coffee break

finally, new shoes!

this is my first pair, make that 2, of slip-ons. i find slip-ons a tad bit generic; i have an aversion to this kind of footwear. maybe it started when i was young, our house helps use to buy advan slip-ons that it stuck to my mind, NO SLIP-ONS. even the trendy ones with cool graphic patterns doesn’t appeal to me. but this pair by happy feet caught my eye, for obvious reasons. the one at the left side is in muted orange, perfect with my bunch of black and dark jeans. the yellow one is really an eye catcher, a bright canary. goes well with everything.

muted colors are perfect for men who wants to wear colors but is not that confident enough or dunno if they can get a way with it. this color hue is soft to the eye even in shade of outrageous colors (plum, cerulean, turquoise). a splash of color does magic to your outfit yet not attention grabbing nor a cause for sore eyes. color is your friend; knowing you basics witch palettes, matching, as well as contrasting, complimenting and clashing colors with breathe a new life to your style as well as your closet. bright colors usually draws attention so it should be worn with neutral or dark palettes; let the shoes stand on its own. a common misconception is that shoes should match your belt (for men) and bag (for women). news flash! it should compliment; matching is so 80’s. today’s fashion is about contrast, to standout without falling flat to fashion. my personal style is that contrast is basic, abundance of color and style. but not too much as if rainbow brite threw up on you.

here are some personal styling must that i can share to you.

1. don’t be afraid of colors, color is your friend. know your friend and foe, what colors works for you and your closet.
2. fit is key. know your body and how to hide your flaws and accent your features. experiment with different fits from skinny to voluminous, matching between these 2.
3. keep your closet in check, have your essentials first. basic black dress pants, white crisp shirt, decent black leather shoes and belt to match is a must. grow from there.
4. accessorize. accessories is not limited to necklaces, obi belts, earrings. a good hat, several belts in different basic colors, watch, shoes, eye glasses/shades, bags will give your outfit a fresh breath of air. scarf, and i repeat-scarf, should be worn in cold weathers not in the blistering manila heat.
5. there are no rules in fashion! as long as you feel good and it compliments your style, wear it. though i should warn you that there are a lot of eyes watching you.

onwards for fashion. shop, wear, pose, accessorize. repeat after me, there is no recession.

listening to:  
Show – Matchbox 20 : If Your Gone

seriously, the person that said that you can’t buy happiness haven’t had the time to toy with the new x1. yep, finally it’s available in manila for a cool php42,500.00, cash or card (straight payment or 6 months deferred). there’s no difference in price if you opt for the cash so i suggest you get the 6 months deferred deal. it’s running on the uber slick windows mobile 6.1 operating system; 101% guaranteed to work with your vista or xp. for those who can’t differentiate operating systems from a tea cup (i’m having tea, sue me!), it’s the ‘thing’ that makes devices (including your washing machine) work. it talks to the chips, speaker, screen, key pads and what not and makes sure that they are doing what they’re supposed to be doing. the touch screen display is not only responsive but boasts of a clear and crisp resolution that will give the iphone a run for its money. it has a full qwerty keyboard that comes in handy when replying to long and annoying emails from work. email? work? uhuh! it has a built in microsoft outlook mobile that syncs your contacts, email, calendar and tasks straight from your exchange server. no need for those screwed up usb cables and software installations. another neat feature of the phone is that it comes with onenote. if you’re a organize-freak like me, you’ll learn to appreciate onenote, and you can sync your desktop onenote to your  phone and sync it back of course. i can’t stop gushing over this wonderful phone. if not all those features i’ve told you, get the x1 because of the facebook panel. you see after you login, it displays your profile picture and when you click on it, you can update your status! and not only that, it displays your friends as well and when you click on them, it displays their status. genius!

happiness can be bought. buy yours now. hehe. hello endless nights of configuration.

listening to:
I Am… Sasha Fierce – Beyonce: Single Ladies [Put A Ring On It]

i have to say that i am not a big fan of men’s clutch. in fact i hated seeing men with clutch specially those who uses shoe bags as clutch. yes there are people who uses shoe bags other that its intended use, why? i don’t know. there’s this one time when i was ordering at coffee bean in greenbelt 3, a guy in front of me sporting a scarf and sunglasses late at night with matching toiletry bag. first, there’s too many trends here that is so not right. you all know how i feel with people wearing scarf in the dead heat of summerwhen there’s no snow. secondly, the sunglasses inside a covered building, in the middle of the night. third, the toiletry bag? what’s up with that? is there a shaving cream and lotion in there somewhere? even if it’s gucci (which is not), a toiletry bag is a toiletry bag; use it as it’s intended to be used. i find it quite irritating, although i have to admit that it’s a step forward for the filipino men who’s idea of bag is a back pack.

and those available men’s clutches are boring for my taste. the shape is unflattering bordering to blah and it’s too bulky to carry it under my arm. the color is always either black or brown and not the nice hue of brown. it’s dull and doesn’t add anything. accessories, bags included, should compliment what you are wearing and your personality. it is an extension of yourself, your clothes, your style. this actually takes back against style and will set you back years even decades fashion wise. this style reminds me of old men in cheap cologne and pomade.

thankfully designers have found a better alternative to your usual clutch. i give you…

(more…)

since i am already in the topic of gym, i am happy to say that i have gained almost 20lbs, 18lbs to be exact. i now weigh 145lbs, targeting 150, thanks to my personal trainor. unlike most people, i have a different dilemma; i loose weight when i don’t go to the gym. yep, it’s kinda strange but going to the gym is the only reason why i don’t get blown away during typhoons and strong winds. like i said, i’m targeting 150lbs, i think that weight with my height of 5′7″ would be a perfect pair when i’m being asked about my weight and height. people notice me bulking up since i joined the gym. i was in hiatus for more than a year from the gym mostly because i travel for work and that i lost interest in taking care of myself, but 2008 is about me so i’m back. i’m quite happy with my proportions; legs and torso seems to be matched. i have to say since a lot of the gym nuts are johnny bravos-heavy on the torso, limp on the legs-or chicken legs. i’m so mean!

however, me bulking up posed a serious problem for me, and my viktors.

to date, i have 29 viktors. these are investments, clothes are always an investment. it is how you present yourself to the world and of course you always want to wrap yourself with the finest thai silk, mother of pearls, de beers diamonds and put your best foot forward. almost half of them are skinny jeans-really fitting, seam busting, 2nd skin like skinny jeans-that i can no longer wear. simply because it won’t fit me anymore. my legs grew 2 inches in diameter each, how i wish it grew vertically. it won’t fit me and goes only up to my thighs. it’s such a sappy, sappy day when i found out. happy that i gained weight but sad that my ultimate viktor vp#1 is now just in my closet. these jeans hanging on my rack are the only ones that i can wear, some of them after 10 minutes of pulling. looking fierce is such a fierce job.

if you are a vip viktor citizen, we are having a launching sale with the lord viktor line paired with selvedge japanese premium denim for LV#1. sale ends on may 5 so phone your denim specialist now! don’t forget to bring your viktor pasaporte.

listening to:
The Dutchess – Fergie: London Bridge

usual saturday; after my workout at trinoma, tere and i headed to north edsa to have our spa. had our body scrub and whole body massages. it has been my saturday destressing ritual, to have someone rub glorified crushed coffee beans all over my body, followed by an invigorating, body breaking deep tissue massage. hard massage to soothe my aching muscles from that really heavy p.t. sessions with trainor. on our way out, i met dats who’s just got to the gym for his workout. we shook hands as i am poofed from my workout and massage. to perk me up, i went down stairs and saw a gorgeous red patent leather boots. i couldn’t resist. the smell of leather, the shiny, glossy finish of patent leather, the heaviness of the non-slip grip sole. must-keep-plastic-in-wristlet. too late; my credit card swiping hand got hold of visa before my goody-goody hand secured it. hay, a heavy shopping bag in tow… i have a new obsession with dr marten boots. i recently purchased a cherry red dr marten 2 weeks ago. but the sight of patent leather really convinced me to buy it. pick your choice.

cherry red? patent red?

-oOo-

met with richard and jake after and headed to morato for dinner. amici opened a branch along morato. it’s the same amici in don bosco makati. they still have their signature gelato and pasta dishes. we ordered pesto linguine, chicken arabiata and quatro formaggio pizza. though the servings were good for two, we were able to finish it, all of it. talk about hunger. blame the workout, ever since i got back in the gym, my appetite doubled. strolling along morato after dinner, we were trying to figure out were to have dessert. we ended having coffee at starbucks over a warm, moist chocolate cake bought at fleur de lys. the ganache chocolate cake with strawberry really hit the spot, complementing the sour, bitter taste of african coffee. really, it was the longest cup of coffee conversation we ever had. it was fun though, coffee conversations for me is the best way you can know a person. and even though you’ve known them for quite a while, you’ll still discover little things that makes them even more amazing. richard was craving for mediterranean so we drove all over the metro to find prince kebab for a stuffing chyma, shawarma and lamb kebab. so stuffed. so full…

listening to:
Waiting For My Rocket To Come – Jason Mraz: No Stopping Us