 

CROSSINGS
epaulettes + leather-like piping + red

Styled by MEGA for the PHILIPPINE RED CROSS
red + woven jacket details 
Styled by MEGA for the PHILIPPINE RED CROSS
Strong shoulders + feathers + military

RUSTAN'S
lace + bodycon

TOPSHOP
leather vest + paint splatter

TOUGH JEANSMITH
gray + leather

WAREHOUSE
gray + paisley + layers + slouchy silhouette

ZARA
leopard print + bodycon + leather-like detail

I'm such a sucker for interesting details. Don't you just love how a different print or color or detail or silhouette can amp up an otherwise blah outfit? Holiday dressing is just love. It's really the perfect time to layer on different trends and no one can say anything about it. Once again, I wish we had colder temperatures so that layering won't be such a death-defying feat. I can't bust out my jackets (I'm obsessed with them!) coz even air conditioning doesn't stand a chance against the tropical heat and humidity. I would just love to have the excuse to bust out a trenchcoat. *Sigh*

Oh and on a giddy note: I'm getting a Canon G-12! Although it's not set to arrive 'til January I am beyond ecstatic. Finally, a decent camera! *shivers in joyful expectation*





Shangri-La Plaza holiday 2010 collection photos c/o PAULA RIVERA and MAIA MELENCIO of Buensalido & Associates Public Relations.

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Prints, please?

We went to Friday's on a Friday! My college friends and I had a get-together to hangout with our balikbayan (although she's here so often she may not qualify to be called such, but technically she is) kabarkada Gianna. Being cooped up all day in the house got me bouncing off the walls. And what do you know, my clothes reflected it!










Zebra print top: Notations | Paint splatter skirt: Random Bangkok street bazaar | 
Pony hair and leather harness boots: fivebyfiveph.multiply.com | 
Pink raindrop bear necklace: online store | White watch: Bench | 
Neon pink bracelet: Cotton On | Love connector ring: Forever 21

I love how the prints explode! Plus add the pops of color and I was all revved up for the night! I think, more than anything, what makes print mixing work are two things: (1) confidence; and (2) proportion. Coz let's face it, if you're not really confident that what you're wearing works then it really won't work regardless of brand and 'it' factor. Also, the number one rule of good dressing (well, at least for me) is good proportion. If you have that down pat, then you're good to go. But one does not work without the other, so better bring them both along for the ride. So that's my formula: confidence + GOOD proportion = smashing outfit. Well, at least that's the core of dressing for 'lil ol' me.

Anyhoo, back to our get-together. We got to talking about our yearly Christmas/New Year party. Since last year, we've been assigning a theme. Last year, it was red, black and gold. This year it's all colors. We got assigned colors. And I picked NEON. As in it has to be head-to-toe neon. Good thing though, no color restriction. I love a good challenge! Any suggestions? Lemme know!:)



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