Scuba Skirt

Scuba meets office? Yes, you can. This tech fabric for the surf/scuba crowd has leapt from the water and and is making its way into the fashion world. I’m talking about scuba fabric or neoprene to be more accurate. It is a family of synthetic rubber that is durable, flexible, insulative, wrinkle,water and UV resistant and judging from these properties I wouldn’t be surprised that fashion designers have picked up on this fabric and worked on it with their creative skills!

Of course, as a scuba diver, I’m enthralled by the very thought of incorporating this to my workplace. Though the fabric has been introduced in the fashion world for years now, somehow it always finds itself back during the summer season. Why not? It’s soft and light – almost like your leather for the summer.

But I think the best thing about this fabric is its sculptural properties. Sometime last month I chanced upon this midi skirt on sale in Topshop and I couldn’t think of anything better for maintaining that A-shape figure than this synthetic material. But aside from volumes though, this textile also works best in hugging your figure. I can still remember the first time I put on a wetsuit and suddenly I felt like I’m Jessica Alba in Into the Blue. Yup, no ab-baring needed. Hahaha. So before I totally digress, let me show you below how I styled this skirt at work. It’s some sort of a monochromatic post. :)

Top: Mango; Skirt: Topshop; Shoes: Unbranded

Top: Bayo; Skirt: Topshop; Shoes: H&M

Top: Zalora PH; Skirt: Topshop; Shoes: Miss Selfridge

Boot Up!

With a change of season comes not only an additional pile of clothing for warmth but also an update of your shoe game! That’s right, ladies! Boot up! Haha! Harper’s Bazaar has spoken – these are the five boots every woman should own. Check out how I style ‘em up in the past. ;-)

1.       Sleek pointy bootie. Preferably, a black one with slim heel and pointy toe. Totally meant to replace the pumps in the colder weather. The magazine calls it further – the thinking lady’s boot. ;) This is me using it as an airport look going to Taipei early this year. Proud to say that this is also a Topshop approved look. :)

Top/Sweater/Necklace/Shoes: Mango; Skirt: Topshop

2.       Chunky ankle bootie. Something in a neutral hue with a chunky heel that’s made for walking with the benefit of an added height. Just a li’l background info, I got this pair from Kuala Lumpur and took me three years before I wore it. Oh please just don’t ask why.

Top/ Pants: Mango; Buttondown: Topman; Shoes: Vincci

3.       Moto boots. Your all-year round boots for that edgy MOD look! Definitely should be black with the right buckles or hardware. Sigh, I need to upgrade this current pair I have to something edgier.

Top: Mango; Dress: Topshop; Shoes: Unbranded

4.       Boho boots. I’ve always liked this in something tan/ a suede material and low-heeled ones for this but at the same time fancies something cowgirl-like in leather. Pair it with your fringes, tunic, denim cut-offs, bridal gown (yes, they do it!) – the possibilities are endless. :)

Top: CMG; Skirt: Topshop; Jacket: Mango

Hat: Aldo; Shoes: Unbranded

5.       Tall boots. Of course I did mention needing your rain-boots as mentioned here. (Wellies much preferred). But I wear them knee-highs too for rainy or windy days (basically, any chance I could wear ‘em) because I just soooo love the slimming effect. Check out also the flat version of my thigh highs worn in Taipei here.

Dress: Dorothy Perkins; Vest: Mango; Shoes/Earrings: H&M

#NoBraDays

October is breast cancer awareness month. You may have noticed hashtags like #FreeTheNipple and #NoBraDay in your social networking accounts. As I have mentioned in my post here, this is just like an ordinary day for me. But girls do know how confining cup cages can be and there’s nothing more liberating than removing them brassieres at the end of the day. Lucky me, I can get away with it. But there’s another reason why.

Early this year, I went for a mammography because of lumps inspected in my chest and thankfully they were found benign. Wearing underwires for me sometimes irritates the lumps so I really try my best to minimize wearing the undergarment as much as possible. Uhmm, baby bras are not an option. Haha! Numerous studies have confirmed no correlation between wearing a bra and the disease but somehow I feel that there should be more study devoted in here.

Now I am sharing styling tips on how do I get away from not wearing a bra. Please note that these tricks are based on member of team IBTC (aka team small-breasted) like me who primarily uses bra to just conceal ‘em nipples. If you have other functional uses for them like alleviating back pressures or keeping them from sagging, then these style alternatives might not work. ;)

1.   Layering. This cobalt blue top when worn is already enough of a concealer. Bonus points for it’s ala-mermaid cupping upper style that creates an illusion of chest volume. Hehe. :P

Dress: Unbranded; Top: Topshop; Shoes: Dorothy Perkins

Necklace:Aldo; Sunnies: Unbranded

Top: Dorothy Perkins/ Topshop; Pants: Mango; Shoes: Dorothy Perkins

2. Ruffled necklines. Ruffles and flounces have been known to create an illusion of bigger breast. But these details are good cover-ups for them nips too. :)

Dress: Plains 'n Prints; Skirt: The Ramp Shoes: People R People

Blazer: Forever21; Top: Mango; Pants: Tomato; Shoes: Rubi

Bags: Zara and Primadonna; Sunnies: Unbranded

3.  Printed bustiers. For me, with or without underwire, bustiers are meant to be worn without bra. Lol. I also leverage on this high-low dress’ triangular cup style  below to skip wearing bra. :P I mostly pick printed ones so the dots aren't obvious. Hehe. :P

Top: Aeropostale; Vest: Mango; Pants: Topshop

Shoes: Zalora Bag: Marks & Spencer

Dress: H&M (also here); Vest/ Shoes: Mango

   Wishing you all ladies, FREEDOM from the restrictive clothing that is the bra! Haha! You can try to assess your situations and come up with styling tricks on your own. :)

Crop Top Layering

Early this year, we talked about resolutions whereupon I, a not so style expert (lol!), recommended exploring on a new color to try for this year. In that post, I featured this yellow sheath dress and now that we’re on to the last quarter of the year, I just wanted to revisit that dress. 

If you’re following fashion bloggers from the other side of the planet, they’re now updating their wardrobes that’s appropriate for their weather. Aaah, fall. Why don’t we have that season in PH? :P Numerous style sites are now advising you to part ways with trends from the summer. But then again, there are a few of them that you are just not ready to let go of - take the crop top for example. :P

Although we live in a perpetually summer country like PH, it doesn’t mean that we can’t update our styles that is somehow fall appropriate with all those layering techniques. ;) It do gets a little cold on this side of the planet on BER months too (though I’m still waiting for that, lol!). So for today’s gallery, allow me to revisit that dress mentioned above by layering it with some of my favorite crop tops. It's really amazing the mileage you get out of your dresses from layering noh? :)

Dress: Apartment8; Top: Topshop; Shoes: H&M; Bag: Charles & Keith

Dress: Apartment8; Top: H&M; Shoes: Dorothy Perkins; Bag: Mango

All Black 101

"Women think of all colors except the absence of color. I have said that black has it all. ... [Its] beauty is absolute. It is the perfect harmony."  - Coco Chanel

By now, the month long show of S/S 2016 catwalk season have ended with the last leg held in Paris last week. Needless to say it’s an ultimate dream of mine to get into these shows (any of the fashion capitals would do) but for the mean time the closest I can get to is ogling the gallery of the most fashionable attendees and gathering some trivia.

For instance, did you know that you’re not supposed to cross legs in the front row? Wow, I should totally keep this in mind if I get the slightest chance of getting that seat in the future. Haha! And ok, I’m coming closer to my topic. Did you also know that, most of the people who work for the show (PR girls for example) go for dark colors, mostly black?

Obviously, wearing all black is your fail-safe option for these occasions. It does a lot of wonders but at the same time wearing one shade can be a bit one-dimensional and boring. Luckily, all over the style blogosphere, the style tricks to avoid looking bland are pretty much the same so I am going to demo how I’ve styled it in the past using three pictures below. You can also check out another all black ensemble here and here.

Style trick 1: Show some skin/ Accessorize with Abandon. Don that wide-brim hat and opt for strappy shoes instead.

Top: Forever21; Skirt: Topshop; Hat/Shoes: Unbranded

Style trick 2: Play with silhouettes/ Make way for metallics. The subdued color palette allows you to play with interesting silhouettes and volumes like peplum and circle skirt in leather. ;) Wearing gold accessories make them stand out too. :)

Top/ Necklace: Mango; Skirt: Topshop; Shoes: Dorothy Perkins

Style trick 3: Show some skin/ Vary the fabrics and textures. The beauty of all-black is that you can mix textures without fear of creating an overly busy ensemble.

Top: Unbranded; Skirt: Zara; Shoes: H&M

And if you wanna know what the survey says about people who wear black and only black, click the link here. :)

The Black Skinny Trousers

It was heartbreaking. We’ve made so many good styling history together. A week after my US-Canada trip, I found out that my perfect pair of trousers disappeared. And the worst part is, I don’t really have a clue where I left it as the transpacific flight back home was all pretty much a blur to me. It was in my extra backpack as I intend to change outfit on the way back.

Apparently, there are some other things in life that I was able to relate this too. Finding someone who seemed to be “the one” – that perfect fit in your life – who filled you with visions of  "forever".  But to steal a line from Whitney, nothing is so good it lasts eternally. And then all of a sudden one day, poof! He’s gone, leaving you desperate, questioning yourself and finding out what went wrong.

Luckily since I’m not new to this, my acceptance came quickly. I knew what to do. So I carried on with my styling life and focused on some aspects worth looking at – a harem to explore here and ooh changing my idea about jeggings here (because who couldn’t resist this chambray one? Haha). Of course, however nice they are, there’s quite nothing like that long and slim black high waist trousers that fit my abnormally-shaped lower body perfectly.

But just when you’ve forgotten all about it, once upon a normal shopping routine, there it was! I must admit I had my doubts when I found it, I’ve never had a trouser from this brand ever. But if you open your heart to something new, life will reward you. They may not be of the same glossy quality but the importance is how it fits. I guess three months is enough to mourn the old pants, so I'm welcoming this new one in my life. Haha!


Here's the old pair:

Top: Topshop; Pants: Dorothy Perkins; Shoes: Miss Selfridge

Newest pair: :)

Top: Mango; Pants: H&M; Shoes: Miss Selfridge