(Choies top, Bayo shorts and bag, Stradivarius blazer, Forever 21 necklace) Hype this look on Lookbook here.

Chinese porcelain print on my top! I’ve always loved how blue and white Chinese ceramics looked like, and it’s quite amazing being able to wear it. There’s something about actual things being printed onto fabric, kind of like that book print top I got from Lacoste L!VE some time ago. I’m not talking about the usual themes (i.e. nature - flowers and trees, clouds, the sea; animals - cats, dogs, bunnies, etc.), but unconventional ones that don’t appear everywhere. I wonder what’s next? iPhone print top? Refrigerator print skirt? Any other ideas?

The possibilities are endless, but I’m actually willing to try them out!

(Love Bayo top and blazer, Bayo shorts, Ferreti heels, Balenciaga bag, zeroUV sunnies) Hype this look on Lookbook here.

I know this may seem a little ridiculous seeing how the temperature has recently gone up to 37 or 38 C, but there *is* a way to layer properly this summer - wear a sleeveless top, and a blazer that’s made of the thinnest material. It’s pretty much the same as wearing just one long-sleeved top. But a lot more fun! Thankfully, Bayo knows us so well that most of their summer pieces are super friendly to all of us who are dying from the heat. (I am sweating as I write this!)

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Wearing the colors of the Philippines in time for BAYO’s summer campaign! Also, I FINALLY CUT MAH HAIR!

Could this campaign be any timelier? Summer is not only the perfect time to go on a color fashion frenzy, but also the most ideal opportunity to showcase all of our country’s wonderful sights, including beaches and resorts than can rival as the best in the world.

Speaking of the best beaches, Boracay is everyone’s favorite summer destination, it seems! I can’t count anymore how many of my friends on Facebook have already booked tickets for Boracay for Holy Week! I also remember that after I graduated from Ateneo, most of my batchmates went to Boracay for some giant after-graduation party to celebrate our freedom (haha). 

I’m pretty sure most of you would also love to go to Boracay this summer, and fortunately, BAYO’s giving out a free trip to Boracay for you and your BFF this summer! Just send them a photo of yourself wearing your best summer outfit that highlights BAYO’s summer colors: red, blue, yellow and white. Be sure to feature at least one (1) Bayo item in one (1), if not all, of Bayo’s summer colors (red, blue, white and yellow) to qualify. Submission of entries is until April 5, 2013 only, but I’m sure 3 weeks is more than enough time for you and your friends to cook something up! 

I hope this can serve as styling inspiration for those who are interested to join the contest! This is rather plain so I doubt I’d win if I entered this contest with this, LOL!

The top, pants and necklace are all from BAYO. Hype on Lookbook here.

You can choose to exercise your creativity by manually adding colors via Photoshop if you can’t or don’t want to wear the 4 colors in one outfit. A white, red and yellow outfit against a blue background, and a blue, white and red outfit with yellow graphic text could also work! Try working with props and accessories as well, and you just might win a trip for two to Boracay!

This summer, get ready as Bayo takes you to the blue seas under the scorching heat of the yellow sun! Flaunt your red hot body in a fashionable way with Bayo’s summer collection featuring a splash of bright and vibrant colors and a bunch of floral prints. Here are some of Jasmine’s photos shot at Pico de Loro to serve as additional inspiration! 

Visit here for more details on how you can join. Check out their Facebook page too!

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(Bayo top, shorts and bracelet, Choies heels, Louis Vuitton bag, Yhansy necklace) Hype this look on Lookbook here.

Simple black and yellow outfit from no other than Bayo. I’m sure you can find similar stuff in your own closets, but that’s exactly the magic in this brand. There is beauty in simplicity, and Bayo definitely offers all things simple yet beautiful. 

Often times in the past, I would feel conflicted about wearing clothes that looked normal versus ones that were able to steal attention from surrounding passersby. Somehow, back then, it was easy to fall into the trap of losing yourself in a world you thought was full of glitz and glamour. Some years ago, one of the worst things anyone could tell me was that I looked too basic and that my clothes were just as basic as the quality of my craft.

It took me more years of life experiences to realize that going back to the basics has always been my strong point, and that my very first encounter with the world I chose to be in will always come more natural to me than the second or third. I chalk this up to those awkward, immensely uncomfortable, too-overdressed, who-am-I-anyway moments when I simply tried too hard to fit in. Well, all I have to say to that I like wearing stuff that normal people wear. If I can’t be couture, then there shouldn’t be any problem. 

I have interests beyond what most of you can see from what I share here. And those interests may or may not be about me. But at the end of the day, I always make a conscious effort to remind myself that the world is so much bigger than me and that I need to get over myself and what others think. Such a cathartic feeling afterwards. 

I may not be attending glamorous formal balls or partying the night away, rubbing elbows with the hottest people in town, but that doesn’t make me less of a fangirl of life. :D

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1) Coffee and work date with my good friend Tracy at the Caffe Bene in Eastwood. We both cannot work at our own homes because we end up being super unproductive, so we schedule dates at our favorite coffee places to motivate each other to not slack off!

2) As I uploaded these pictures for this post, I realized that I took a lot of these mirror shots last month! Some of the outfits might seem familiar from Lookbook.

3) You’ll see this stripey H&M top twice in this post. 

4) What I wore to my cousin’s garden wedding at Tagaytay. Found this long dress on sale at Mango. Borrowed the clutch from my mom who I went shopping with at Miss Selfridge last Christmas.

5) One of the most effective ways to keep yourself in check is to wirte in a gratitude journal. Got this particular one at kikki.K in Singapore last year. Even if I forget to write here sometimes, I make sure that I dedicate a few minutes every day to reflect on the things I should be grateful for on my own.

6) Sukiyaki night with le boyfriend! We love to eat out, and we both love to take photos of our food. Follow him on IG: @rgabunada

7) Wearing jeans! *gasp*

8) Sashimi platter! NOM

9) One of my MOFW Fukuoka posts. Black and white is such a huge trend right now, it seems. I feel like I’m having an extended Christmas because most of my closet has always been filled with these two colors and you can see them everywhere in the mall.

10) Obligatory Bayo dressing room post. Ended up getting the pink/cream version of this top for my Bayo outfit post last January. Now that I think about it, I should’ve gotten the mint one too!

11) Outfit for a meeting. EMODA top, Just G jacket.

12) Outfit for dinner with my family at High Street Central. Zara top, dazzlin skirt.

13) RG and I have been officially together for 2 years last January 23rd! He sent me flowers first thing in the morning. How sweet. <3 

14) Had our anniversary lunch at Premio The Fort, where I had this amazing olive oil poached salmon. I finished the whole thing. NOM

15) Finally got an Instax Mini too, thanks to him. He couldn’t find plain border film so he ended up buying whatever was available - this interesting rainbow gradient film that apparently so many people on IG like! I’d still prefer plain ones though. :D

16) Hiroshima Oyster set at Yabu! Not as big as the real oysters in Hiroshima (which I was fortunate enough to try last December), but still super good! They stuffed a lot of small oysters inside. NOM

17) Dyed my hair lighter last month.

Though as of this writing, my hair is about 3 inches shorter. Had to let go of all the damaged parts after so long. I had to curl my hair every time I wanted to make it look decent. So tedious! To think my hair color is high maintenance enough. 

Currently looking for a new Japanese or Korean salon to do my next hair color! I’ve been going to the same one for the past 5 years that I think its time to give other salons a chance.

18) Lastly, this outfit! Can’t wear red for a few weeks/months now because of some Chinese traditions I have to follow, so we’ll finally see less of this color for now…

(Bayo top, pants, earrings and belt, Comfit heels, CANMAKE Misty Orange lipstick) Hype this look on Lookbook here. Thanks Kristin for helping me with these pictures.

Wearing yummy, creamy colors for a change, since I’ve been too obsessed with black recently. I am quite guilty for overlooking all the pinks, nudes, browns and whites in my closet since Christmas season started, so I’m wearing them all at the same time to make amends. How do you like it? Monochromatic dressing or wearing an outfit primarily composed of one color is something that has always appealed to me because the effect is always so classy and sophisticated, never passing off as too overdone. And I’m definitely not one to dress up loud and flashy so these classic items from Bayo are perfect!

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(Sylvia Park for Love, Bayo top, Bayo shorts, FashionCookie ShoeAvenue heels, Junk Shop Manila accessories, Time Depot Baby G watch) Hype this look on Lookbook here.

Seems like I was wrong for preempting the Christmas breeze by mentioning it on my blog once. I can’t believe the temperature rose up to 33.9C a few days ago. And it’s the middle of December! Darn you, climate change. It has been unusually warm in the afternoon, and I was suddenly forced to dress up comfortably with this light and breezy summer ensemble. On a brighter side, it *did* give me chance to finally use my Sylvia Park for Love, Bayo top, which I finally got my hands on! Sylvia Park is an 18-year-old Korean girl who won in the first ever SoFa Young Designers competition.

Some of the pieces that I wanted from the collection were sold out by the time I visited the store, but I’m happy I managed to get my #1 pick. This lace top with shoulder cut-outs is perfect on so many levels. Adorable but with a little edge. The cut-out detail makes for a subtle sexy twist to the common conservative lace top.

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(INVIO top, Soeurs suit set, Forever 21 heels, Bayo bag, Minimal necklace) Hype this look on Lookbook here.

During my trip to Indonesia, INVIO was one of the local department store brands that immediately caught my eye. They offered a ton of sophisticated-but-edgy workwear (clearly the inspiration for this post), as well as classy button-downs with the most interesting cuts and prints. This one that I’m wearing here was my number one choice from their current selection of clothes. Chic geometric prints, and that stripe detail at the bottom? Love! 

(Tricia Gosingtian x Catherine Jannelle batik print top, Forever 21 shorts, Finch Style heels, Daniel Wellington watch, Kookii Boutique bracelet, Bayo bag) Hype this look on Lookbook here.

Kicking off the second day of MOFW Indonesia with a custom-made batik print off-shoulder top. Being exposed to Indonesian batik for a whole week made me want to wear it. My only problem was that I couldn’t find anything that fit my personal style! What’s a better solution than to create something of your own design? I bought some inexpensive printed fabric from Mirota in Yogyakarta and met with one of my favorite designers, Cat, to discuss a collab with her. This is only the first out of the three items that we managed to create together, and I can’t wait to show you all the two other pieces of clothing that we made out of the fabrics that I got. 

Pretty much aimed for the whole traditional-meets-modern concept for this look, obviously! Went the matchy matchy route and paired the top with denim track shorts, a small bag, and Jeffrey Campbell-inspired lace-up heels - three particular items that I thought matched the blue, green and pink colors of my top. ALSO, off-shoulder clothes need to be revived soon, I swear. Can’t get enough of them. <3

(Bayo top, cardigan, shorts and bag, olive + piper necklace and cross bracelet, Watch Factory vintage watch, Asian Vogue wedges) Hype this look on Lookbook here.

Title is from my cardigan’s carrot-like color. :D

While this looks like the new Love Bayo x Sylvia Park collection, it’s not. I just wish. </3 I was in the Love Bayo x SoFA Young Designer Competition, and I knew her collection would win as soon as her first design came out. I was an instant fan - one of her dresses reminded me so much of Alice in Wonderland, which was just absolutely perfect for the “Modern Fairytale” theme of the contest. I wasn’t surprised that she was the designer chosen to have her masterpieces sold in all of Bayo’s stores. There are Bayo stores in almost every mall, so her win was definitely a deal of epic proportions.

I haven’t had time to visit the nearest Bayo store to get my hands on any of her stuff yet, but based on the photos I’ve already seen online from the launch (which I wasn’t able to go to because I was in Indonesia)…

Just take all of my money. Just take all of it, okay? It’s all lovely, classic and dainty with my favorite lace and florals. Very Bayo-esque in every way possible. I’m so happy they gave a budding young designer an opportunity to showcase her work, because I’m all for fresh, underrated talent.

Anyhow, enough spazzing! Here’s my outfit today:

Vintage Casio watches are all the rage right now, and this small golden one would have to be my favorite. Reminds me a bit of C-3PO from Star Wars.

Don’t you just love my nails? Thanks to Beauty and Butter, I got this pale blue-violet shade with some shiny gem accents. Some of my nails are also only half-painted, something I’ve been seeing a lot on Japanese magazines.

My mom thinks they’re odd though, lol. I’ll just nod my head because she took my photos for today. XD

Not a skirt. Whoever invented skorts, I think, was a genius. The illusion of a skirt is there, but they are much more comfy to wear! This particular one also has pockets… which automatically makes everything more convenient.

*pocket fan*

Whoa, this necklace is huge. And wonderful in so many ways. Ever since I got it, I’ve been wearing it non-stop. It’s heavier than most, if not all my existing necklaces, but there’s something so elegant about it that it makes me want to buy some more exaggerated accessories. I’ve never had something like this before, and because of this particular statement necklace, I’m sure you guys will be seeing some more in the near future.

Hope you liked this outfit!

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(Bayo top, shorts and bag, CFTG wedges, Charriol necklace) Hype this look on Lookbook here.

Don’t I somewhat blend in the background? It’s all green! It doesn’t help that my background is full of random plants but there’s a natural and organic quality to this outfit that I find different from the usual stuff that I post. 

First of all, I’ve never had anything in my closet with this kind of print until now. I usually opt for classic prints such as stripes and polkadots in very basic colors, but somehow I was drawn to this particular one with a slightly ethnic pattern. 

It didn’t help that this bag was right next to the shorts inside the store. I knew right then and there that they were a match made in heaven! Very “boho” lang! I never thought I could bring myself to wear this kind of style, but…

…of course, I had to still inject “Tricia” qualities to it to make it my own. Button-downs are my staples, and this one is sooo me with these little dainty gold studs that make the whole outfit look dressier than you would expect. It’s really these kinds of gaps and differences that make me so excited to play with fashion.

Topped it all off with sky-high wedges that match the creaminess of my top.

And there you have it! On a semi-related note, I love how Bayo is now using recycled paper in lieu of plastic bags. And a very stylish one at that. Kudos to brands who are now shifting to eco-friendly ways. I myself bring an eco-bag with me when I know I’ll be doing a lot of shopping! These efforts can go a long way. :D 

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(BAYO top, skirt and cuff, shopAKIRA jacket, FashionCookie ShoeAvenue heels, Louis Vuitton bag) Hype this look on Lookbook here. Thanks to my brother Calel for the photos.

On a normal day, I would always wear black and white with one color accent. Most of you have probably noticed that blue is totally becoming my color of the season, so I recently stocked up on all sorts of outerwear in different shades of blue and in different fabrics. On a better-than-normal day, I would always be in the mood to wear not just one color accent, but two. Can never get over black and white so giving up either to accomodate other colors would most probably be out of the question. 

In this case, I decided to go for a pop of orange to brighten up an office-friendly outfit. It all started with how I woke up that day with MAC Morange already in mind. How obsessive can one get with lipstick colors? Sometimes I impatiently rush my make-up just so after the whole thing, I can finally relish the moment when I put on my lipstick and finish the look. 

If I worked in an office with a not-so-conservative dress code, I’d probably wear something like this. My default uniform would consist of the following items worn separately or together: black and white button-downs (hands down the most versatile kind of tops you will ever have in your lifetime), colored cardigans and blazers (I oddly have an image of the workplace having insanely cold airconditioning), a bodycon skirt or a pencil skirt (I reckon a frilly one would never be taken seriously), statement jewelry, a sophisticated-looking bag, and most importantly, heels that can show everyone who’s boss (even if you’re an employee, lol). 

Maybe it’s because I never really got to experience working in an office first hand and because I’ve only watched how office ladies would dress up just by looking at them walking in the streets or having their lunch breaks in restaurants, that I feel like trying my hand at it just so I can understand it better… not that I really needed to. Consider it another one of my spur-of-the-moment inspired dress up games where I try to role play and answer the question, “If I were a ____, what would I wear?”, by doing a regular outfit entry.

Ideas on my next dress up game would be appreciated!

If I worked in an office, I would wear heels everyday. You don’t even have to walk a lot in them since you’re sitting in your desk, working your butt off in front of the computer most of the time (at least in my head, this is the image that I’m getting). Consider yourself lucky since “chic office style” is totally doable without ever having the expense of blisters on your feet due to hours of non-stop walking! Unless it’s shopping in the mall, then I guess those blisters can be considered battle scars instead. :D

So how did I do? I made it a point to inject a bit of fun to it without losing that mature, professional feel.

(Sorry for giving in to the platform this time, with the smaller pictures. You know how I always do personal blog experiments every so often!)

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