#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

Trend Overdose

One of the major fashion mistakes most fashion editors would often say would have to be this – trend overdose. From the word itself, that’s combining multiple trends in one look. BUT, and that’s a big fat but, they never said something like that when it comes to accessories.

Two months after fashion week, it’s but natural to expect a trove of trends from its participants and apologies coz I kind of found it hard to filter them accessory-wise. So in this look, I’m sort of committing this fashion faux pas and I’ll leave it up to you to decide whether it’s Yay or Nay! ;) Plus points though, if you’ve identified all three trends but I’ll simply break it down for you. :)

Newsboy cap. If it’s not yet obvious to you that I’m a hat lover, well then now you know. Lol. You’ve prolly seen this hat before in here but this topper was unexpectedly seen all over the street style stars during the fashion month. I can only be glad to dust it off from my drawer.

Statement Earrings. Sculptural is actually more of the trend now when it comes to these jewelries but I am loving these simple oversized gold hoops simply because it’s easy to be paired with anything.

Heel Sock Boots. Fall means it’s boots season and this one is a new style that was so hard to resist. Just the way they hug your ankles is so sexy. Style tip? Just like socks that need to be shown off, this is best worn with skirts or dresses. If worn with jeans, best to cuff it to show off the sock part. :)

Hat/ Skirt: H&M; Bag: Mango; Jacket/ Bodysuit/ Earrings: Zaful/ Shoes: Rubi

#FitnessFriday: Self-Acceptance/ Self-Love

"If we hate any part of ourselves, then nothing is ever good enough."

For the last #fitnessfriday posts featuring activewear from my sponsors Rosegal and Zaful, they were always about a review of the product and making sure I somehow look good with it in the photos. I’m sure that by now the brand’s quality is pretty much established and proven trendy. So let me just tackle another point here…

The truth is, I wasn’t really satisfied with how I presented the products upon myself. Lol. Prolly not my tiptop shape to wear something ab-baring or (or lack thereof) or skintight at the moment of shoot. I was pretty sure I didn’t slip into my regular fitness routine too though I could’ve overeaten or something and there could be a whole other reasons why.

But at the end of the day, aside from the pressure from the sponsors to post (lol), I just have to finally let these pics out and say, “Sod it!” This body has run half marathons in the past, can do a back to back dance (energetic if I may add) class if needed or climb the second highest summit of the country without prior training. This body has served me well so much. What do I have to complain about?

Quick description of the items here: if you haven’t heard of the naked trend, well it has taken over the athleisure world particularly in the form of leggings. I’ve had attendees doing double takes if I was really wearing at the bottom with this nude two tone thingy. Haha! And it’s so sweet to find a cool take on the hoodie with this open front top from Rosegal.

Open Front Cropped Hoodie

Two Tone Active Yoga Leggings
Hoop Earrings

Plunging sports top, yaaay! Definitely flattering for flat-chested ITBC members. Lol. But what I appreciate the most here is the half-hand coverage through a thumbhole that doubles up as fitness gloves for tough workouts. 💪 

Plunging Neck Sports Top

P.S. Use the code ZafulChen and RosegalChen in your purchases to get additional discounts. :) Happy Shopping! 

#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

Pink Matters 🎀

It may be the last day of October but as they say, late is better than never wearing pink for breast cancer awareness month. It’s not a cause that I am avidly in support of or what but feel that something that should be relevant personally to me because of my current medical condition.

Okay, I hope the last two words didn’t give you quite a scare but yeah for the last two years I believe I have been monitoring these cysts that I found in my both breasts. There’s nothing to worry for now but of course it’s something that I have to continuously work on and treat in the best ways/ methods that I know of. As always, prevention is better than cure and now you might understand why the dedication to an active lifestyle and healthy living. Nothing is guaranteed but your kind words of support/ understanding or knowledge sharing will always be appreciated. :)

And now to the outfit, here’s a simple chiffon dress I wore matched with this sponsored hat from Rosegal. The pink suitcase is a loved souvenir I got when I was in Paris. Coz I simply can’t leave the city without something distinctively one of the world’s fashion capital. ;)

Pink Bucket Hat

Oh and just because I wasn't able to blog it last year, look what I found through Facebook's On This Day feature. :)

Dress: Mango

P.S. Use the code RosegalChen in your purchases to get additional discounts. :) Happy Shopping! 

Pretty Woman Dress Up

T minus 2 days until Halloween. Have you got yourself a costume? You may check this earlier post on how you can recreate two different costumes using a bustier. For last Friday’s company teambuilding activity though, I decided to go for one of Julia Roberts character – Vivian Ward in Pretty Woman.

Anyway, considering that this movie was shown in the 90s, it can be quite a challenge (aside from being impractical) hunting the web or shops for the same cut-out dress she wore when Richard Gere picked her up in Rodeo drive. So, I simply recreated it using a tank top and a denim mini skirt. And okay, I’m getting to the part where it’s all messed up. Lol. The wig was purchased last minute at Divisoria to complete the look and I have to humor myself how it turned out to look like Vice Ganda. Hahaha. It was worth it though coz I won 3rd prize for costume. Yaasss!

The blazer that was tied to the waist is actually a Marvel printed hoodie which was fitting because that night was supposedly a Thor Ragnarok date night. I just had to wear it with the mini skirt and voila, here’s a Friday night movie look. Lol! 

Bag: Mango; Hat/ Shoes: H&M

#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