Blogging from London

I was very pleased to land in a brightly sunlit, cheery London. I had expected it to be much grayer. The Londoners are quite friendly and nice, and decidedly polite. Shopping on Oxford Street was frantic, with every high street brand known to mankind aggressively represented on the shopping street. Got a few things from COS, Topman and Urban Outfitters, can't wait to wear them! And do check out New Boy if you're in the area: a really casual, fresh play on the hilarities of puberty and sex; the small-theater setup is definitely an experience. Will post pictures soon, see you in Paris!

Next stop: London

in a few hours, where I can't wait to wear my freshest tailoring project: plaid wool bellbottoms. I plan on pairing them with a trench a la Christopher Bailey for Burberry Prorsum.

Here they are, obviously I had to haul them out of my already packed suitcase to share them with you guys.

My tailor had a field day reminiscing his 70s golden days where droves of men would come to him, all asking him to make them pants in this odd silhouette. Note the "continental" pockets on this one; I think it gives it that yesteryears vibe.

That'll be four days in London, then Paris, then Rome. I'll be gone for just a couple of weeks, and I'll try my very best to blog on the go.  Again, if you could suggest must-sees (shopping, dining, nightlife, sightseeing, with emphasis on the shopping) in any of those cities, it would be delightful if you could leave a comment.  Until then!

Pyramid Studs on Elastic

Do you ever get that feeling that you just want to buy something, without any specific need or want in mind?  Lucky for me, each of these pyramid-stud bracelets cost merely a little over two dollars each.

plastic pyramid-stud bracelets in gold, black, and gunmetal

Wearing instructions: 

Stack them all together if you're feeling disco, or alternatively, wear it alongside watch to de-preppify the latter.

A 90's Hair Revival

Vogue Hommes Japan pleasantly revives the hair styles sported by the "cool" kids about the time I was growing up.

The under-cut

This particular editorial inspired my current haircut.

The mullet

on Jethro Cave

Most directional of all: the center-part. Typically shunned for its cheesy connotations (katsupoy), it's quite interesting how they revisited this hair style in a high-fashion editorial.

All photos from Vogue Hommes Japan, sumptuously styled by Nicola Formichetti.

Alexis Mabille x Barbie Bow Tie

From the Colette website: "Alexis Mabille is interested in Ken, the fiance of Barbie, and draws a very smart bow tie which the boys can wear with a shirt and girls in headband."

I thought I'd seen everything.  A little too esoteric for most formal affairs I'm invited to yet a little too buttoned-up for drinks with friends, can you think of any occasion to wear this?  Oh yeah, my own wedding!

Edit: What do you think about the blog's new look?  I felt that it was getting too hot for all that black.

This Summer's Shoplist

Apologies for the lack of posts recently.  The combination of a wide-legged forward bend gone wrong resulting in a sprained and bruised inner thigh, and that sulky feeling of depression brought about by watching a marathon of the last three seasons of Skins has triggered a blogging drought in me.

Nonetheless, as a last ditch effort to update this blog before a full week passes, I present to you my summer shoplist.  The weather over here isn't getting any cooler, and most of the time, wearing anything above one layer is unbearably suffocating.  Hence the need for clothing in light, breathable materials punctuated by details or accessories that add the visual interest that might have been lost due to the inability to layer.  These are by no means pieces that will last you a lifetime, or investments that will never go out of style.  But these will be my summer basics: easy, wearable stuff that I can build outfits on.  Nothing too complicated, but detailed enough to be interesting.

Footwear

The colored shoe.  Sometimes you just want to step out of the house in a crisp white top and the lightest jeans or khaki shorts you have.  Slip on a pair of these brights and you'll have eyes zooming in on your feet.  Chuckles of ridicule or sneers of envy?  Be grateful for the attention!

Acne yellow fringe loafers

Raf Simons X Fred Perry moccasins in red and black

Paul Smith brogues in red-orange distressed suede

The boat shoe.  Extra-hefty soles provide that energizing shock of white that contrasts well with the sizzling gray pavement.

Lanvin

APC

Clothing

The printed button-down shirt.  Once a cornerstone of my style that I have since forgotten, the print shirt is making a comeback.  The muted colors and the leaves whisper sleepy fifties suburbia, I cannot resist.

Paul Smith printed shirt, photo from men.style.com

The crochet polo.  What could be airier than a shirt with holes?

Raf Simons for Fred Perry (Can I just say that this snippet of a lookbook is simply genius?)

Accessories

The summer watch.  When a leather strap is just too sweaty and a metal one is just too heavy, ditch the six-figure (in Philippine peso) timepieces for something that won't leave such a huge void in your humanity if you leave it at the beach.

Nixon watch in bleached wood

The man-bangle.  Minimalist, silvery, oozing with Margielicism. 

Martin Margiela nail bangle

The Linda Farrows.  The entire blogosphere has long been buzzing about the various Linda Farrow collaboration sunglasses so I'll leave it to them.  The latest pair she churned out in collaboration with Damir Doma evokes the same tone of enigma that rings through Doma's clothing line.

Linda Farrow x Damir Doma

Now somebody please mail me a winning lotto ticket.  Any summer items just throbbing at the top of your wishlists now?  Do share!

Bring Back the Band-collar Shirt

Despite it carrying the stigma of being the shirt of choice for cheesy guitar-playing balladeers and Aga Muhlach, I decided to give the band-collar shirt a second chance.  This particular one in light gauzy cotton evokes summer days spent out of town eating off of tables dressed with fraying vintage linens.

straw fedora, Zara band-collar shirt, Margiela necklace, hemp bracelet from Macau, tailor-made pants, NDC wingtip loafers

with contrast-trim jacket

New Hat!

If you thought getting a haircut was a quick way to transform your look, try putting on a new hat.  Suddenly, you're somebody else.  It's magic!  

worn with tailor-made blazer, long-sleeve t-shirt from Kaiser by Noel Manapat, Margiela batman cuff, Cheap Monday skinnies, Margiela sneakers

Y-3 military hat, photo from Eluxury

Y-3 is significantly cheaper in Manila than in Tokyo, so country-mates, I urge you to stock up!  I don't know why I previously had such an aversion to hats.  In matters of style, pushing yourself out of your comfort zone can sometimes really pay off.

Current Obsession: The Kooples

photo from notcot

I first learned about French label The Kooples from The Search For Chic when she blogged about her sublime beige suede ankle boots that she got from there on a recent trip to Paris.  Hoping to find a men's version of those boots, I googled the store and was stoked to find them.  Just like that, I became a fan.

Touted by The Skeleton Legs as a hybrid of American Apparel and APC, that only spells The Kooples as double goodness to me.  It's pure French nonchalance with a hint of London dandy rocker: quality, quiet yet subversive pieces that you'd want to wear over and over.

This cardigan with epaulettes and a built-in scarf is unlike anything I've seen before.

And so are these black skinny cargo pants, just perfect.

I have yet to learn to wear a proper printed silk scarf, and this double scarf in silk and cashmere seems like the best way to get started.

Pocket square on a t-shirt, something new to try.

And the main object of my obsession, the beige suede boots!  Santiags, I think, is what they're called over there.  See how great they look against dark denim.

I can not not get them on my impending trip.  

My dearest Parisian readers, or those Parisians at heart, any other must-visit shops in Paris you would like to recommend?  Do share via comments, it shall be appreciated muchly.  Thanks!

Project Accomplished: The Linen Chinese Jacket

This tailor-made black linen chinese jacket is a foray into a new shape of jackets for me.  My previous jackets were pretty much cut out of the same short length, narrow shoulders and nipped waist pattern.  This one, on the other hand, is unstructured, cut straight from the armholes down, and the body extends longer than the sleeves.  

This jacket was half a year in the making, having blogged about it as early as September last year.  And even when I got it from the tailor's I wasn't 100% pleased.  I took matters into my own hands and removed the flaps on the pockets (which I didn't ask for), replaced the buttons with larger ones, and even ripped open the collar to remove the cardboard-like thing inside to make it less structured.  

Leaving the edges of the collar raw and fraying, I kind of liked the look.

Almost as long as the time it took me to go to the tailor's and have it made after blogging about it was the time it took to find bottoms that would work with the new silhouette.  I've tried slim, loose, cropped, carrot: none of them seemed to work.  Finally I found something that works... I think.

tailor-made black linen chinese jacket, Zara shirt, Jeffrey Rogador pants cut into shorts, loafers from Don Quijote

It's summer again, time to break out the paint-splattered elastic waistband shorts.