Miranda-Inspired

As I analyze this #ootd, I couldn’t help but realize how eclectic this casual look was – Breton stripes, distressed jean jacket, PVC skirt and red MJ-like shoes. For someone who’s into coordinating pieces like me, you can easily tell that I wouldn’t come up with this idea of my own accord. Credit where is due, this is actually a borrowed look from the style maven Miranda Kerr. The original look is in the photo below. All I had to do though  was to improvise the pleated skirts since I don’t have it. The PVC fared well I suppose.

Oh Miranda Kerr. What a maverick! I have bookmarked and came up with a lot of her styles for the last year. Whether simply doing her errands or going to the airport, she never fails to supply me with covetable style. Not to mention, her always ready sweet smile for the paps and her cutest accessory, her son Flynn, a spot-the-difference that filled the comments section of my Facebook when I posted this. Haha! I will probably come up with a threeway look again here using one of Miranda’s favorites so watch out for it. J

Jacket: Mango

Top: H&M

Skirt: Asos

Shoes: Promod

Original look:

NYE: Sequins on Sequins

Did I say sparkle overload in “The Holiday Look” post below? Hahaha! How about this three sequined pieces in my look for NYE? Should I justify it with the rather dull colors? Nah. NYE is nothing if not the night of sparkly, sequined dresses. Period. Funny I was just reading an article about men’s POV on glittery dresses for tonight’s special occasion. “There’s only one room for one disco ball on NYE, and it should be hanging from the ceiling?” Whaaattt??? Haha, I’m sorry I will never EVER dress up for this type of guy. Lol!

I was inspired by the tip from the same website to look deeply on my wardrobe and create a budget-friendly and party-ready look. What I got is a revival look, more like! This dress was worn like 5 years ago for a supposed-to-be all-girls night-out in Singapore, when two of my best girls decided to check-in at the then newly built Marina Bay Sands! What did they say about nothing like scents to bring back memories? No, add #ootds in there too. Good times, haha! :D

Wishing everyone the best of 2015 has to offer! :)

Top: Forever21

Dress: Tomato

Clutch: Accessorize

Shoes: Marks & Spencer

Orange is the New Black

I miss Bangkok. On the day I wore this dress (around June this year), I was supposed to leave for that city which includes sidetripping to Myanmar by myself. But I never left because I didn’t get time to prepare and the leave would entail 5 vacation leaves on a critical situation at work. Sigh.

I’ve gone two solo trips to Bangkok in the past and I never fail to visit the Jatujak weekend market. Never mind that I haven’t been to Pattaya and other interesting places near the city as long as I get to go to the JJ as what locals call it. Hahaha! Seriously, they aren’t called the Ladies’ market for nothing. For someone who gravitates toward the dresses during shopping, this market has really found its appeal to me. In the last hostel I stayed at though, the way going to the train is already peppered with side street stalls that sell pretty and ladylike dresses. It was all too much for me to handle that it made me realize then and there that one day I’m gonna live in Bangkok and sashay everyday in these unbranded dresses sold at the streets. Haha! I still fancy of going back next year. Hmm...

Necklace: Unbranded

Dress: JJ market (Bangkok)

Belt: Dorothy Perkins

Shoes: Vincci 

Bag: Charles & Keith

Sea Colours

Having had this dress for years now, I was pretty sure that I've exhausted all possible ways to style it. The graphic print makes it versatile for pairing with red or black shoes with matching belts. Sure, it worked with some layering and hosiery too. But one thing I realized recently is that updating a look doesn't always have to be with the use of accessories. Sometimes simply changing hairstyle can be a great factor too.

Admittedly, it’s my first time to experiment on a crown braid and I think (?) it worked for this look. Funny, I didn’t even watch some tutorials on this and just trusted my instinct on how to do it. Not bad I guess for someone who has zero hair styling talent. :P Even funnier, I haven’t had a repeat hairstyle since this ‘do from months ago. =))

And as for the title of this look? Let’s just say I should’ve added something yellow to complete all the names of the seas. =)

Dress: Petit Monde

Belt: Dorothy Perkins

Bag: Charles 'n Keith

Shoes: Marks & Spencer

Blazer: H&M (my brother's, lol!)

Sunnies: Flea market in Osaka

Necklace: Unbranded

And because I believe there's really no rules in doing the crown braid, here's a close-up of my work.

The Holiday Look

One of the things about embellished skirts is that they are the ones you’d usually find on sale post holiday season. Right? And if you’re a girl who’s into glitz and glamour, your inner Becky Bloomwood would justify the purchase with a thought in your head that it’d be okay to wear it only during the festive season since it was acquired at a say, half the price. Well, the good news is sequined skirts can be toned down in a lot of ways and can even be work-appropriate! But since this is for festive dressing, here’s how I styled this sparkly skirt I got on sale.

I’m not usually to discuss do’s and don’ts in dressing here but I agree to stick to the rule that you should avoid sparkle overload when it comes to sequin-dressing. So, I simply matched it with a red peplum top and committed to the two-tone look. And for the accessory, I was just so glad that I have this gold sequined evening clutch in my closet. It couldn’t even fit my pressed powder, but yay it still is fun to have. Haha!

I hope everyone is enjoying the holidays! =)

Top: Kashieca

Skirt: Mango

Shoes: CMG

Necklace: Mango

Bag: Accessorize

Watch: XOXO

Belted Scarf

If the third pic of this post (June 2013) is anything to judge by, then we do know that Burberry F/W 14 runway didn’t really start the belted scarf trend. It was me. Hahaha! Honestly, I remember that look I created when I first saw Olivia Palermo pull it off in a fashion show. It was just too bad that in the picture, it didn’t really show it was belted because I still recall that on that day – it rained and unfortunately, I left my umbrella. Meaning, what better way to use my scarf right? And once indoor, it didn't take long to realize that my plain bag needed more accessorizing than my already printed ensemble. Scarves indeed are so useful. =) The reference pic is also posted below after the jump.

In the revival of the look here though, I opted to use this pink scarf I got from a trip to Siem Reap around January last year. We were enjoying our coconut juice then after seeing the Terrace of the Elephants when some persistent peddlers bugged us with their merchandises saying repeatedly “Lady, 1 dollar.” Haha! It was so hard to resist them and so was this scarf's light girly pink shade. So to keep up with the trend I used it in this off-shoulder floral dress and staying true to the color, matched it with this flower-structured bag I got from Bugis in Singapore and suede pumps of the same hue. It used to be a fashion trend to match color of bags and shoes but I guess adding your scarf to it wouldn’t hurt too. =)

Scarf: Unbranded from Siem Reap

Dress: Warehouse

Belt: My Aunt's (lol!)

Bag: Unbranded from Bugis

Shoes: Dorothy Perkins

#OOTD in THREE

Okay, so I have this nagging question within me that I don’t wanna know the answer. I was talking recently to a friend of mine who went to a trip to Korea and I teased him about his persistent use of a “monopod” since he was just third-wheeling during the trip. Lol! He replied that he had so much fun using it (yeah he’s corny like that, haha!) and that every selfie he takes reminds him of me. Say what???

Selfie. A self-portrait typically taken with a cameraphone meant to be uploaded to social networking sites. Yes I understand. This is very much what I do. But part of me wants to argue that I am not exposing different angles of my face for the world to see because I think I am pretty but that I am doing a self-timed shot of my whole body for a purpose – and that is to chronicle my style, however unprofessional that looks. Obviously, the legit ones have a devoted photographer with them - something I can’t seem to do for now. I want to propose that #ootd shouldn’t be categorized as a #selfie. Lol! How can I ever justify that? Haha! Anyway, Wiki didn’t say anything about documenting outfits so maybe that friend of mine has a wrong misinterpretation of the word. Or is it me? Lol.

Anyway, in my other blog I would often post a #threewaythursday article to show styling of a certain item in three. Today, I will feature this #OOTD shirt I got (it’s a men’s clothing) from a local brand. I’m an abuser of the hashtag and it’s screaming MEEEEEEE so I didn't have second thoughts buying it as soon as I saw it - even if I was just supposed to watch John Legend's concert that night. Lol! Check it out!

Shirt: Folded & Hung

Jeans: Topman (my brother's)

Bag: Charles & Keith

Shoes: Dorothy Perkins

Sunnies: Flea market in Osaka

Hat: Cotton on

Shirt: Folded & Hung

Skirt: ASOS

Watch: Mango

Shoes: Zalora

Necklace: Topman (my brother's)

Scarf: The Landmark

Shirt: Folded & Hung

Jeans: Mango

Shoes: Converse

Bag: Marks & Spencer

Specs: Flea market in Osaka

Blank Space

We all love our LBDs (little black dresses) but one thing that is as equally versatile as them is the LWD. Wearing white is always a great way to instantly create a fresh, chic look. And just like their counterpart, a solid white base leaves lots of room to play with. You can contrast it with darker outerwear (think leather jackets) or let it be a stylish backdrop for displaying interesting accessories.

For this unbranded LWD with peplum detail, I simply decided to match it up with a bright color to draw attention to my cobalt lace-up sandals. To stay true to the blue and white combo, I threw on my striped blazer and accessorized it with my flashy lens. For some reason, using it as a blank canvas reminds me of one of the Billboard’s Woman of the Year 2014 song, as the lyric goes…

"but I've got a blank space baby, and I'll write your name"

Sunnies: Ray Ban

Blazer: H&M

Dress: Unbranded

Shoes: Ezra by Zalora

Shoot with Photozuela

In one of my social networking accounts, I got an invite from the GM of a photo equipment brand Photozuela to participate in their "Photozuela Crown Project". The objective is to showcase real-life beauty around the Photozuela brand and the concept of "live your passion well-equipped" and "technology that emerges."

I told Ale, the general manager, about my hesitation since I'm not a pro model but he comforted me by saying that the target is to do it with amateur ones so I gave it a go. It wasn't for the modeling sake but more of a showcase of my styling talent. That day I realized that modeling isn't an easy life. It just looks fun and glam in the pics. :P If you must know, my whole body ached the next day from the different poses that the photographers made me do.  There were about six of them you know. Lol!

But I had fun as well networking with talents and have become friends even with some of them. For this post, I'm going to feature the work of one of the photographers who was quick enough to upload - we call him Sir Chip. Hehe. :) Please click on the link below to know more about the talents behind this shoot. And check out www.photozuela.com for all photography enthusiasts out there. =)

Overjoyed

Photography: Chipoy Cruz

Hair & Make Up: Anne Cillo (makeupmavenforever)

Styling: Cassey Cakes (that's me, lol!)

Sway

Photography: Chipoy Cruz

Hair & Make Up: Anne Cillo (makeupmavenforever)

Styling: Cassey Cakes