Paper Fashion: Orange & Leos

Don’t you just love seeing yourself in cartoon form? I do too. But sadly, I’m not talented in that department. :P Luckily, the blogosphere is full to the brim with these fashion illustration artist showcasing their talents for us to admire. And most of the time those who wanna be discovered or noticed do it to famous stylebloggers, fashion bloggers or media personalities. So you can just imagine my surprise when after posting my regular outfit post through Instagram (IG:cassey_cakes for shameless plug lol!), I got a tag minutes after of a sketch of my look! It totally made my day!

I don’t know what made her (IG: _itssabri_) decide to use my look. But it’s just so cute and flattering at the same time. J Perhaps it’s that emotion that our instructor told us in the fashion styling class. You only have 3 seconds to make an impression through your outfit and trigger a reaction to others. And to her, that emotion is “Hey, I wanna draw this look.” :P

Also, I’m proud to announce that once again, the official Topshop account has approved this look through that social media channel and requested for a T&C acceptance for a possible feature. Even if it doesn’t get a publication anytime soon or forever, a recognition is still a recognition isn’t it? :P

Top: Unbranded; Pants: Topshop; Belt: Mango; Shoes: CMG

And here's the sketch I'm talking about :)

Bridesmaids in Coral

Two weeks before my friend's wedding and I can't help but feel excited for it. (Update: Yes, I'm gonna be a part of it!!!) So let's do some more wedding-related stuff here alright? This time though it's not gonna be bridal stuff but rather, the bridesmaids. Yay!

It's going to be a late spring/ summer wedding in Toronto and though I'm not a wedding expert, I think there's no better way to add whimsy to a wedding than dressing up the bridesmaids in pastel colors paired with vibrant hues for this season. :)

I'm not officially part of the entourage too (lol!) so this post is more of my idea of a fun yet sophisticated wedding expressed through the motif. Obviously, I love color-blocking and mix-and-match so much so the gallery below showcases a colorblocking of warm and cool colors in pastel tones that are truly eye-catching and pleasant but using only one coral skirt. #twowaytuesday let us hashtag it this way :P

First combo: mint and coral. Aaah, this is just so refreshing. Like sipping my favorite cocktail mojito on a daytime, haha! Mint has been a popular hue since around 2012 I believe and the trend never really died I suppose. Matter of fact I have this mint pencil skirt that I keep on mixing and matching with different hues and prints at work - which reminds me to put it in queue here. :P

The second one I reckon is not a popular color combo and is just something that occurred to me last Sunday while deciding what to wear. But I think lavender works well with coral too from here.What do you think? And yes, don't be so much shocked with the change. I finally decided to chop chop my hair from that length. Lol! I'll prolly talk more of it in the next posts since I always try to post emo stuff when I make drastic changes to my hair haha. Meanwhile, enjoy the pics below and expect more to come soon. :)

Mint & Coral

Dress: Bugis market (Singapore); Skirt: Mango; Necklace: Mango; Bag: Mango

Lavender & Coral

Dress: Apple & Eve; Skirt: Mango; Necklace: Aldo; Bag: Mango

Rain Boots!

Not only is June known as a wedding month, the rising temperatures of its days also heralds the start of rainy season in the Philippines. Pag-asa,a local institution for weather forecasts, has just reported to expect the wet season from the second week of this month and I’m pretty sure that we’ve all felt it by this time.

I would understand that it’s not for everybody but I love myself a heavy downpour especially when you just can’t take the humidity anymore. Yes, I’m a pluviophile. While it’s easy to list down all the disadvantages a rainy day brings, I’d rather not justify the reason why. It’s just the feeling that comes along with it. I guess it must be true love. Lol!

After seeing a lot of my beloved flats drown in Manila flood, guess you can say it took time for me to work on my rainwear couture. Lol.  But I found my “long-term solution” last year when I found these babies at Payless. Ideally, my perfect rainboots would have to be the Hunter Wellies (oh in red, please!). While these may not be made of vulcanized rubber, the amazing price I got it for (Php 700 or 16 USD) doesn’t give me the slightest regret if I use it again and again for rainy days. The cushioning is good that I even used it once for a dancing gig. Not bad isn’t it? J

Dress: Mango; Scarf: Mango; Leggings: Forever21; Shoes: Payless

Specs: Flea market in Osaka; Bag: Pedro; Coat: Unbranded

That Thing Called Fascinator

A late post for Kentucky Derby week... 

Sometimes when I need inspiration for an outfit (translation: when I don’t feel like looking at my long list of my carefully planned mix-and-match combos), I turn to recent events in the world. Apparently this is not something new if you refer to these posts (part 1 and 2). And for this certain week, the style websites that I avid alerted me in one of the greatest people-watching events in the world – the Kentucky Derby.

This is an annual horse racing event held in the namesake place and is known as “the Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports.” But to steal a line from the websites, the real spectacle is in the outrageous display of hats as this is also known for a headwear fashion show. Just a quick history, the founder of this racing-event used high-class women to attend the race in the 1920s and it has become a quick opportunity for them to show off the latest in spring fashion. The advent of TV in the 1960s meant more exposure for the spectators and so the hats became more festive, elaborate and extravagant. The tradition continued on until today but the fancy hats were not limited to ladies anymore. Other traditions include drinking mint julep and serving burgoo.

So, around this week, I simply decided to give my LBD a little oomph by wearing this fascinator I got while shopping for accessory requirements in my styling class. It’s a little annoying habit of mine when I go shopping (lol!) but is not expensive and could be a good “focal point” sometimes. *wink*

Hat: Unbranded; Dress: Mango; Timepiece: Guess; Shoes: CMG

Coco Made Me Do It

Of course part of the lectures in the fashion styling workshop I took is a study of fashion history. And since the instructor asked us to focus on a particular era by producing editorials out of it, I couldn’t help but understand why that age was pronounced the golden age of French fashion and appreciate the designer behind it – 1920s and Coco Chanel.

Sure, it’s easy to proclaim one loves Chanel. But back then, I couldn’t afford to do so because I feel it’s too pretentious. After all, I couldn’t afford to have a single stitch of such luxurious brand. But a closer study of the woman behind the fashion house and her legacy made me realize that - I don’t have to proclaim it. It’s unconsciously within me – my love for her so-called Little Black Dress, layered pearls and nautical looks – it’s all because of the woman’s brilliance! No other designer represented elegant chic more than Madame Chanel. And yes, I love all her timeless work!

So for the actual representation in the class, I just simply had to recreate this look. This 1926 Vogue cover with her sketch of a calf-length simple black sheath and labeled it “a frock that all the world would wear”. Because all the women did indeed! :)

Dress: Warehouse; Shoes: Dorothy Perkins; Hat: Aldo

And from then on, everytime Sir Lev would assign us another editorial, there's always the question that's so worthy caption of this photo below, "What would Coco Chanel do?" Haha! One of my aspirations in life is to be known as the woman who's dressed elegantly. Sigh.

And for the other 1920s editorial, I was surprised to find out that in my state of overflowing wardrobe I couldn't find any combo that would be flapper-look worthy. I admit this did not fully commit to the look but the instructor did notice the rebellious attitude so he appreciated the effort - a bit plunging LBD, my eyebrow liner used as a cigarette props (haha!) and fur/wig that I had to get all the way from Divisoria market. 

The gallery below as per my interpretation is the day-to-night look of a French woman in the 1920s using a little plunging black dress. Elegantly clad in the day but wild and wicked at night. Lol! ;)

Dress: Mango; Coat: Unbranded; Shoes: Promod; Gloves: Unbranded

2nd look shoes: Zara; Necklace: The Landmark

Comfy Casual

Several years ago, I joined a business scheme that jumped on the beauty, health and wellness bandwagon – it being the next trillion dollar industry as predicted. I'm no business savvy but I did believe the products and saw the trend coming. What I didn’t expect though is for the industry to become big that it crept on several aspects of consumer life including the apparel category. But what do I know then? An advertising company has just recently published a list of Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands and the result is quite surprising. In the list, the sports brand Nike claimed the #1 spot in apparel category beating out the other most-loved brands like Zara and H&M among others. Wow. This really says a lot about the activewear trend being more than just a fad.

Will I really prefer Nike over H&M? Well, gym rats like me for sure love the brand but cost-wise, the latter has much cheaper offerings which would provide me with something more to use in my 3 to 4 times a week schedule. Further research informed me that this activewear trend has inspired a lot of people to get back to the gym - seeing an increased result in gym memberships and renewed interests in sports. Well, if that is the case then I'm all for it. But will this really change the way women dress forever? * gasp* I hope not. Lol.

Recently though, Nike got me with their recent silhouette - the Roshe Run. I have been looking forever for black kicks that would really look good when I'm wearing leggings in the gym and these babies simply made the cut. Again, this is my fourth sneaker investment after joining myself the athleisure trend. But will I be wearing this more often than my pumps and strappy heels? Nooooooooooooooo. Of course not. This has been so far the only time I wore this at work - when a sneakerhead friend/ co-worker wanted me to wear it. The cushioning is perfect - I so love it for dancing and it would pretty much be abused that way. ;)

Top: Mango; Skirt: Unbranded; Bag: Marks & Spencer

Sunnies: Aldo; Shoes: Nike

Of Whites and Weddings

It’s June! Can you believe it??? Five months of 2015 have passed!!! And as I do my reflection on this sixth month (a WEDDING month nonetheless!!!), I can’t help but have mixed feelings over the fact that two of my longest-running guy friends are getting married this year. Lol!

Since I don’t wanna delve on the current affairs of my heart (or the lack of affairs thereof, lol!), let me just babble about the exciting new chapters in my friends’ lives. The one happening this month is going to be in Canada so there’s gonna be some sort of a transatlantic reunion of friends which hopefully I can be a part of. And the other one is sort of promising because there’s some kind of unusualness to it.

It's unusual because they just met this year, got engaged two months after (the official proposal of which I became an accomplice in Seoul) and getting married by the end of the year. Whenever I tell this story to some guys, they all think he’s or they're crazy. But I’d like to believe that things like this happen and that I will have my own soon.

So while I am waiting for my time, let me just post this ensemble I concocted that has a kind of wedding-y feel to it. Because after all, what better way to represent a wedding month than all whites and laces? ;-) 

Blazer: Mango; Top: Mango; Skirt: Miss Selfridge

Sunnies: Mango; Necklace: Mango; Shoes: Miss Selfridge

And since I really have a backlog of outfit posts here, I have decided to add two more white on white looks using the same skirt as above. :)

Top: Folded & Hung; Skirt: Miss Selfridge; Shoes: Aldo

Necklace: Mango; Belt: Meg; Bag: Mango

Top: Cotton On; Skirt: Miss Selfridge; Shoes: Marks & Spencer

Sunnies: Ray Ban; Bag: Accessorize; Necklace: Zalora PH