March 2010 - CHIC IN THE TROPICS | A Detroit Style Blogger and Filmmaker

what i wore

PARTY, FEIER, FETE, PARTI

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havaianas happy soles will travel to brazil

HAPPY SOLES WILL TRAVEL TO BRAZIL... ONLY WITH HAVAIANAS!

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photoshoot

Hello loves! How's summer/spring (or whatever season, depends where you are while reading this.. lol) doing you? To my friends locally, hope you're all busy scrambling about buying tons of suntan oil and making beach plans already. I'm pretty sure you all agree that the heat is totally hellish for the most part, yes? Oh well, at least that gives us more reasons to run around in new maillots, trunks and board shorts:)

Being a perpetual resident of the tropics, I know that the sticky humidity and the white hot heat is here to stay. So why not draw inspiration from it? Did exactly just that when my friend Joy asked me to style for her impromptu fun shoot. However, since she was up for anything really, I decided to pull out all the stops I could and went for a racier take on summer trends:

Two key trends to channel: Animal prints and the innerwear-as-outerwear trend. Using my cheetah-print top, joy's top-control girdle, thigh-high fishnets, and heels. Photography by Randell Cabatingan

Joy donning a sheer button-up with gold bangles and an uber tan (make-up, of course). Notice the Wang-inspired side braid and the "sweating"? Yeah, really fun details. I had to go around chasing her with a spray full of baby oil to achieve the "intense heat" look. LOL. Photography by Reynald Geonson

I just thought it would be super fun to wear a fully sequined piece in 34-degree heat.. haha, I know. Like as if the heat isn't blinding enough. On Joy: coral paillette tee (mine), black bikini bottom, crazy fishnets (hers), socks and heels. BTW i'm sure you can notice part of the city's skyline right behind her.. scary heights! Photography by Randell Cabatingan

so what do you do when you see an abandoned jacuzzi on the rooftop? make a good angle out of it, of course. Photography by Reynald Geonson

So despite my protestations against intense heat, I actually had a hell of a good time doing this shoot with Joy, Reynald and Randell. I wasn't able to take too many behind the scenes shots, but here's a few:

Joy, Randell and Reynald hard at work

me and Joy before the shoot

Again, special thanks to Randell Cabatingan and Reynald Geonson for making everything fun and easy, and to the Golden Peak Hotel and Suites admin and staff for being so accomodating. T'was fun, y'all! So till next:)

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Birthday Bash

BIRTHDAYS, BIRTHDAYS, BIRTHDAYS

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chill friday

FROM CEBU WITH LOVE

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inspirations

GENIUS AD INFINITUM

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what i wore

GIRL PUT YO PANTS ON

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Just Got Lucky

VINTAGE.. JUST GOT LUCKY!

Who isn't enamored with all things vintage? Sure, there's always the thrills and chills that go along with having something brand-new, but acquiring a truly beautiful vintage piece provides a kind of satisfaction on an entirely different level. Vintage evokes touches of history and make great conversation pieces. Then there's also the obvious: vintage IS more cost-effective for the most part, and it allows fashionistas on a budget (like moi) to play things up.

That's why I had no hesitations in being ad partners with the lovely Cebuana Psyche, proprietor of online shop Just Got Lucky. A treasure trove of vintage, pre-owned and reworked pieces, Just Got Lucky really has a little bit of everything for everyone, and their prices are truly friendly.

I decided to go through a few items/looks from the shop to come up with some style tips that could make them work:

1) Channel the classic and effortless "model off-duty" look with a smart, crisp blazer, 90's denim shorts and flat booties. Contrary to popular belief, this look is seasonless (IMO) and it works everytime. Show off those gams, loves! Accessorize accordingly with your favorite/staple baubles.

2) Go 90's lovin in this sheer button-up and denim combo. Goes well with Docs and other combat boot varieties, as well as basic flats. Also goes well with some music from the diVinyls, The Pretenders, and some Ace of Base on your ipod. Good times.:)

3) Try out the innerwear as-outerwear summer trend with this stunning boudoir piece (matter of fact i'm thinking of getting this myself. haha). Balance it up with your go-to jacket/blazer and your favourite lace-up boots or strappies. Throw in some patterned tights in the mix for something a bit more outrageous!

MUST-TRY FOR THE NEXT SEASON: Who would have thought that rabbits' foot-loving, trend-invoking Marc Jacobs would do a total turnaround with a return to the classics? Channel the Louis Vuitton Fall 2010 50's-inspired decadence with these two numbers. Apparently hemlines will be going down for next season, and long skirts will be the new IT items. Trust. Just make sure to style accordingly with more modern elements to skip out on being "dowdy".

Don't be left out with their good deals! To visit Just Got Lucky, click on the banner on the upper right corner of this blog, or visit them at www.justgotluckyshop.blogspot.com. Happy shopping!

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Bess

DIY DAY: A HARD-EDGED DECADENCE (Bess-inspired Boots)

SO, some of you guys have been asking when I'd be doing DIYs again. I've been wanting to, and I've been eyeing a few, but usually what I want needs to have materials from like, some far-off hardware depot or something. And I'd be like, I'm too lazy (and busy) to get it. Haha. But we'll see what happens, you'll have to stick around to find out.:)

I've always believed that fashion does not always need to be a luxury, and yes, we can have bits of sartorial decadence without necessarily having to break the bank. And we all know, folks, that that's what DIYing does for us. And at that, last night I wore a composite of some my DIY projects to prove my point:

DIYed all: scarlet velvet tank, bleached denim shorts, biker shorts, Bess-inspired studded rollover boots

Total cost? Nil (minus the boots). Call it the new "shop your closet" if you may. Made the velvet tank from a sweater sent by a relative in the US, cut it up and turned it into a tank cuz basically thats the only way we can wear velvet around here(fricking heat wave). Denim shorts from old bleached pants, and cut up my last last season slashed leggings and turned them into biker shorts. Really easy.

But of course the icing on top of the cake would be my DIY Bess-inspired studded rollover boots- I LOVE everything Bess NYC as much as the next person, but well, reality check, can't afford it. The solution? Thrift $4 boots and stud the hell out of them. simple.

Bess NYC studded rollover combat boots

There weren't any combat boots my size, so I had to settle for these wingtipped ones with a bit of a clog-ey feel to them. i like my heels anyway. yes, $4 (Php200)!! love it. in case you're wondering how i studded through that much leather, i actually didn't. that would be incredibly HORRIFIC. to make things simple, i studded through cloth and patched it OVER the leather. mighty bond is your best friend, my friends.:) Good luck trying the DIY!

Yay for me, I finally got some time and a secure connection to double time on your comments and sites. Finally someone did something about my horrid internet. Visiting y'all in 3..2..1..