back to my favorite place

 

vneck shirt, bench ph; skirt, f101 via zalora ph; heels, primadonna via zalora ph; wristlet, coach (gifted by aunt); mobile phone, samsung a21s; rings, mix of bagel girl at sm downtown premiere & aizilim cdeo; necklaces, forever21 & aizilim cdeo; earrings, sm uptown cdo superstore (the accessories section), pretty old; sunglasses, forever21 gifted by bff michi; bracelets, mix of necklace as bracelet gifted by aunt & aizilim cdeo; headband, I forgot...either forever21 or robinsons' department store's or sm superstore's accessories section. lol.

If I'm frowning in some photos, it's because it's really hot outside and it's already November. That's the Philippines for you. It's always hot during the day of the -ber months going into the end of the year, December. It only gets cooler during the late afternoon and evening and even then, it's not really THAT cool. It is cooler in the mountain area, though, so there's that at least. In the morning, it also gets pretty cold.

This headband is the only thing in pink I'm wearing for now. I don't really have a lot of pink in my closet but I'm working around to filling that up with accessories mostly and some tshirts.

Tshirts and tanks... This week, those seem to be the only things I'm wearing now to work from home. I haven't gone out this whole week and I don't see myself going out until next week either. Well, I am a homebody through and through.

I stocked up on tshirts and tanks last year and two years ago from Terranova in Limketkai Mall and Bench via Zalora Ph online. I'm crossing out Bench from my list of stores I buy from though...not because they lack in quality with the stuff they sell but because...because...there's this one politician they feature on an ad I'm not too into and that also caused more to call for the boycott of the brand. There are, unfortunately, a lack of local stores that sell basic shirts, tanks and stuff. You can go with H&M, sure, but that would cost a bit and our Forever21 here in SM Downtown Premiere actually just closed down last year so I've no choice but to get basics from there online through Lazada or better yet, Zalora. Paying for shipping is going to cost much in the long run but with the novel corona virus still around and still mutating...it's really not like we have any other choice but to get stuff online.

At least I have basic tops to last me awhile until I need to stock up again later. Heh.

I'm currently eyeing some pink shirts that may be affordable for me. I'll think about those yet...well...actually, it's only one from Clothes and Coffee. You can still shop their site here but they're also shopee here. I've been browsing the site and their shopee but I haven't really found anything I'm too into except some pink shirts. Their bottoms are definitely interesting though, especially the trousers which I lack much in the wardrobe. I only have about...two trousers I wear interchangeably when I go to offices so I'd love to add more one day. 

I'm thinking about posting daily from next week although I may have work to do towards the end of this week and some of next week as someone just offered me one on one site I'm in so we'll see how this goes. I might have to schedule these shoots daily though and, of course, the posts. 

on wednesdays, we wear bits and pieces of pink!

 

plaid button up shirt, thrifted; tank, old and thrifted; pink tube bra, gifted by an aunt; cosmetics bag (it's not a clutch bag, lol), victoria's secret and still gifted by an aunt; shorts, old forever21; heels, primadonna via zalora philippines; rings, mix of forever21, aizilim cdeo, and bagel girl in SM Downtown Premier CdeO; bracelets, aizilim cdeo and gifted by aunt (rosegold and used to peach-pink somehow); sunglasses, gifted by my bff Michi/JM from some Christmases ago (also a bit pink)

I got caught by the rain so I couldn't shoot outside for this #KakamPinkWednesday thing on social media (I only do this on Twitter and Instagram, facebook, wuh?! I don't know facebook. lol.) and these pictures, because I shot them inside while it's raining out, don't do justice to the things I'm wearing here.

I SWEAR the plaid shirt has some pink on it, fuchsia pink, even! Which is, by the way, the shade the supporters of our VP Leni for #halalan2022 (2022 Philippine National Elections) has adopted. It just looks black or dark here due to the lack of better lighting.

These blurry photos, though, seem to capture the bits of fuchsia pink on this thrifted number thing. I got it a couple or three weeks ago when I last went out to do stuff. I haven't gotten out since and won't be going out at all until sometime tomorrow or Friday to do stuff, run some errands.

There is a reason why I don't have a lot of pink in my closet and it's not that it's an undesirable color for me. The only color I haven't really been wearing much anywhere is purple or violet and it's my grandmother's favorite color---it just ceased being my favorite color over time. It's that there's one color I love more than pink and the clue of it is on the phone I'm holding and my clothes: blue. I'm a huge fan of blue and shabby chic interior and exterior styling at home plus everything that has to do with the sea so I find people who deck their rooms with everything pink just, err, mad most of the time. So basically, it's just because we have this #KakamPinkWednesdays thing going on leading to #halalan2022 that I'm stocking up on pink stuff. lol.

So now you know...my christmas gifts wishlist right now contains a lot of things pink. Haha.

*****

Anyone else who has been following Philippine politics on twitter and especially through the #KakamPink and #KakamPinkWednesdays hashtags or trends however should know wearing pink is not the only thing we can do now. Yes, we can do that too, a lot, to make sure to grab more attention and direct them towards our VP and all the rest she's endorsing and those running with her. We can also do things as little as just being kind to people---basically things that can also mean the color pink: loving people, being kind to people and more. I won't call it radical love but something close, just being decent to people and being your decent self everywhere.

So I did one #KakamPink thing and that's to give one extra tote bag I got from the Dapat si Leni (it should be Leni) merch store to my closest confidante here at home, my Ate Tata. She's our kasambahay or househelp who has been with us for a long time and I consider her more a sister than just that. I actually got two of these tote bags of the same design, the Husay at Tibay one, and I was looking to give away the extra to someone else and it just so happened she's the closest I can give it to so it's an advanced Christmas gift from me to her now. 

I'm looking to buy more of these to mostly give away but I'll wait to stock up on more when I've gone back to earning regularly again from writing, editing and proofreading mostly.

As for the stuff I got from the said merch store, I have a separate post for that I'm still working on I'll be posting sometime this weekend or next week. The soonest that will be going live here will be on Friday or Saturday.

the mexican-philippine connection: dia de los muertos and UNDAS

 

mini dress, zalora philippines (old), probably not so clear in the photos but it's there underneath the cardigan; lace cardigan, vintage; necklaces, a mix of aizilim cdeo and forever21; rings, a mix of aizilim, bagel girl via sm downtown premier cdeo, forever21; heels, primadonna via zalora philippines (old); tights, random department store find (gaisano, I think, the 50 Php ish ones probably meant for one-time wear); devil horn headband (unseen here but in later photos, might be seen more), national bookstore (old); skull tealight/candle holder, daiso cdeo

A closer, better lighted look at tonight's outfit

I never dressed up as anything or anyone the 31st of October, back a few days ago or so but I had to, come November 2, Philippines' time. Here, it's still what we call UNDAS (November 1-All Saints' Day and November 2-All Souls' Day). Googling it earlier tonight, I'm surprised to find all of October 31 to November 2 in Mexico is actually Dia de Muertos or Dia de los Muertos which is basically almost what UNDAS here is. To westerners, it's the Halloween weekend so most of the time, I just refer to it as the Halloween weekend since such holidays continue 'til the 2nd of November anyway. It's the short 2-3 days we actually remember the dead here and yes, abroad, including in Mexico. I've always read from others how similar some Philippine holidays are to Mexico and customs and traditions and the likes but I never figured out 'til now how close it is until I googled dia de los muertos and UNDAS tonight. Just one thing about this though, I wish I'm better at makeup for costuming because I really dig the makeup for this Mexican occasion I often see when I google pictures of them like this one here from pinterest:

Hopefully I can one day learn this and get the hang of it because with the pandemic, I feel like all my creative energies have really dried up that even this halloween weekend shoot came out quite dry and uninspired (to me, anyway, I don't really know much how it is with the rest of you) even when I feel like I've put enough effort to it.

I was in Jasaan with the family overnight from Sunday 'til morning of Monday this week so I never got to work on a Halloween shoot until tonight. What I did there is your typical way Filipinas like me sort of celebrate the occasion growing up: watched Tumbok (a Filipino horror film) on TV5; Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho's Halloween special on GMA; and then waited for Yang Yoseob's set on MCountdown until 12 midnight aired also on TV5. I would have done this Halloweeny shoot in Jasaan but I didn't have a lot of my creepy ish, cool stuff with me and it was more a time to spend with family---three to four generations of it from my grandparents to my parents to my younger brother and cousin---so yeah, quite a busy overnight trip one with chores and stuff at my grandparents' before I got to lie on the couch and chill to these things on tv I mentioned I watched 'til 12-ish midnight. For some reason, I don't sleep well there so I only ever got 2-3 hours of sleep until 7:30 Monday morning.

I'm not entirely sure what I'm aiming for, for this Halloween shoot in terms of costume. LOL. Just your regular gothic, devil girl, I guess. I've been watching some horror films here and some fantasy new and old ones too but nothing has inspired me to dress up as anyone...yet...really. We'll see next Halloween, 2022 Halloween. Hopefully something good in mind comes up where this goes. Again, I just really feel uninspired lately. It's definitely the pandemic effect. It is still going on 'til now despite how there're more people out now in malls and such. (Philippines NEEDS more public spaces because malls aren't really good ones to be in when we have a pandemic still going on. Ugh. I just count myself lucky I'm in the Mindanao island so we have beaches and the likes when we need to be out and not in the super crowded malls. Heh.) Either way, watch me dress up as a unicorn maybe in 2022 as I'm soooo...this close to getting a unicorn headband or something like it, actually. 

Going back to the subject of Mexico, I've been having the urge to check on some telenovelas as of late. I'm not entirely sure why. I guess it has to do with TV5 re-airing Thalia's Maria La Del Barrio dubbed in Filipino/Tagalog. We did get a lot of her telenovela here in our local tv networks back in the day so I saw Thalia's shows a lot growing up. A lot of Philippine tv dramas/shows are actually telenovela-ish if that ever says anything about how similar our country is and its practices, including tv contents, to Mexico. I'm currently thinking about getting into Reina de Corazones. Or...is there any other you can suggest I get into? I'm not too into these things because I normally dislike how convoluted the story gets plus long *ss episodes of a telenovela but, yeah, I guess I now have better, newfound patience for telenovelas if I'm currently craving to watch them/get into them after a long while now. I'll see about which telenovela I can preoccupy myself with one of these days. Heh.

what am I holding on to?

ribbed tube dress, zalora basics; heels, primadonna; red clutch, ninewest; black tiny pouch, coach; necklace/choker, forever21 (old); bracelets/arm bangles, mix of forever21 and dumaguete city and siquijor island souvenir shops'; rings, random and mostly from Bagel Girl in SM Downtown Premier CdeO

New tube dress to play with? It actually goes well with like, A LOT of things like the denim vest from Old Navy I'm currently wearing as I type this. Not really regretting that I carted this Zalora Basics piece upon coming across it browsing around the site. I'm currently devising other ways to wear this out and about in my right now.

Meanwhile, new kicks from Primadonna via Zalora. Yay!

It's on sale so I just had to. 799.something Php is a good price already and warranted another pair costing around 699.something Php so yep, the most AWESOME DEAL so far! The tiny skin showing around the bottom part of the bandagey part of this pair disturbs me but I think it'll be fixed with a pair of black socks. I'm counting on this pair to mix well with trousers or pants and jeans I very rarely wear, though. So I'm expect about that prospect too. I'll test that theory out one day soon. Hmn...

Boring few weeks so far but trying to hold on because the new corona virus outbreak certainly IS making a mess of a lot of things at this time. Well, it's boring and slightly not so boring lately because I have a best friend's simple, hopefully super pretty, civil wedding to help with slated in April 26 so yes, there's a bit of cheer to be had amidst this crazy time spent mostly at home or so. I'm looking forward to this one as I'd been, for the first time, named the maid of honor. Hmn...I'm still grappling in the dark with how to do this. I think I'll live? I hope. First off, it's time to go dress hunting! 

currently listening to: Already Love - Great Good Fine Ok

Hmn...I'm currently tempted to get 3 CDs from here but sorely disappointed that the latest one is only in vinyl. Can there be a CD release for GGFOUR? Ugh.

it says, 'sweet wild child'

tank dress, something borrowed via zalora. bangles/bracelets, from everywhere particularly Siquijor Island and Dumaguete City souvenir shops. ankle boots, primadonna via zalora (old, probably sold out already). rings, from everything particularly Bagel Girl in SM Downtown Premier. bag, from an aunt. beaded choker, aeropostale. long leaf necklace, f21. earrings, shesells.cdo on instagram. 

Me thinks you've seen this dress in a post before so yes, it's, well, quite old. Last year's acquisition. I just got to finally take a better picture of this thing and posted it here. One reason why I bought this one was the print: sweet wild child. Kind of like me? Kind of. I'm more boring than wild with sporadic trips to islands here and there. Cebu's Bantayan Island may have been bust last month but I only have it tabled. I definitely am going one day soon. Off tangent. Nothing new much with this one though, just a mix of everything old and kind of new as the Bagel Girl ring is a new-ish acquisition of last week's.

I think I've about given up with three layer necklaces. The built in kind. I actually got a couple. One of which came with this choker from Aeropostale, from an aunt in the US. The other was a Forever21 acquisition from here in SM Downtown Premier as well. Both are hopeless because they keep tangling up so I hardly use them now. Ugh. Don't you just HATE it when accessories end up tangled all over like that? I do. I'd rather just get separates now.

And then I messed this outfit up with the animal print vest I've had since forever...

vest, vintage/thrifted...i forgot where.

Lately, I've been obsessed with the show, The Great Escape. Hmn...I thoroughly enjoyed the Dr. Jo Mateo Psychiatric Hospital leg. Yes. It reminds me of The Genius season 1 and it's actually because they have the same producer/writer. Haha. Figures.

Back to clothes: I'm not entirely sure what's happening. I have been thinking the corona virus is messing with my packages. I am still expecting some items from Japan, fandom stuff and they haven't yet made it to me since last, last month. There are about two of these. And another is the zalora ones I ordered the other week. It's supposed to take less than a week but it's one week now? Huh? What's going on with the local post? I wonder. I REALLY hope it makes it here soon. The post men haven't sent me messages on these either. *Insert sad face here*.

Again, with the lip gloss. I'm of the opinion the lip gloss trend died when I left high school but I still use it when I can. All because I have a few tubes of it or so in my make-up bag. Otherwise, it's really just in the runways that it continues to live on...I think? I only ever wear it when I have it. 

2020 wanderland festival dreaming

dress, zalora basics. heels, primadonna via zalora. clutch, ninewest. chunky chain necklace, forever21. necklace as bracelet and layered bracelet, gifted by grandmum and aunt. rings, new acquisition from bagel girl at SM Downtown Premier 

This is what I imagine myself wearing to the 2020 Wanderland Music Festival in the vast collection of cities up north, NCR. I think they're holding the said event somewhere in Quezon City. Originally, I thought March 7 was the final showdown between one of my favorite local indie bands, Sansette, and the Sundown. It turns out that the competition has ended and the privilege of joining the Wanderland Festival lineup was given to the Sundown. Well, end of story, I missed to support Sansette last February 1. Oh well... Sansette is having their music video launch for Sunburn on the 28th, though! I wish I could be there but yes, if you're in Cebu City and you're going then I hope y'all have fun in there and enjoy the good music they play! Their music is sooooo fun and at the same time chill I just adopted their entry to Wanderbattle here as my personal theme song: 

It's title is Sinking and it's so chill in terms of beats and music mixing and arrangement, you won't know it actually talks about depression, sadness and/or melancholy that comes when the summer ends. Needless to say, I have this on repeat at the moment. I've put it on repeat when I do stuff at work at least. LOL. It's...addicting somehow and lyrically, it just speaks to me perfectly. Definitely a track I would keep on loop when summer ends and autumn, winter settles in, yes. I'm the quintessential summer child who just cannot live without summer, beach, the pool, sand and sea, coconuts and more. Basically...an islander for life.

Anyway, more about this dress? It's almost gone! It's now only available in medium gray. It's SUCH A MAGNIFICENT basic though. As expected of one of my favorite Zalora brands, Zalora Basics. Since it's still quite a tad bit cold tonight, I can imagine this dress shrunk in by an oversized sweater which I seem to amass in multitudes as well as of late. The french striped Forever21 purchase also from Zalora from the end of last year is the latest addition. I know I have a few of the same kind, from Uniqlo and others, thrifted randomly lying around somewhere though. Watch me wear this one as a comfy lounge piece from now on, yes. It'll be a constant thing as it's just sooo wearable despite it being bodycon and super fitted to the form. It's still adequately breathable worn in. 

Life moves on. I might really have to go down to the dentist sometime this week and next week for a quick fix on a fragmented tooth at the back of the mouth. It's causing me discomfort at the moment as it's quite inflamed? And it hurts when touched from the cheeks alone. Wanderbattle Cebu City leg is done for, since February 1, and out the window anyway. I'll just keep tabs on Sansette and my other favorite, Sepia Times, as well as Mandaue Nights, until further notice. Mandaue Nights is actually the only one of three I haven't seen live. I've seen both Sepia Times and Sansette last December 2019 at Chingkeetea. It was my first time to see Sansette and I liked them from the get-go hence why, a while ago, I was raring to go and support them at the Wanderbattle Cebu City finals thinking this was in March 7 still and not the past February 1. 

In other news, I'm still forever waiting my Zalora package to come in the mail among a few others. This...wait... I hope it'll end soon.

Speaking of music festivals...how about you? Would you attend Wanderland Festival this year? They had good lineups way back but this isn't really my thing as it's in NCR and NCR for me can be super stressful especially with traffic and all. I've been eyeing the Malasimbo Music and Arts Festival for the longest time now, admittedly. It used to be in Puerto Galera which is paradise, by the way. Now it's relocated to Quezon City in NCR. Hmn...

pictures and my new kicks! yay!

photos from tumblr and fashiontoast.com and Primadonna via Zalora PH

Two new pairs of shoessss! Can you guess which ones? Kind of wish the Chloe x Doc Martens ones are still around but I guess everyone else cool has snapped them up on eBay and everywhere else otherwise. I did see one for sale eBay but way out of my budget, as per usual.

The bulk of my clothing budget goes to shoes. Yes. It rarely goes to clothes and a few others. Typical of a shoes obsessed someone. I don't really mind if they're a tad bit uncomfortable either. Hmn...yep.

More pressing matters at hand: the COVID 19. It's wide spread in South Korea right now as well. I hope everyone stays safe. It's still somehow well-managed here in the Philippines and the 1 death we'd had recorded here is an elderly Chinese man. I think some of our own countrymen have tested positive for the virus but there's nothing really definite about that one yet, either. But as it is important to take the necessary precautions, still, I was not really THAT surprised that SM Downtown Premier in my area have temperature checks and large containers of alcohol at the entrance. All their entrances are, I think, equipped with those. Good one, SM! What I'm more surprised about is that Ayala Centrio, the better mall I kind of prefer, do not have these measures. I haven't been to the other one, Lim Ketkai Mall, so I can't compare the three yet. Anyway, what I mean to say is that as someone who doesn't really go out as much and just prefers to do most things online and in smaller shops in the Divisoria area of the city, this hardly affects me much. One of the necessary precautions is not to go out to crowded places because you never know what you'll get there. The COVID 19 may be quite rampant there, we don't know. So it's best to be safe than sorry. 

Let's find better ways to entertain ourselves in, yes? Yes.

too early for valentines' day

dress, Zalora (old and was on sale at the time); etched bracelets/bangles, old F21 and souvenir shop ones (from Dumaguete City and Siquijor Island); clutch, Chanel (pretty sure this isn't authentic but I wouldn't know either, I suck at authenticating these things); shoes, Primadonna via Zalora; necklaces, random buy somewhere from the local market; choker, Verano via Zalora

Did you miss this one gate? Well...I did, too! Just as much as I missed randomly styling stuff so I'm bringing it back now! It's not really a wall but well, there's nowhere else to shoot good outfit photos here other than this one and ideally around 5 in the afternoon, too. Anyway...off topic. Let's get back on track.

Story time: this dress was actually a random, last minute buy prior for the October 2019 Taipei trip. From my feeble memory (my short term one sucks, don't be surprised), I bought this dress with these Primadonna shoes. I remember taking advantage of the 11.11 sale for these and an eyeliner from BLK. The color was the reason why I decided to get this. I figured my closet badly needed something dusty rose? But when I look at it now, the frills feel not so me. Or does it? Yeah, I'm not really one into frills this much. Good thing they're just around the middle and the bottom parts. The polka dot print isn't that bad, it's very fine you won't notice it here in the photos for one. But I don't really wear a lot of polka dotted clothes so I'm not a very good judge on that one either.

The Chanel clutch? It's an ancient find and I'm not sure it's authentic either. Pretty sure it isn't. I decided then and there to buy this one along with a chained one that's fallen apart at the bottom part the minute I saw the lady carry them with her. Possibly to put them on display. This was in a thrift store I loved going to at the city center waaaayy, way back. Sadly, they've closed now.

And yes, that's a pair of ear cuffs I scored from Taipei Main Station's basement mall during my trip there last October. I'd like to get more of these so I'm hoping for another Taipei trip soon, but mostly just for shopping. Along with this one came a ring that's for the middle part of the forefinger or so. It's a layering kind. And I'd like to get more of those as well. 

I don't really regret getting the dress. It's just that I may not be able to wear it as often. I'm back to looking for the right time to wear things like this one again. Ah well... It does look nice, rather, better with the boho details like the dream catcher necklace, though.

More Taipei trip backlogs coming in the next few days. Sorry, I am rarely home right after work, mine ends early so I'd have enough time for shoots like this and more blog post constructing but I end up spending most of my free time out with a friend from work. I'm...I've decided I'm only going out with friends on weekends and on some holidays rather than the weekdays in between, after week, so expect more posts to come, yes!

Random things from today:

• went to the grocery store near work for a tiny bit of vegan haul consisting of vegan butter coconut biscuits and a tiny block of tofu
• dropped by a nearby convenience store for a bottle of soymilk. I currently have a favorite brand that's just made locally around my place
• while walking on the way to where I would ride home, some random guy told me to take off my earphones because he thought I wouldn't be able to hear the cars/vehicles' honking at me. I think this one's an old RTA. Unfortunately, I don't care much about that. I put on the earphones because I normally don't want to interact with people around while I'm out nor do I want to be bothered like that. Also, I'm fully capable of caring for myself while walking to wherever, please and thank you.

Just your regular boring stuff. Yes.

lace on lace

lace t, from mum (some Korean brand...tag says Savage?). skirt, secondhand/vintage. wedges, primadonna ph. purse/wristlet, coach.

Lace on lace today. Well, not the skirt but the bralette and t. The t feels like a bodysuit as it molds to the body well. I'm not particularly fond of lace ts like this but it could work, too, I suppose.

Here is something I'm pretty excited about:

It's coming out next month, if I read the release date on their staff's twitter account right. It's such a happy, happy, HAPPY song for the winter season (in Japan, not here in the Philippines because, y'know...it's eternally summer here).

one of the rare days we had all day's worth of sun...

shirt and shorts, target. bag, gianni bernini. wedges, primadonna ph. 

 

faux one-piece

slipdress, vintage. top, emoda. wedges, primadonna ph. bag, ninewest.

However way it looks---whether a dreamy, layered one-piece or a two-piece---this is actually a two-piece dress ensemble masquerading as a one piece dress. The slipdress is the favorite palest of yellow vintage piece with lace details. It's established fact that I'm a notorious serial repeater when it comes to wardrobe favorites. The reversible, or it looks like it is that reversible anyway, top is from Emoda (my default favorite Japanese brand for their love of functional basics, this is always integral in me deciding which brands to love or patronize or whatsoever). When both are put together, the result is something fantastically hazy, Lula magazine pages-worthy faux one-piece floaty dress.

Speaking of fashion magazines, it's devastating to find out recently that Nylon (US) magazine is halting production of their monthly printed versions. Nylon US is reportedly going to focus on their digital content from now on. There's always the Japanese and probably even the Singaporean and Korean Nylon but nothing beats Nylon US which I have a good collection of from the local Booksale (secondhand books and magazines, etc.) and from the US airports/magazine stands whenever I find myself there which is really rarely. Now...how am I going to find American indie music, indie and good mainstream film, and miscellaneous but good books suggestions from now on? Nylon used to be my fix for those...apart from fashion news, that is. Also, some weird, really random story, I follow Nylon on twitter, right? The one running the account during the Emmy's was cheering loudly for Big Little Lies early this week...it was imperative I retweeted said BLL cheering tweets as I was as much a Big Little Lies fan as that one was or is.

not the manly pinstripes i hoped for but close

 bench tank, secondhand trousers, primadonna wedges

Two thrifting around trips with the shopaholic aunt resulted to the acquisition of this pair of trousers that could be as close to the pinstriped manly trousers I'm forever on the lookout for but still not quite. I figured the latter would be perfect with pretty, loosely draped tanks. Sadly, even this Bench tank isn't the right draped one of my dreams. I'm still mentally beating myself up for not getting a large or an extra-large (if the latter existed) variant of this thing. Suffice it to say, I'm pretty...not so into this outfit combo I have on today. 
As for the Primadonna wedges...a quick, random story: I've come to the conclusion they're not the most comfortable for long walks when I used them to tromp around the Ayala mall area of Cebu City with family and friend/s last year. Never. Again. The wedges are just too thin so the stable support just isn't there. I wasn't able to last minute-ly pack a pair of flats on a bag (I think I only had a clutch back then) used to dress up fancily for a graduation ceremony of a family friend/foster older brother that was followed later, post-graduation ceremony, by cavorting around Cebu's massive Ayala mall...
Ah, I promised myself, mostly that I would be sticking to a light and airy mostly white and pastel----dusty rose/pink, blush or the lightest of pinks and maybe some peach is mostly my limit where that color palette is concerned but I'd bring in a few orange, yellow and icy blue from time to time---but the really moody weather hasn't been permitting me to do so. We've been dealing with some rain and mostly cloudy days since two weeks ago around here and mid- to late- March, all of April and even May are supposed to be sunny, really dry and humid summer months. I'll...work on that when the weather permits, but for now, I'll still be wearing some blacks and charcoal from time to time.
....and I finally have something I can alternate with an age-old pair of trouser-like-leggings from SM Department Store's GTW line. GTW does really functionally good pieces that are pocket-friendly for the fashion forward/fashion conscious frequently. It's a local line I can easily count on. I'm sure my local country(wo)men would pretty much say the same. I'm really more of a trousers/leggings/skirts person than a jeans one, evidence being that I have very little of the latter in the wardrobe. I blame the local climate and recently very moody weather.

dainty pink ribbon choker

 

Bench ph tank, forever21 shorts (they really do resemble hotpants now that I see it here but it looks longer than those...? yep, this should be noted here), verano.ph c/o zaloraph Maica wrap choker, Primadonna ph wedges, ninewest bag

The Maica wrap choker, daintily tri-strand, baby pink or close to blush in color and beribboned by zalora third party seller, Verano (they are on instagram, it seems, here: @verano.ph)came to me yesterday and thus how I ended up building today's outfit to wear with it as base. Experiment done and done, I found that it would work better with anything minimal such as this pair of shorts found on the sales bin on a Forever21 shop...I don't remember which south california mall it was between Long Beach and Los Angeles, however...and the favorite tank from Bench. Heeled gladiators would probably look better but alas, my last pair in white from the favorite local store, What a Girl Wants, that shut down around late last year or middle of it had broken down eons ago. I need a new pair somehow or some 100 and more of them because they're great in messing up any minimalist outfit for any occasion. It's either that or more ankle boots.

Ugh. It looks like the Ally dress my eyes went to when browsing their page on Zalora are out in my size. Hopefully they make more of it or something resembling it in that black color---but then again, admittedly, I already have a ton of black dresses in the wardrobe almost rivaling the fairy-ish white ones---and white. Bonus points if said dress also turns up in blush. This is so something to wear on weekend night outs and the beach. 

The package from zalora, by the way came with their cute tag/card that ended up making me miss cavorting in the beach... 

And this is how it looks like up close

Now I feel more like the typical someone who grew up in the 90s because honestly, I did...one decade of my life anyway.

undone, but not really

thrifted/vinage striped silk shirt, gtw (by sm department store) pants/leggings, primadonna wedges from many seasons ago, victoria's secret makeup pouch, aizilim (local store) bracelet and necklace, gifted 'k' necklace

Spent almost a half day at the hospital accompanying the grandmum and her sister for the former's check-up on this get-up minus the wedges. This shirt might just be the coziest I own yet.