We Never Go Out Of Style

The older you get, the more you realize you need a handful of good, close, tight friends. It’s hard to tell you who has your back from who has it long enough just to stab you in it. You see, true friends are like diamonds – bright, beautiful, valuable, and always in style.

 When I started out this blog, one thing that I made sure of was that it was to focus mainly on style. I have said it countless times in interviews and magazine features... but it never actually became as clear to me as it is now. Yves Saint Laurent once said, "Fashion changes, style is eternal." Rachel Zoe once said, "Style is a way to say who you are without having to speak." Anna Wintour was quoted saying, "Create your own style… let it be unique for yourself and yet identifiable for others." Diane Von Furstenburg said, "Style is something each of us already has. All we have to do is find it." Even Ralph Lauren had a few words to say about style: "Style is very personal. It has nothing to do with fashion. Fashion is over quickly. Style is forever." Everywhere I turn, it seemed, a lot of the fashion industry's big leagues and well-known personalities had something to say about style that I could probably make a book containing my favorite all time quotes and anecdotes of various people regarding "STYLE." 

PS: Scroll down for my funny rendition of Style as it makes its debut... haha! 
(Self deprecation at its finest!)

Now a common question I also get during interviews and fashion features is on how to define my personal style... Back then, I thought it was all about fashion and shopping and clothes so I would usually reply with something along the lines of, "I can't quote define my personal style into one category or type. I am very bipolar, I can wear a studded leather rock star ensemble one day and then a feminine pastel tulle tutu the next day without having to think about it." Of course, that was then and this is now and having spent a couple of years situated front and center of the industry and learning a few life lessons in and away from it, I must say I have a very different perception of style. See, I always associated the word "style" to fashion which was, to be honest, quite silly as it encompasses that and is actually a whole lot more than just that and while people ask me what I do for a living and I would respond that "I am actually Executive Director of an Educational Foundation..." which of course always seems to make everyone pleased to hear that I am such... (I don't know why...) then I add, "Oh... and I'm a part-time fashion and lifestyle blogger." Their gasp of shock over the incongruous paradox that is my life is something I expect and so far, I've had a 99% chance of predicting the blank stares followed by the question, "Oh, so how did you get into that?" as if to save me from humiliation over their very obvious state of shock. I don't really mind it. I have this thing with doing things that I want to do just because I want to and totally ditching those that I don't want to do. I find that it's a damned if you do and a damned if you don't kind of world so I might as well go along with it laughing and strutting in my 6-inch heels. Despite my paragraphs of random musings, ramblings and having an opinion or a reflection or realization or a commentary on practically everything in the world... allow me to remind you, in case you forgot because I've talked too much to the point of no memory, that THIS IS STILL A STYLE BLOG. Seriously.

I Know Places We Can Hide

There are some places in life where you can only go alone. Some steps that need to be taken alone. It’s the only way to really figure out where you need to go and who you need to be.  Embrace the beauty of your solo journey.

As much as I love my job with so much zeal and passion, I have to admit that I can't do it 24/7 and that being human and all... I also need to take a break. I've always lived with that mindset that when I start something, I need to finish it so I tend to fixate on things which makes me anxious and very neurotic. I am one of those people who sometimes forget to take a break until I burn out. Thankfully, I was able to find a way to have that much sought after work-life balance and I don't feel guilty or like a slacker when I take breaks. More so, the activities I engage in are more wholesome and enriching and I am happy to have matured...finally. I look back at my past self and can't believe that huge disparity between the person I used to be and the activities I used to do and the person that I am now and the activities I make time for. I've learned to prioritize, to keep a level head and to know there is a great big world out there. This necessary awakening was a result of taking much needed time off boys and dating. I guess I have to thank my ex-boyfriends and my break-ups for giving me the chance to be alone so I can grow on my own... and so far, I like the person that I am. I am more calm and stable. I am no longer impulsive and I've managed to understand the concept of applying myself despite a few setbacks I have. At some point, I also stopped feeling sorry for myself and actually carried on and did something with my life. I figured out what I want to be and where I belong and this level of transcendence and self-actualization would not have been in any way possible had I stayed in a relationship because I learned to stop defining my happiness and myself with the person I was with. Now I can say that the source of my happiness and contentment comes from myself and my advocacy. Suffice to say, I learned to depend on myself and I think I needed that a lot. I wouldn't be able to do all these things and realize all these unless I was all by myself. It's a funny thing when people say that when "God closes a door, he opens a window," because after spending sufficient time reflecting, I think the more appropriate thing to say is that when "God closes a door and shuts the window... it's because He is building an entirely new and better house for yourself..." And isn't that just a lovely thought?

The Happiness In Her Eyes

My only goal in life right now is to be happy. Genuinely, intensely and consistently happy, regardless of what that looks like to others...

 

It's Christmas time! I love everything about this season...probably because everyone seems to be jolly and happy and generous...and also because people are at that point where they are settling old scores and trying to close cycles in preparation for the New Year. It truly is the most wonderful time of the year! Aside from the festivities, one of my most favorite things about the Christmas season is the gifts. I love the gifts. Now, not to sound materialistic or something, because the gifts I mean are those that you can't purchase in a store or those that have monetary value. I've been raised in a loving family where the most fascinating and most important gifts are those that you don't have to buy and I think that personally, I prefer it that way. I am not one of those people who appreciate something expensive or costly to be given to me to make me happy... I think I am a more simple and practical person where effort is more appreciated over the cost. After all, if you are the kind of person who can have anything you want, what you want are the things that money can't buy and this actually requires more energy than having to go to a mall and buying something and paying for it at a counter. Now what gifts am I referring to? It can be anything from a simple smile, an apology from someone you had animosity towards (and a reconciliation), having good and unforgettable memories with people that will last a lifetime or perhaps being given another chance to make things right. I find those gifts more fascinating... don't you think?

One Hundred Tears To Solitude

“Things have a life of their own," the gypsy proclaimed with a harsh accent. "It's simply a matter of waking up their souls.”

- Gabriel Garcia Marquez, One Hundred Years of Solitude

When you are on top of the world and when everything seems to be going your way, the warm sun hits your shoulders just right. Worries, fears, neuroses are carried away with the wind at your back as you exhale like me in this case and I was able to take in the serene ocean view. The ordinary and mundane became extraordinary and as with this photo, colors appear more vivid, the world was more wonderful and the sounds of nature is more melodious. In this photo of me in the beach (inspired by the amazing Nicole Warne), you can see the color in every shot... every thing looks so alive. In these small moments everything is good and right in the universe. In this moment, I actually believe that nothing can ever bring me down. Of course, that would be easy to say granted that I am in my most perfect environment: by the beach, eating fruits and watching the waves crash on the shore. Granted I am also lacking some articles of clothing as it was appropriate for the environment, I felt that I didn't have to try at all... there was no fussing or fretting about whether my clothes fit me alright or if I wore the right shoes for my outfit. Surprisingly, I find myself in such an incongruous situation: here I am, a fashion blogger who preferred to be in less clothes!  Well, at least on the days I am out of town and where it's appropriate to be dressed this way. I've always been a walking contradiction but I guess that stems out from the fact that I know what I want and who I am and nobody can dictate me to be something else. There are days, like the day I took this photo, that I needed to be alone and far away from all the things and people just for a while. I find myself enjoying taking breaks such as these. I am at the beach, it is not summer and it is a weekday. I have no one to impress and I have no one to answer to. In this moment, I am purely just me.

Dancing in the Sun

Another series of my life is beautiful posts...I am sorry if I keep on harping about it that it almost seems like an advocacy but the one most true and honest thing about me is that because of decisions and changes I took for my own well-being, I ended up in this place where everything I see is quite extraordinary. To best describe it, allow me to borrow from a song, "I see life and light... All the colors of the world... So beautiful... Won't you come with me?...I see birds and trees... All the flowers of the world- So beautiful... Won't you come with me?" and aren't these words the best way to describe this very nature themed shoot and look as inspired by how beautiful the landscape was that surrounded me. This is one of my most natural blog posts to date... I have no extensions, my hair is just unkempt but tied up and I have little to none makeup. Allow me also to mention I have no accessories, save for this pretty Birds of Paradise flower and am in my favorite Mandals. Of course the coordinates I am wearing, provide to be the perfect clothing as well as they are very muted and simple. Do you get the dalagang Filipina vibe in this look? I sure do... And just to prove my point, I do not have to be fierce in every single outfit post. Sometimes, I like to just be carefree and as a reminder: laid back doesn't have to translate to sloppy.

Postcards from Heaven

I lean against the wind, pretend that i am weightless and in this moment i am happy.

If you currently are not happy, it might be time to ask yourself what it is that is stopping you from experiencing happiness at this very moment? Well it's not all about throwing a forced smile (although based on my experience, that's not a bad start), however, where would you begin when attempting to get yourself in a genuinely happy state of mind? These were the thoughts going on in my head as I was sitting about 2,500 feet above sea level on that cool, overcast but absolutely calm morning as I just sat amongst the clouds (a past time I enjoy) and just had to clear my head and be as they say "away from it all." To begin with, I had the laid back look perfected: loose over sized knit sweater, ripped boyfriend jeans, appropriate mandals (and do not get me started on the woven hat over my head which I rarely wear unless I need my thinking hat back on, which is what this hat is...) The look is so coordinated and coherent it practically makes me look like the poster child for self-reflection which isn't always a bad thing but as I said, there's more to me than that and to borrow from Ani Di Franco, "I am a poster girl with no poster, I am 32 flavors... and then some..."

And all I wanted was the simple things... A simple kind of life

Less is more...so the saying goes. With all the new minimalist take on fashion- one cannot help but beg the question: are we replacing fake clarity with real confusion? Of course, the "normcore" trend has been interpreted as a reaction to a fashion oversaturation resulting from ever faster-changing fashion trends. I do like to dress up and make myself very presentable most of the time but the norm-core trend isn't really something all too new to me because I reckon I have subconsciously been dressing that way on my "blah" days and I call it casual dressing. This outfit is an example. It is perhaps the most laid back outfit I have every posted yet. In a world where dressing laid back takes a lot of effort as it is now deemed as a fashion trend: a girl cannot help but be confused. Think about it.  However, I do believe in this: More is generally more, to contradict the cliche, but it isn't always intrinsically a good thing---if you do it all the time.