photos 1-3:button up shirt, vintage. cutoffs, gap. bag, ninewest. boots, rubi by cotton on via zalora ph. photos 4-5: tank, bench ph. shorts, mags. wedges, CLN. clutch bag, gift from aunt. blazer, vintage.
Yesterday and today's outfits. 2 days worth of outfits for several days' worth of going missing from the blogosphere from some time last week. There's really not much to share about this week and last week either. At least not a lot of good news to share. A lot of things going on this side of the world is bad news, instead. Let's not dwell on that however. It's just...all bad and depressing. National and inside the island issues, yes. You'd think Mindanao Island in the Philippines is sunny and warm and paradise-like but at this time, it's really not...that...much a paradise.
It's around 30 degrees and up, 33-36 to be more specific, Celsius here so it's definitely hot. Very hot. It's close to the regular body temperature, even. Yet, the weathermen on the news say the rainy season is upon us. I definitely hope it cools down a little more. Otherwise, I'm happy being mostly in shorts and mini skirts until then.
shortalls, cotton on. t, zara. boots, forever21. bag, vintage/old ninewest.
From last Saturday. The shortalls are proving to be an all-rounder...cozy something lately.
Tuesday. And it's really early in the morning. So I woke up today to checking out 19-year-old Swede, Zara Larsson's music which, surprisingly, I ended up liking. This is all thanks to my aimless wandering towards lol_avex's twitter timeline where I found a tweet saying they attended Zara's live in collaboration with H&M around Tokyo. What I found out about Zara is that So Good is a solid pop/dance pop album so far. When it comes to the Swede musicians and the ladies at that, I'm really more of a Tove Lo fan (hint: we're the same age, she's just really more brilliant music making-wise...not that I ever tried or attempted putting out some music covers, not really originals, outside of the youtube thing I did way, way back...) where pop music making---songwriting, beats creating and all---is concerned but Zara is definitely getting there and just at 19, she's quite a promising all-around pop music talent. She comes off as someone with a lot of potential at such a young age for me. She's not Tove Lo solid yet as a songwriter (Tove Lo is god-tier for me thanks to Queen of the Clouds which was utterly brilliant pop in my book although Lady Wood is just as good however...) but I can't wait to see how this girl, Zara grows up as an all-around pop musician like her predecessor, Tove Lo. I think she'll be a force to reckon with in the near future. Anyway, three of what I currently like from So Good:
Zara's So Good record is definitely bop-able. *insert heart-eyes emojis here...*
dress, vintage. boots, rubi by cotton on (via zalora). cuff/bracelet, forever21.
A pretty lazy cocoon-ish dress for a rainy Monday afternoon in while working on the ebay (or attempting to, I'll be updating it today with stuff at least...). This dress is actually two-tone that goes a lighter brown on the back in reference to the darker brown in the front. Although two-tone is something I'm not so into, yet---I'll get around to it one day---this was just too cozy to let go of when I found it in a thrift store. The fabric is really smooth and soft and draped just loosely right everywhere. I like some unshapely dresses like this from time to time. It's definitely lazy wear appropriate around the house and possibly even out---will just have to wear something to keep the rain off of the inner layer like a coat, jacket or a cardigan, preferably something knitted yet still warm, should I go out in this today. Rain-proof footwear is required, too. It's still summer or should still be summer but I'm hearing that by the end of this month, the rainy season is starting. The latter seems coming in early this time of the year. Well...it's time to get the anti-rain gear out and ready...
t, h&m. skirt, a&f. boots, rubi by cotton on via zalora ph. purse/mobile phone purse/bag, coach.
White t and printed skirt combo for a friday that I spent watching the last two episodes of the police/crime kdrama, Signal on TVN. The thing about weekends is...it excites me even if I spend it at home and probably just catching up to the tv shows I watch almost-regularly or on movie marathons. I rarely really go out on weekends although I'm currently missing going to the eco/nature parks and beaches closest to the city. Proximity to these places is actually what makes living in this side of the world, this (still developing) city fun for me. I'm currently itching to go nature tripping.
I'm weak to pieces that can be worn in multiple ways, and in the lightest colors. Most likely, one, it's because this island seems to be in the perpetual summer sunny day state 365 days a year and two, wearing dark colors just doesn't seem to fit such days around here...and in tropical places by default. And so, such is the case of this dress...top thing. It's such an easy thing to dress up and dress down---I've worn it with just shorts at some point too and as a dress although definitely a short one (I'm not a stripper so I wouldn't attempt this when going out and prefer to wear a pair of shorts with this thing when doing so...). And I guess, easy to wash or take care of as it seems to be made of silk or a mix of it and a few other kinds of fabric. Note that I tend to handwash these things delicate more than use the washing machine. At home, we actually don't own one---a washing machine. It's hardly really needed in this side of the world unless one has a load of laundry to do every week or so. I actually like to re-wear some pieces day in and day out until I think they should be thrown into the laundry---I see nothing wrong in doing so. This works two ways for me: one, it ensures the longevity of clothes I own (frequent washing is known to easily wear down clothing) and two, it keeps me from having a load of laundry to do on a weekly or once in two weeks basis.
Also, I have this fantasy of owning little else in due time, in the style I like the most, that I am also the most comfortable with, and doing all sorts of creative things with that number of clothing (in the wardrobe) for every purpose in life: travel and other just everyday things. I don't know...I'm an aspiring minimalist with a very summery wardrobe, I guess. ....and such is the theme of this blog as I actually meant it to be since starting it. I'm sort of obsessed with the less is more idea although it may seem I hardly live it or put it to practice.
top, vintage ralph lauren. lace shorts, tally weijl. boots, rubi by cotton on (via zalora). necklace/choker, forever21.
Something pretty summer high heat-friendly and cozy for today. I'm not usually a fan of lace but this pair of shorts work fine when cinched higher above the waist. My main problem with this has always been the low crotch area when it's hanging lower around the waist... Nothing high-waisted-wearing can't solve, however.
Tenderness by General Public has been stuck in my head for eons now since hearing it on Clueless a couple days ago, when I caught the latter's ending on HBO. Everything about Clueless from the wardrobe to the plot and/or story to the OST is 90s classic---the film was released in the early to mid-1990s but General Public's Tenderness has been out since around 1983-1985 based on my googling around on this matter...---and I lived that decade and continue to live it so...yep...Tenderness remains stuck in my head to this day. Now I have 80s tracks from A-Ha, Wham!, Culture Club, Duran Duran, The Police, General Public and Starship playing via the Windows Media Player Classic. The 80s music mania has been going on for about a couple days now and seems to show no sign of stopping...yet. Anyway, I did, as a little child, catch the really late 80s thanks to the aunts (mum's sisters) going gaga over everything 80s back then: the movies, Ghost and Mannequin come to mind for this time period and their impeccable OSTs so let's just say, I'm pretty familiar with 80s rock and roll, classic rock and pop somehow. I'm currently just taking it unto myself now to reacquaint myself with the music of that era now that I'm older and while doing so, I find a lot of the music released then are pretty much...gold~ I'm more of a 90s person on the whole but 80s music, especially the pop kind, has a special place in my heart thanks to my digging around for good stuff from that said decade. Oh and how cute is the music video for Tenderness, exactly? Yep.
I'll work around building a good 80s pop, pop-rock playlist somehow...until then, this music/songlist will have to suffice. By the by, I'm currently enjoying Kate Bush after looking her music up on Youtube. This is so beautiful pop for me!
I just realized I spent a good chunk of this post to discuss music...I guess it's how much I love it? I don't know anything either, really...
tank, bench ph. skirt, vintage suede. boots, rubi by cotton on (via zalora ph). bag, gifted by aunt. arm bangles/bracelets, vintage and souvenir shop.
I suppose it's time to break out this tunic skirt...thing and I think...I have quite the thing for button-front skirts as of late. Little details make what is a boring army-green-ish bottom look all the more better in photos.I actually like little details. The belt is inseparable to the skirt so it's a fully equipped little thing I'll probably be obsessed with for a while right after the vintage light brown skirt I also keep wearing when in a hurry to go out for stuff.Anyway, I think I'm going back to the skirts+shorts and tops formula. It's a tried and tested one that guarantees me minimal melting in the summer heat whether it's late afternoons or mid-afternoons or really sunny mid-mornings.
Sort of a new skin care/beauty obsession now that I've run out of the Coast to Coast serum is this arbutin thing. It's my second day using it and though I'm not really seeing any effects yet, I might as well keep using it with the lady housemate until it runs out. I do like me some Japanese skin care products right next to French, some American and the local organic ones from my favorite, HumanHeartNature. I'm the kind who's usually more into skincare than make-up though I do have my go-tos for the latter from time to time.
South Korean beauty products are the ones easily accessible from here/in this side of the world considering we have Etude House and the Face Shop among others but something about this just doesn't seem to sit right with me so I stick to the ones I'm more familiar and am more at ease with (American, French, local (Philippines-made), Japanese). I think the fact that a lot of them use some extract from snails scare me away and put me off them quite indefinitely. Plant-based things are just more my thing, I guess---however much a struggling vegetarian (currently succeeding as a pescetarian at the moment) I am. This doesn't mean I'm writing off South Korean skin care+beauty products however. I think SKII for one is good and worth it using or trying. Consider me out of the loop on beauty/skin care trends but I'll stay away from these skin care products for now, thank you. But outside of this, I kind of do want to try the precise liquid eye liner from Etude house...and, well...one day I will. Well, you can say I don't really frequent those shops in the city's malls and online a lot. And in relation to South Korean beauty and skin-care matters...I think Get It Beauty in TVN is getting too tiring for me to follow as of late, I've been skipping it lots when on a TV binge. I'm crossing it off of my regular watch list on local cable tv subscription list...
On the music fandom front...I've been listening non-stop to Tove Lo today. Lady Wood is such a good, good album but Queen of the Clouds will always have a special place in my heart for me, after all. I am this insane slash mad for everything Tove Lo's songwriting and music/beats making. From Lady Wood, Cool Girl and Imaginary Friend are the two tracks that speak the most to me. Meanwhile, Queen of the Clouds is just love all around from The Sex (Intro) to Habits (Stay High) (Hippie Sabotage Remix). Love Ballad, from there is especially the most special to me. So...in line with that, here's the track I love so much:
