everything neutral-y

ribbed tank, daiso. cutoffs, gap. heels, zalora. bag, sr squared by sondra roberts. filigree cuff, forever21. straw fedora, jessica simpson.

t, secondhand hot topic. lace shorts, tally weijl. heels, zalora. bag, vintage. bangles, vintage and Dumaguete City souvenir shop. straw fedora, jessica simpson.

Photos 1 and 2 from Thursday; photos 3 and 4 from today.

Sort of really untimely post especially for Thursday's outfit. I have yet to pay the annual fee for my original photobucket account to keep uploading photos on here from there. In the meantime, I have a second account to use yet. If I can't drum up the funds to keep my other pb account active for this blog's photos, I might have to look for an alternative image hosting site. Until then, photobucket is still the easiest for me to use more than even flickr so I'm sticking to it on here.

Bandagey heels, dressy lace black shorts and striped shirt go together well, it seems. Then again, so do grey ribbed tank tops and denim cut-offs. The vintage bag on today's outfit is something I put on eternal repeat day in and day out. Bags this medium sized and the larger, spacier ones usually are the most used weekly because I tend to put a ton of things in them. Fedoras/straw hats and baseball caps (as well as snapbacks) have been my go to lately to shield the eyes from the glaring rays of the sun. After some rainy afternoons, we're having a slew of hotter days again just like the summer that has supposedly passed---weird how everywhere else it's summer and here in the islands, it's just not, anymore (I need it back!)---so those are things I deem necessary nowadays. I'd gladly go for the accessories-free head of hair and sunglasses if I found the right classic aviators and wayfarers though. I keep losing my sunglasses somehow or breaking them...I'm not the best at handling these things with caution/care.

Nothing much on pop culture/fandom today except, yay! We finally have our first Filipina Asia's Next Top Model...on season 5, no less! Yep, I watched the replay of Wednesday night's encore episode on Thursday, near-lunch time. I really was thinking Shikin would win it all thanks to Maureen's Julian-esque (from Asia's NTM season 4) dead fish-like eyes on the runway...it seems to me that, that is a trademark thing among Asia's Next Top Model contenders that come from this country.

sort of uniform and some music chatter

 t, h&m. lace shorts, tally weijl. bag, ninewest. boots, rubi by cotton on via zalora ph. straw fedora, jessica simpson. cuff/bangle, vintage.

I'm growing to like this pair of lace shorts and normally, I'm not into lace a lot unless it's placed strategically in a certain piece of clothing, like a one-piece mini dress. Or maybe a slip dress. White t and shorts is basically my default during humid summer days. It doesn't even have to be the lace shorts type either. Denim shorts and cutoffs---since most of my jeans end up being cut short unless they were the snug-fitting ones or the skinny ones that I seem to prefer most of the time---are my eternal favorites. 

It's the start of the rainy season and it has been raining on and off in the afternoons. It's still sunny majority of the days however so I might have to prolong summer dressing until the rains become more constant. Here, in the southern part of the Philippines, we only ever really get two seasons: wet and dry; rainy and sunny/humid hot, therefore there's a need to change wardrobes twice a year. In my case, I refrain from doing so, changing wardrobes twice a year, and prefer to stick to owning versatile pieces that can be worn with everything else I own instead.

Music talk: Anyway, yaaaayyyy! Da-iCE's トニカクＨｅｙ's music video is out. I LOVE IT. All caps, yes. It gives a very kpop vibe when you watch it except it's not because the lyrics is in nihonggo. The music is also very characteristic of the feel good jpop that I frequently prefer more to kpop's edgy, choppy ones---for some reason, kpop, particularly those from boybands from that camp, come off that, choppy and fragmented, to me when I listen to some of them so I tend to avoid them entirely instead.

Ah, this is only a teaser. The full length music video is uploaded on youtube. You can look it up on that site should you want to. Just note that it may be region-locked to those outside of Asia. Japanese stuff often are, apparently, granted even the DVDs I have from there are region-locked as well---for the latter, I make do with unlocking them with a software and good thing too as my dvd player reads them fine. Back to トニカクＨｅｙ however, it's definitely a summer tune better than Everybody although a notch lower from my eternal favorite from them that's Paradive. So needless to say, I'm hooked. This and Flowback's Booyah! will be on repeat for me this week. I can't really explain what I like/love about this music video...I would say everything, I guess since all I can think of. Now I can't wait for the single release! It's only a few days away until then.

so it's definitely summer now

 tank, secondhand Ralph Lauren. denim cutoffs, levis. boots, zalora. tri-strand ribbon choker, verano via zalora. belt, vintage. sunglasses, dad's. 

 fedora, jessica simpson (w/o belt)

This might be the real start of the summer, dry season. Finally. No rain in sight the whole day, just pure sun and tolerable heat in the most appropriate summer day outfit. I've actually worn this cream-colored, pretty flimsy excuse for a sunny, summer's day appropriate top under a vintage cream silk button-up shirt. It was on the recent Camiguin trip post. I found it a bit too tiresome to list down what I wore on the post so I never mentioned this thing being worn at all there until this one. So, due to how cozy this is and how it allowed me not to even put on the fan for cooler air...I actually lounged in this today, watching the kdrama Signal on TVN/Channel M without english subs which was pretty much torture. I mean, watching Signal not having any english subs the one that was pure torture. The South Korean language is pretty alien to me being someone who's more of a Japanophile than a South Korea-nophile like a high fraction of my compatriots and fellow...err...south east asians. But anyway, back to this ensemble...yes, it's pretty easy and fun to accessorize which was why, when I saw it hung on a thrift shop in Dumaguete City a couple or so years ago, I just had to get it. Also, it was pretty affordable so why couldn't I not have snatched it up then?

....and finally, I think I can start posting more summer, islander-denizen friendly, Californian-French minimal chic outfits on this blog from this day on. Thank you, dearly beloved, highly revered summer sun! There are already a few things I have in mind for these dry season's posts that, I think, I can afford to actually stay the repeat offender that I am in some of them. This season makes me want to actually do my own version of the 10x10 wardrobe challenge that's about to start at unfancy and others. It seems really fun! But I don't have instagram so I can't participate on this one there. I'm too lazy to attempt it on here either, for some reason so I think I'll just dedicate a post for pictures of this season's key pieces one day next week or so instead. Anyway, yes, it's officially summer! 

In other news, if Big Little Lies is going to be marathon-ed on HBO Asia one day after this week's 7th episode conclusion of its first season, I'm so on board on this. I enjoyed what I've glimpsed of its 7th episode yesterday.

two as one

 photos by Candice Calonia

 

slip dress, urbanoutfitters (out from under). silk top/shirt used as jacket, vintage. boots, zalora. fedora, jessica simpson.

Things came up today that made shooting a couple outfits at the bff's village's basketball court and clubhouse grounds impossible but we still had fun catching up and talking random things we usually end up doing anyway whenever we're together (because apparently, we're insane like that...). The day didn't go to waste anyway because these still turned out nice which were shot close to her place, on our way out to get chai tea latte for me and taro milk tea for her at our favorite hangout place by Grand City Hotel, Chinkeetea. We might as well establish that place as a base for the two of us one day. Haha.

I suppose it's time to look for another better location for shoots. There's really not a lot of those here. Maybe on a trip to an island or some other next time. We should have one planned for summer because, well, it's summer and dips in bodies of water, especially the sea is a heavy requirement...rather standard operating procedure.

This Friday? Movie date to Beauty and the Beast although I'm highly skeptical of Emma Watson's singing prowess in a movie musical of this production scale/size. I only probably liked Emma in the Harry Potter series, her fashion-related campaigns, and her The Bling Ring (well, I am a Sofia Coppola stan...film buffs would understand this). Also, I'm not much of a feminist (I'm an egalitarian and humanitarian by general...err...self-labeling)...okay, slightly, so I find some of her feminist advocacy quite...err...I don't know...disagreeable? Or something like it anyway. In sum, I'm not a huge Emma fan despite having grown to love a lot of Harry Potter. Bff and I will wing this Beauty and the Beast film date by this friday then...I suppose. I'm more just a tag along at this affair than anything, anyway.

PS

Do I need to explain the post title? I currently have Da-iCE's Two as One track playing on the itunes player. Also, the boys and I have similar outfit color schemes on this post and the Next Phase album's (where Two as One can be heard/listened to from) cover so... 

tank and shorts summer uniform

 tank, bench ph. shorts, levis cutoffs. boots, zalora (rubi - cotton on). fedora, jessica simpson.

Today's mood called for the usual white tank and levis cutoffs, reason being, the whole day was gloriously sunny and hot, aka: this is just the kind of day I live for. I have a feeling I will be seen sporting this fedora for most of this season unless I find something similar to rotate this with.

....and I know this was so last year but I feel the need to revive the love for this Da-iCE track on here because it is officially summer (unless it threatens to rain again then hello on/off, really weird summer...)

 

I haven't actually forgotten that this all-around California-I wish I were back there again as I miss it much being there lately-goodness exists, too... maybe one day I'll have to move myself to California for good...I'm the kind to love living in that part of the world...that or Sydney, Australia...or better yet, Ibiza.

 

Alright, summer! Bring it! Of course, it's not all too out there, obvious, that this is my favorite time of the year. It makes being a lifelong resident of the paradise-like tropics sweeter. You have no idea how ecstatic I am at this time meanwhile people all around me are likely groaning their complaints of the hot, extremely sunny weather. Well...let them.

valentines day look and a bit of the 59th Grammys

 vintage dress, mags shorts, forever21 arm cuff/bracelet and heels, jessica simpson straw fedora, aizilim bracelet/cuff and heart necklace, LC Lauren Conrad bracelet, smashbox (in Ayala Centrio) choker

Valentines day outfit. So what do y'guys plan to do on this day? I've been meaning to watch about three or four episodes of Kindaichi Shounen no Jikenbo (Casefiles of Young Kindaichi)'s valentines day case...I'll probably do this tonight. I'll try to locate it on a streaming site for animes or I'm pretty sure I have them somewhere in my local hard drive/disk storage. 

Music talk: Yesterday was the Grammy's. How really good was that Prince tribute from The Time and Bruno Mars?! One huge highlight for the show yesterday, that one was for me. Adele's tribute to George Michael was pretty disappointing---the Grammy's really should have prepared something more for this as GM is pretty iconic to me as a pop music enthusiast and sometimes critic. I really like Lukas Graham but they should've been given a different segment to Kelsea Bellarini as I haven't been a fan of country music in forever outside of maybe Martina McBride and Carrie Underwood so they could show their own shine because, seriously, 7 Years isn't the only magnificent song from this band...there are a few others I like from them on their youtube channel. Twenty One Pilots winning the Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for Stressed Out had me over the moon granted this one was such a surprise win. I love about 3 to 4 tracks from their record, Blurryface so I had been so pumped for them and Lukas Graham being nominated in a number of categories. Katy Perry going political was also a thing for me however subtle that one was. Hmn...what else am I missing? I guess that's pretty much it. I'm not a huge fan of either Beyonce or Adele seeing as I hardly listen to mainstream pop. Criticisms on the Grammys yesterday: they really need to fix the sound problems they have which is present on a yearly basis---it messed up Adele's GM tribute and the Metallica and Lady Gaga performance among others; and hmn...I think it's high time the governing body behind the awards show let someone of a different skin color or race win, by this I mean Beyonce. The Beyhive has been thirsting/hungering for her to win some of the most coveted Grammy's awards like Album of the Year, Song of the Year and more, anyway. I think it would also be nice if they moved more of the pre-telecast awarding to the main show so there's a decent ratio of the performances and the awards. I'm sure I have a few others in mind but these two are the most I can name for now. Will I be watching the Grammy's next year? I'm not all that sure yet if technicalities like this continue but to be honest, the Grammy's is really the only awards show I watch year in and year out as I'm not that fond of film and tv show awards for some reason...this includes the Oscars that's happening in two weeks from the Grammy's. I watch a mixture of indie films and mainstream films so I don't really see the point of keeping tabs on awards shows. I should say the same for music as I listen to a mixture too but yeah...I still probably would not let things like the Grammy's pass seeing as I don't really follow the AMAs (American Music Awards) and more.

makeshift silky wrap

 vintage maje dress, jessica simpson straw fedora, burlington (via robinson's department store) socks, CLN wedges, forever21 filigree cuff/bracelet, aizilim necklaces, smashbox netted choker 

The dress is originally knee-length. After knotting together a large portion of the satiny fabric up front and now it looks like a fairly-like wrap dress. The dress, due to the silkiness, has a luxurious feel to it when worn that it can be a piece to go on a night out in or even stay in on some weekends if one likes to. ...and I figured brown and navy blue would look pretty good together.