TrioThursdays: Trail Blazer

One night when I entered the gym and the sight of my crush greeted me in one of those arm machines, I still remember how his eyes were fixated in one item of clothing that’s hanging in my gym bag – my glen plaid blazer at work. Is it just me (haha!) but it’s as if I can already read his thought bubble about me “Oh, she’s that power woman at work.”

Okay, so maybe I’m just willing for him to think that way because unfortunately he still hasn’t talked to me (but I’m positive he will VERY SOON, haha!) which means he has zero clue about what I do except for the fact that I teach a dance class in the gym. BUT, it’d be wrong for him not to think so especially for some big shot like him in the journalism world. :P  Because, inasmuch as you know you like me babbling about my crush, I’m gonna segue now to today’s topic – blazers and its power association.

As Vogue said, you don’t need a complete suit to channel power - just a good blazer. A good blazer can take you beyond the usual 9 to 5 of interviews and presentations to looking polished even in the happy hours. You could tell how I’m such a proponent in my earlier posts like here. And while you know that it’s not the first time I tackled this plaid blazer trend, I’m reiterating now how this is such a “buy now, wear forever” piece that should be in your closet specially that blazers will be a major trend this S/S 18. So for fresher ways to wear it, here are my three latest looks for today’s hashtag. Enjoy :)

Look#1: Plaid and Floral

Blazer: H&M; Top: Topshop; Shoes: Missguided

 Look #2: Plaid and Pinstripes

Blazer: H&M; Top/ Skirt: Unbranded; Bag: Mango

Look #3: Plaid and Plains

Blazer: H&M; Top/ Boots: Mango

#TrioThursday: Side Stripes

Even way before, stripes have always been associated with sports. They are used in car racing, the black and white vertical stripes worn as uniforms by referees and of course there’s that iconic sports brand with their 3-stripes branding. As to when this all began still remains a mystery to me though. (I didn’t have enough time to research so would appreciate if you have the info. ;)

The stripes detail is interesting because of our item in feature today – the track pants. It has got me thinking how even without the gartered hemlines, latest iterations of this trend come in side-stripes and wide-leg cuts but still look very sporty. And speaking of reinventions, back in the 90s, you’d only see stripes paired with trainers (hello Mel C of Spice Girls! Or check out Brit Brit’s Hit Me One More Time). But with the rise of the athleisure trend, street style stars are rocking the look with heels, statement bags and with feminine touches of statement earrings. This post will feature three looks on how I styled my pairs (a sale item I got from H&M *wink*) for today’s hashtag. Because trust me, if a comfy trend like this is taking over, we must take advantage as long as it lasts. :)

Top/ Pants: H&M; Bag: Mango

Top/ Pants: H&M; Bag/ Shoes: Mango; Earrings: Zaful

Jacket: Mango; Top: Terranova; Pants: H&M

#TrioThursday: Art Gallery

I’m not an art expert nor come from something with an art background but my appreciation for going to art museums started when I took a styling workshop at SoFA three years ago. Our professor (@styledeity) asked us to visit an exhibit and from there produce a series of editorials inspired by the exhibit’s cosmic theme for our final project. And that’s where I came up with this.

In the hopes of broadening my artistic appreciation, I dedicated four straight days of museum hopping when I was in Paris last month. And I agree with what most travel reviews say, I really did appreciate more the works I found in Musee d’Orsay and found the Louvre a bit underwhelming. Probably it's because of this one specific Manet painting in Orsay that really spoke to me.

Here in Makati, I’m happy that Picasso’s art gallery is just a 5-min walk from the office so I can always hop in everytime they have a new exhibit. It's also good to get acquainted with local talents we have here and their work. Who knows I might get inspired for a look from one of their exhibits one day? But for now, here are some of the looks I had while visiting the gallery for today's hashtag. :) 

Top: Zara; Pants/ Bag: H&M; Shoes: Keds

Dress: Dorothy Perkins; Shoes: Mango

Bag: Mango; Dress: Here

#TrioThursdays: Black // White // Denim

Black can be worn with any shade of denim shirt for a rockstar look. White with any colour denim shirt looks relaxed and is easy-to-wear. Combine them all together and that's just the perfect casual cool vibe I think. Here are three looks using this combo for today's hashtag.

Top: Zara; Belt: Topshop

Hat/ Skirt: H&M; Top/ Bag/ Shoes: Mango; Belt: Topshop

Dress: J Crew; Denim/ Watch/ Earrings: Mango

#TrioThursdays: Splattered

Blame it on my relatively tall stature but I’ve always found maxi skirts easy to wear. For me, it has its advantages like (1) no pressure to wear high heels with them (2) no pressure to check as well if legs are waxed lol. 

I've had this splattered skirt from Bugis in Singapore for years now and it's monochromatic pattern never lets me run out of ideas in styling them. You've seen it first fresh in 2014 here and have since then saw a lot of styling here. The skirt also made it to Paris coz I figured the material would do well for the chilly weather. And without any particular theme (aside from the skirt itself), here are the latest three ways I wore 'em for today's hashtag post.

Top: Zara;  Bag: Mango; Shoes: Zalora

Top: Apartment 8; Shoes: H&M

Top/Bag: Mango

#TrioThursdays: Fanny Pack

I admit, I used to find it as a dorky accessory (like something my uncle would wear) but I have to say you see things in  a different perspective especially if the reigning queen of fanny pack Kendall is always sporting it. Lol!

Once upon a light bulb moment, I found a way to DIY it using a regular hand/shoulder bag and a belt (that's not even totes matching in color) and I thought I should test drive the trend without spending anything. Here are the three ways I wore 'em below for today's hashtag post. The verdict? 

For someone like me who's always carrying the wold on her shoulders (literally with my gym stuff everyday), I could really do with having a separate hands-free bag to put all my fundamentals: cash, compact powder and my phone. The additional benefit? I love that it also doubles up as a cincher while making you look "hip" at the same time. :P Would you wear a fanny pack?

Dress: Dorothy Perkins; Bag/Belt: Mango

Top: Folded & Hung; Skit: Zara; Shoes: Keds; Bag/ Belt: Mango

Top/Skirt: Unbranded; Bag/ Belt: Mango

#TrioThursday: Ring My Bell

Thursdays are for three ways to wear and also for throwbacks. What about throwbacks you mean? From the focus on shoulders last year, the trend ended up on voluminous sleeves which is as you know a nod to the influence of the 70's. The look is still going strong as of late and one advantage of the bell sleeve trend from the off-shoulder is that you'll never have to wonder if this is work-appropriate. Lol! Here we take a look on how I wore this Mango top to different days at work. :)

Top: Mango; Skirt: Zara; Belt: Dorothy Perkins; Shoes: Zalora

Top: Mango; Skirt: Apartment8 Clothing; Shoes: Zalora

Top: Mango; Skirt: Zalora; Shoes: H&M

#TrioThursdays: Ruffled Skirt

Previously, you've seen a ruffled sleeve, a neckline and a pant hem here. But what about combining this summer's major style trends into a skirt? Yep, for today's hashtag, we'll feature a ruffled skirt in this season's It-print - gingham.*

Let's see what we've got here - a chic midi length, a key placement of frills at the hem that's flattering enough (and not making you look like a flamenco dancer, though I would love that too lol) and in a print that everyone is obsessing over this summer. Yep, Pinterest just confirmed it here.

As mentioned in my other post, the ruffles already act as a statement on their own so with this skirt you can tone down your shoes with flats, sneakers or blocked heels as seen in the three looks below. Which one is your favorite? Btw, since this skirt is so versatile, I might do a second round of #triothursdays post soon. Yay! :D

Top: Topshop; Skirt: Mango; Shoes: Keds

Top: Zara; Skirt: Mango; Shoes: Zalora

Blazer/ Skirt: Mango; Shoes: H&M

#TrioThursdays: Canadian Tuxedo

Google Canadian Tuxedo and the very first image you'll see is an image of Brit Brit and JT's in AMAs circa 2001. Don't fret, Canuck tux simply means a double-denim outfit. I'll spare you the details of it's history but you can read up on it here. 

If you're a total trivia junkie though and did click on that link lol, you'll notice that the emphasis would have to be on the denim jacket and not just any denim top. Before, donning a double denim outfit used to be a fashion faux pas but not anymore with different celebs championing the trend and giving it a nod of approval.

With that, I gathered here three looks for today's hashtag using my distressed denim jacket pair from Mango with some style tips included below. Check it out! ;)

1. Why scrimp on two when you can actually make it a triple denim? *wink* Inject some yellow shoes for a pop of color. :)

Jacket: Mango; Top: Unbranded; Bottom: Zalora; Shoes: Call It Spring

2. Wear your jacket offshoulder for a different take on the"tux" not to mention making it look on-trend. ;)

Jacket: Mango; Bodysuit: Here; Skirt/ Shoes: Zalora; Sunnies: Mango

3. How about wrapping around the sleeves of the denim jacket and tie it at your waist to make it look like a tube top? Layer with a white tee for some modest approach. :P

Jacket/Shirt: Mango; Bottom: Terranova; Shoes: Zalora

#TrioThursdays: Mint Dress

Can't believe I've had this pretty dress from Zaful for almost a year now and it took that long to make its way into the blog. :P 

I love dresses but separate tops and bottoms are still much preferable when it comes to styling options. The challenge in dresses is creating a sort of "new look" out of them by using different accessories and so far here's how I've styled this mint summer dress in the past. I'm bringing back this series I started in my previous blog where I feature an item and present how to wear it in 3 ways. I know it's already Friday 🙈 but please forgive this late post as Brit Brit in Manila happened last night. Check out my IG for stories. 😉

1. For a weekend look, I paired it with my fave straw hat and lace-up sandals.

Dress: Zaful; Hat: H&M; Bag/ Shoes: Mango

2. For more work-appropriate look, here it is with a sailor-print striped blazer and strappy heels.

Blazer: H&M; Bag: Mango; Shoes: CMG

3. Casual Friday got me experimenting and converting it into a dress over pants.

Dress: Zaful; Sunnies: Mango; Shoes: CMG