(Photos by RG, editing by me; Just G top, Just G skirt, One Spo collar necklace, Cotton On socks, Asian Vogue heels) You can hype this look on Lookbook here if you like!

Sweater weather will end soon, and fashion boutiques have started selling summer essentials as early as now. It’s never too early to prepare for the next season, especially if the clothes I see in stores now look like this.

As usual, special thanks Japanese Candy for my circle lenses and false bottom lashes. One of these days I think I’ll blog about all the gunk I use on my face.

Collar necklace I’ve been abusing lately. Instantly makes you feel like a little princess.

What’s more cliche than wearing stripes for summer? Dare to try colors other than the usual nautical blue, red and white.

The most adorable socks from Cotton On! I regret not buying all the colors, but I heard Cotton On is coming to Manila soon so I hope these socks will still be available by then. They totally remind me of the socks I used to wear when I was a kid!

Bright blue belt that comes with the skirt. Matches the blue of my top completely!

I bought the same exact shirt and skirt in blue and green. Again I am guilty of buying the same styles in different colors - oops!

Sometimes I think it’s good that we’re living in a tropical country where it’s warm most of the time. School might end in March in time for summer, but it can be pretty much summer all year round if you want to make it so. Happy, colorful clothes from January to December!

Sponsored post.

(Just G top with bowtie and skirt with belt, San-Sue bag, Clothes for the Goddess wedges, Forever 21 ring) Hype this look on Lookbook here.

Upon realizing that my teal nail color matched my floral bowtie perfectly, a part of me just naturally picked clothes out with cool tones as a theme. Luckily, I was able to purchase a nice floral skirt that deviates from the normally pretty pastel pink color scheme that I fancy. It came with a really interesting-looking bright blue belt, which turned out to be a key-item in this whole ensemble, as the contrast worked so well with the paler shades of blue that I used. It’s so convenient buying clothes that come with something else that will easily complement what you’re getting. In this case, my polo top came with a bowtie, and my skirt came with a belt. Call me somewhat cheating but this kind of set-up was totally made for days when some circumstances don’t work as well as you think they would be, and when the inspiration and motivation to dress up is temporarily in the failing department. Keep cool and you just might find some overlooked blessings in the guise of two-in-one items available at your favorite store. :)

(Just G floral dress with belt) Hype this look on Lookbook here.

The sun finally cooperated today after so long, so here’s a new batch of non-studio self-portraits. Perfect outfit for a perfect 11-11-11. The cut-out back is a pleasant surprise for such a dainty, conservative dress. Gives my nunal a chance to say hello!

(Clothes for the Goddess top, Just G skirt, VNC heels, Forever 21 accessories) Hype this look on Lookbook here.

And yes, my collar and my shoes match! Besides the very lovely seafoam green color of this button-down top, I really love this deliberate two-tone thing going on with this outfit. This little similarity makes all the difference in the world.

(Just G printed top and skirt, SM Department Store ruffle socks, Five by Five Miu Miu-inspired heels, Forever 21 necklace, from Korea glasses) Hype this look on Lookbook here.

I often get questions like, “Do you ever recycle your clothes? You always wear different items on Lookbook!” Like any other person, of course I do! :)

If you look closely enough at my outfit entries, there are bunch of stuff that appears in not just one outfit entry. On more normal days, I usually work with what I already have instead of going out of the way and buying new clothes just so I won’t be caught wearing the same thing by other people. I’d rather save up for camera lenses, to be honest!

A few examples:

1) Mustard peter-pan collar top: 062911 and 020711

2) Sheer button-down top: 031511, 050911, and 051411

3) Loafer heels: 090411, 090611, and 101111 

4) Ribbon bag: 033011, 041811, and 101111 

It might not be obvious until now, but that’s completely the point. You can re-work a single item just by wearing it in different ways, and by mixing and matching them with other existing clothes in your closet. Talk about economical!

In this entry, I decided to work with just one key item (in this case, a printed button down top) to create 3 casual looks for various occasions.

Outfit 1: Print Play

Floral print meets some sort of beehive pattern meets cat print.

This is the most “me” in terms of styling, and I would totes be able to wear this on a casual brunch out with my lovely girl friends. This skirt is also a gift from heaven because while it’s not the usual A-line style that I always sport, it gives the illusion of wider hips… which I don’t have, unfortunately! *stuck in a teenage body forever* :(

While it’s tempting to wear printed socks with the track of thought that we’re going with, I kept it minimal by just pairing my cat-print doll shoes with ruffle socks.

And I only wore one piece of accessory to complement the print of my top and the color of my hair.

(Just G printed top and shorts, Tribute flats) Hype this look on Lookbook here.

Outfit 2: Summer Sunbathing

Flowers and flats on a warm afternoon.

By unbuttoning the first few and last few buttons of your top, and by tying the bottom ends together, you can recreate this laid-back beach look. A collared top is commonly mistaken as something you could only wear for more formal and dressy days, but here’s one way to spice it up and make it more versatile.

To finish it off, I decided to be OC by finding flat shoes to match the purple buttons on my shorts. If you want a challenge, try working with these little details that are normally overlooked. These small details can surprisingly make an outfit look effortlessly put-together. :)

(Just G printed top, paper bag shorts, and bracelet, Posh Pocket Shoes flats, Sundae / Gold Dot bag, Chainless Brain detachable collar) Hype this look on Lookbook here.

Outfit 3: Collar Switch

Hide the existing collar inside your shirt and wear a detachable one with a different pattern.

Blue and white in (late) celebration of Ateneo’s 4-peat feat!

What could scream “preppy” more than a satchel? This particular one from Gold Dot I love for its mustard color (here I am obsessing again with anything that slightly matches my hair), so I was overjoyed when I got these just-as-yellow flats from Posh Pocket Shoes in the mail a few weeks ago. Played matchy matchy with my outfit’s colors again, and voila, here is the result - an outfit I’d go to school in… if shorts were allowed! Dress codes in consideration, a nice pair of high-waisted trousers in tan or dark blue would also work well with this theme.

That’s it for now. I’ll try to challenge myself more next time with more relate-able concepts and a more limited number of items. I hope this entry can also challenge you to think of more innovative ways to work with the stuff in your closet. Now you can never use “I don’t have enough clothes!” as an excuse all the time anymore!

(Zara blazer, Topshop cropped top, Uniqlo polo shirt, Just G skirt, Soho wedges, Yhansy necklace) Hype this look on Lookbook here.

I wore this to my grandmother’s birthday last night, and in usual Chinese fashion, we’re all required to wear red every single time. Unfortunately, I don’t have a lot of red clothes in my closet so I always end up wearing the same exact shirt to Chinese family gatherings… until yesterday when I finally mustered up the courage to work with this cropped top that I haven’t used in forever.

It’s loose and sleeveless with some really low armholes (it’s a little skimpy, really), and the most feasible thing left for me to do to make it more family-gathering-appropriate was to layer. Treated the red top like how some private school students would wear their thick vests and sleeveless sweaters.

So I wore a white polo underneath and a blazer over everything. Preppy to the nth level.

Bare legs to balance everything out. Proportion is key! I like baring legs when I’m all covered up on top, and keeping my arms free from sleeves and jackets when I’m wearing pants or maxi skirts.

Slowly crawling back to black in time for fall even if we don’t really have it here. 80 days before Christmas!

(Just G top, skirt and jacket, Capital Vice heels, from Korea socks, bag and glasses, Chase Gosingtian detachable collar) Hype this look on Lookbook here.

I think I spent most of my 2010 clothing budget on black, white and gray clothes. 2011, however, is totes my color-appreciation year. I owe it all to the color blocking trend from last summer, really. It made shopping for black and white so hard, especially when you’re faced with all these nice orange skirts, green blouses and pink blazers (old Zara window displays and mannequins, anyone?) that I know I could still pair with the rest of my basics and neutrals.

There is also no doubt that 2011 is also my socks-with-heels-obsession year! And these red socks that I got from Korea remain to be my favorite. I wear these every time I want that bright pop of color to surprise people, and every time I feel like wearing something that exactly matches the color of my one and only red lipstick (It’s Maybelline, by the way - it was a gift from my make-up artist friend Marj). Color accents are such fun twists to what could be normally deemed as dull.

Spared these photos from vintage-y post-processing because I didn’t want to kill the red. Such a refreshing change!

This look is a compromise between my 2010 black-and-white style and my general retro-girly style. The result is a sexy librarian look, hahaha. I’ve been blogging about Just G for months now and I feel like I haven’t given any of their black and white clothes justice at all, so here’s something that’s more suitable for the chilly BER months.

My style = perpetually stuck in spring.

It’s a little amazing how you can actually point out that these clothes are from Just G even if they don’t have the signature florals and plaids. <3