Tuesday, December 20, 2016

knee-highs and denim

 secondhand denim shirt; forever21 leggings, knee-high boots and chunky chain necklace; aizilim cross necklace and rosegold cuff; bag from aunt (possibly a khol's purchase or marshall's...not so sure...)

Wearing a disproportionate amount of forever21 here but that's...well...me. I could probably say I'm a fan of f21 somehow, granted I never really forgot to drop by their ginormous, two-floored store in SM Cebu when I'm in the Queen City of the Visayas/South in transit for Dumaguete City while a graduate school student. The knee-high boots however, were an acquisition from a SoCal Forever21 store while searching for Christmas party outfits with the mum and her sister/s late last year. That time, I came home to the aunt's place with this chained pair which was half the original price (it was on sale! and the last in my size so I could say I got lucky?) and a plaid slightly fuzzy sweater I wore on top of a basic Topshop black skater dress for one of many Christmas parties we'd attended way back. Hmn...I kind of don't mind the gold chains now though at one time I was thinking about hacking it off. This thing completely blends with the color of the leggings so I think I can get away with going out with this combination again one day, to a party or something. I like the make of this knee-highs as it is soft and not at all pleathery.

The past weekend has been spent with the family, relatives came over from far away, like a 10-12-hour or so bus ride from Cagayan de Oro City here, Zamboanga City and trying to recover from colds and on-and-off fevers and rereading the shounen manga, Shaman King.

Wednesday, December 14, 2016

boy-dressing, 1990s, and boybands

 vintage plaid shirt, aeropostale cutoffs, zalora heeled pumps, necklace as bracelet from aunt, aizilim rings, forever21 necklace/choker

rubi via zalora ankle boots

Mary-Kate Olsen and her 2008 plaid shirt + cutoffs get-up inspired this one based on what I've seen browsing around Olsens Anonymous anyway. Seriously speaking though, this oversized flannel is pretty comfortable and warm enough to keep the cold of the night at bay. December usually spells cold nights, warm mid- to early-afternoons for us here that's only a few meters below the equator. I could think of a number of things to do in it which includes sleeping and it's something I'm about to do in a bit. I have yet to test drive taking it out in leggings or a pair of cutoffs/shorts and tights however. I'll do that next time. It never really is cold enough to wear this thing out randomly in that comfortable off-duty combo.

The plaid shirt is, without a doubt, a men's shirt as it has a racing event info print at the back and a patch---not really visible in the photos---saying the same thing on one sleeve of it. I thrifted this with a denim button-up a couple of years ago or so, if memory serves me right. The two are about the same size. ....and by this, you could also easily tell its shirts like this that comprise 1/4th of my wardrobe. Err...yep. I have a lot I use to dress like a boy with. Hah. It's something I'd expect from someone who grew up around 4 brother-like figures majority of the early 90s which was also the height, or at least it was here, of boybands. Okay, so who here, around that time ('til the mid 90s, 1995-1996 and/or 97) were fans of the Backstreet Boys and N'SYNC? Unfortunately...I was a Boyzone (an Irish boyband) fan first, that time, with one girl friend from early elementary school. RIP, Stephen Gately. The girl friend and I squabbled over who gets him once upon a time when the question of 'who is your Boyzone bias/favorite member?' comes up. My environment growing up as exhibited here dictates the way I dress or in the least, has influenced it. There's definitely no going back for me from here. It doesn't really help either that I'm a huge fan of some Japanese boy groups *cough*Da-iCE and now FlowBack*cough* and young, mostly up and coming Japanese male actors in tokusatsu. And no...I've never been really a fan of One Direction...well, save for their first album because, in my opinion, that was the only one I found to be the best from them... I usually prefer Asian, specifically Japanese multitasking lyric and dance male groups...mostly anyway.

Androgynous dressing...hmn...let me mull over it some more...
 
And speaking of the boyband fever which I think is never going to die in this...err...continent (thank you, East Asian---J, K, and C-pop gods!) anyway, and that which I will refer to now and then in this blog...

Now listening to/playing (mood): FlowBack - Come A Long Way
The dance video for this one from the guys wouldn't show up on the youtube search on here so this audio will have to do...I think. The former is definitely a must-see. If you're a jpop fan or even just someone who's curious about music and gimmick from this male group, you can look into their music and dance videos on youtube. They have a pretty good sound, different from my favorite Da-iCE but still comparably good, all in all. 

Tuesday, December 13, 2016

altered

 zalora skirt and heels, ninewest bag, never been kissed (robinson's department store line) tank, aizilim necklaces and rose gold cuff, vintage bracelet (gift from grandmum), smashbox (ayala centrio) choker

The tank used to be longer as it's an XL or XXL originally but I cut it short to regular tank length (not so obvious here as it is tucked into the skirt) and then sewed its end close or something to that effect.

Monday, December 12, 2016

12.12


Zalora's on 12.12 sale right now and if you're smart, you'd get on it. Unfortunately I'm on no-buy mode at the moment but if I could these are the few things I'd get from the Asian shopping site. I've been on the lookout for a giant faux fur clutch for awhile now anyway and the sunglasses...well...because I smush out everything I own of the sort in the end anyway. While the others, I usually end up misplacing somewhere else. I'm pretty normally careless like that most of the time. Probably justifies why I'd like some stuff in multiples but stop myself short at just owning one, unless it's something I would wear or use to death on a daily basis, to keep from overspending... I've been minimizing stuff for eons now, habits included.

Now listening to/playing (mood): トライ・エヴリシング (Shakira Cover) - Ami (Dream)

Feel free to use my BAP code for added 15% off or so upon checkout if you're a neophyte to the online shopping site here: ZBAP22XJ and right this way if you're going to take advantage of the sale and should you be around my area...er...country at least:



Saturday, December 10, 2016

rainbow black

 tally weijl dress, ralph lauren sport shirt (similar), rubi (via) zalora ankle boots, vintage chanel clutch, aizilim necklaces, rings and wood cuff

Swapped the clutch for a bigger vintage leather bag to contain a box of four Human Heart Nature stuff to give out to people for them to try out and this was the right Christmas outfit to go out in and party at an aunt's house. Family business thing, yep. This tally weijl dress was begging to be outed somehow this season and I finally saw to wearing it out in some way that its not just a strapless thing. I'm...not really that fond of wearing strapless dresses and tops unless they were the really beautiful bandage types that need no reinforcement from shirts or tanks? I don't really know either. Haha. I'm normally more of a spacier up-top, and if possible, everywhere else person. 

It's that time of the year where I DIY my yearly planner instead of getting it from, say, the Coffee Bean...well, not because I'm a cheapskate, maybe, partly that but mostly because for the past two or three years now, this has been practice for me. I like it when I can combine the personal journal, ideas notebook and planner in one carry-all notebook than having a planner with a compartmentalized template that's separate from the other two. Such a thing keeps me from cluttering bags I carry around with me when I go out. What I also really like about this is I have the freedom to put whatever I want on the planner-ideas notebook-journal-in-one thing. Pictures/snaps included.

I'm currently catching up to where Doubutsu Sentai Jyuohgers are already (episode 40, still in episode 19 right now). Preoccupying myself with this while waiting for more episodes of Kamen Rider Ex-Aid because being kept hanging per week spells torture for me. Also currently keeping tabs on the Jdrama, Last Cop because it has my favorite young actor from Kamen Rider Drive: Takeuchi Ryoma. I watch Kdrama on tv on and off so I only follow select Jdramas now as opposed to following a lot before. Tokusatsu is mostly the only thing I really watch...slightly religiously however. 

Did anyone else miss my random music talk corner here? Just me? Okay, then. Here goes: I feel like I've been listening to a lot of things with Steve Aoki today but it's just really two tracks (one with Adam Lambert as main vocals, another with Walk the Moon, see below). I'm not even much of a Steve Aoki fan where my tastes on edm DJ-producers go---I usually lean towards those that specialize in deep,tropical house...mostly. I just have this on repeat because I'm a fan of Walk the Moon. Yep.

Now listening to/playing (mood): Steve Aoki & Boehm - Back 2 U feat. Walk the Moon

Friday, December 9, 2016

lounge & lingerie dreaming


(vogue japan 12-15)

Tonight is colder than the usual tropical islands December nights---thing is, it's usually not this cold but hello global warming?---but all I'm thinking about is comfort dressing in lace, silk, cashmere and even some faux fur and some other such shaggy clothing materials/details to keep...somewhat warm...inside the house, in bed, specifically. So the pages on this one from last year, December 2015's Japanese Vogue resonates with me somehow. Now if I only had a cup of tea or hot chocolate to go with this mood...hmn...

Wednesday, December 7, 2016

button front skirt

 forever21 shirt and silver chain necklace, secondhand buttoned skirt, CLN wedges, apt 9 (via kohl's) bag, souvenir shop black shell bangles, from aunt yellow beaded necklace as bracelet, aizilim necklace and rings, smashbox (at Ayala Centrio) netted choker, random socks, vintage hammered bangle

The skirt is one of my most-prized secondhand/thrift finds because of the make of it. I wanted to sell it on ebay or include it to the items I am putting up there but after this, I'm on the verge of rethinking doing so though I hardly really wear it much compared to others I have. This thing is just teeming with so much potential after this experimentation for me right now. It works best with a boyshort but I suppose patterned tights will work well with it too. It is sort of high-waist so when shirts are tucked into it, it looks like it's banded around the waist. It's also the least basic with the buttons in front black skirt I own at this time. On the other hand, after so many isolated wears and washes, it seems this f21 shirt is about to give up. Hmn...

Well, Christmas parties are being thrown here and there now and it's still a week or so more before that fated day. Yep, it's becoming more and more festive now. I haven't yet decided what to wear to one this coming Friday at an aunt's place. The again, I normally dress according to mood so we'll see how that goes later...

Tuesday, December 6, 2016

summer in december

 Daiso tank (it's men's originally), gap buttoned cutoffs, zalora heels, from aunt's (last year) ribboned bag, aizilim wooden cuff, necklaces and rings, forever21 cat ears ring (not very visible in photo), vintage belt

with an old navy denim vest

Pretty busy---which should explain the week-long blogosphere absence---and yet still mellow week last week between running personal errands and working on the items for the ebay shop. Still...I can't put everything up yet because my tape measure, recently acquired last week, was borrowed and has not yet been returned. Until then, stay tuned...? 

It gets cold enough in the late afternoons to evening and the really early mornings but it's nothing a lightweight cardigan or a pullover can handle. This is the most layering I can do this time of the year here. I still count myself blessed to be living in this side of the world as it keeps me from committing fashion disaster/crisis one after another due to the lack of layering skills that could possibly be developed by practice. This year's 15 to 20 degrees celsius in the Philippines, the southern part of it specifically, is definitely more tolerable than the 4-5 degrees early to late morning coldness in Philadelphia same time last year I had the opportunity to experience.  

....and I'm finally feeling Christmas-y so here's my current always on repeat Jpop Christmas track:

 

I actually love the fact that it still has the hints of electro-dance music...definitely my kind of Christmas song this season. Happy holidays, then. :)