Miss Sixty dress over striped tank top, Cole Haan wingtip brogues, SM Accessories hat and necklace, Veloci wristwatch, backpack from my sister. Hype this on Lookbook here and Chictopia here.
Just something for the summer. Been going on drives with my loved ones to nearby places that I haven’t been to in a while. Looking forward to more of these this year :)
Hope you’re all having a wonderful week so far! ♥
In March 2010 started a love story eight years in the making. Seph and I met in 2002 through my cousin Jeru, his best friend of 11 years. Through those years we were always just along the borders of each other’s lives, crossing paths every now and then in between relationships, keeping in touch and losing touch and finally finding each other many years and lessons later.
When we did, we were so sure we had both been prepared for this. That there must have been a reason we weren’t brought together eight years ago; that we were meant to first grow and learn from past mistakes. Things fell into place almost cosmically: the chemistry effortless, the connection unbreakable, everyone’s love and support overwhelming. This is what we’ve been waiting our whole lives for, we thought.
It’s been our joy sharing our story with you through this blog—our passions, hopes, milestones and memories. Love Chic has not only been a celebration of our love for fashion, but of love. Of two people whose bond is so strong that one can feel or think what the other feels or thinks without saying a word. Two people with so much in common it’s like they’ve known each other all their lives. Whose differences are so complementary that when their strengths and weaknesses combine, they’re unstoppable. Two people who have made cynics believe that true love is real after all.
But love as a feeling is never enough. Falling in love is the easiest thing, while staying in love requires commitment. It takes two; not one, not three, to make a relationship work. As it turns out, the worst fears and gut feelings I’ve been having for a while were real: Seph and I have stopped moving together in this direction. The things that were supposed to be just between the two of us—secrets, plans, dreams, problems, were no longer just between the two of us.
Due to circumstances beyond my control, our story has come to an end.
They say fight for what’s yours. Give it your all. But when it turns out it has no longer been yours for over a year now, you can fight and give with all you’ve got and it won’t make the slightest difference.
When that happens, all you can do is forgive, and move on. Be grateful for what happened, and have faith that things can only get better.
From here on, Seph is leaving Love Chic to me. There will be changes, but with the same name and aim of inspiring young people to be their best and confident selves. We hope you’ll continue to be supportive of us even as we go our own ways.
Made this on our anniversary to celebrate our story. It’s time to let it go. :)
To everyone who stood by us from the very beginning, when we were starting out with webcam photos on Facebook albums. To everyone who read our first blog posts and watched our first videos. To everyone who came by our talks, wrote to Dear Love Chic, dropped by our bazaar booths, watched our guestings, and read our features. To everyone who showed their faith in us, who looked up to us and made us feel like we were doing something right. To everyone who loved Love Chic, and sephshai.
Thank you.
Veva Dee Luxe geometric printed dress, SM Accessories geometric necklace, bangle, ring and quilt clutch, CMG wedges. Hype this on Lookbook here.
Energie Jeans tee, 101 New York jacket, Human jeans and sneakers, SM Department Store socks, Velocci watch, iNako iPad screen protector.
It’s been a while since our last blog post! Along with the coming of the new year (and the Chinese new year lol), a lot of changes have been afoot.
Change, we often hear, is the only thing that’s ever constant. The only thing that follows a pattern. At first, resistance; and fear of tipping the balance. Of rearranging anything.
And then, enough courage to embrace the reality that what has been comfortable, what’s easy, isn’t always what’s right.
Enough courage is mustered to face whatever must happen head on, with a sound mind and a willful heart.
Denim button-downs layered over tangerines and blues, worn with nude shoes. One of the many ways we’d style ourselves for the Forever21 Valentine’s Lookbook contest.
How about you? Join the contest for a chance to win a P10,000 shopping spree at Forever21.
No purchase required. Make an outfit collage showing how you would wear Skechers sneakers for Valentines, and you might just win them for you and your partner! Open to Love Chic followers on Twitter and Facebook 18 years old and above, residing in Metro Manila or otherwise able to come here in case of win.
To give you an idea, we created these sample entries on Polyvore. It allows you to put together an outfit collage (called “set”) by searching the web for product shots that you specify (i.e. type “mens button down” and click on a particular blue shade). We typed “Skechers sneakers” and “Skechers sneaker wedge” to see if our favorites from the Facebook album were there, and they were.
If your chosen pair isn’t found on Polyvore, it has a clipper option that will allow you to import the photos from the Facebook album to use for your collage. The nice thing about Polyvore is you can use backgrounds and frames, but you’re free to use any application (such as Picasa) or website (such as Fotor) for creating your looks. After all, it’s the outfits that will be judged and not how pretty your collage is. :)
Entries will be accepted until midnight of February 13, Wednesday. We’ll announce the winning couple On Valentines Day, who each get a pair from Skechers Philippines. ♥
This week’s cheap finds for both guys and girls come in bright, bright red. SM Accessories bag, Quirkypedia eyeglasses, The Belle Soeurs bangles. All you really need to accessorize any simple outfit—probably best to avoid same-color clothes and shoes though.
Taken with Instagram - @shailagarde
SM Accessories shades and bracelets, Quirkypedia eyeglasses. It’s rare for me to find men’s accessories in red that aren’t too rugged or too loud, so whenever I find something casual and sleek, I make sure to grab it. Best worn with just shirt and jeans for an easy vibe.
Taken with Instagram - @sephcham
Yes, you can pick random stuff from your closet, tie your hair haphazardly, wear no makeup and still blog about it. Blind Clothing floral dress, Ziggy & Zooey zebra print flats, Martina-Martina tribal-inspired necklace, Chemistry bangles. Hype this on Lookbook here.
Click the poster to watch our latest video, “Ligaw.” Filipino title means “courtship” while the Korean title means “love at first sight,” giving you an idea what the video is all about. And now, we’re giving you a chance to take home something from “Ligaw,” aside fromkiligand happy feelings! Prizes in store:
Metallurgy “Puzzle Love” necklace. Photo by Tricia Gosingtian. Made of hypoallergenic surgical steel (won’t irritate acidic skin, won’t rust or get scratched easily). We didn’t get to show this in the final cut of the video anymore, but these are what’s inside the boxes in the ending.
Love-a-lot couple outfits. Photo by Richard Romero. While other shops carry his-and-hers couple shirts, only Me&U offers couple outfits that are actually stylish enough to be worn individually, like this shirt and dress.
Love-a-lot “Love’s Coming” iPhone cases. This is a new collection in the Me&U stores, and the winning couple will be one of the first ones to have it! Here’s how to join:
What we wore to a whole day of meetings and meet-ups, photographed by Richard Romero. In lieu of our usual complementary outfits, we headed to contrasting ends of the style spectrum: he towards the achromatic side, she towards the colorful side. We thought this quite interesting, since it actually reflects a significant aspect of our relationship.
On Seph: Love Chic x Chemistry grey shirt with collar detail, SM Accessories, Bench jeans, Converse sneakers. Hype on Lookbook here, favorite on Chictopia here.
On Shai: Chemistry floral top and skort, SM Accessories, CMG platform clogs. Nails by Nail It! Salon. Hype on Lookbook here, favorite on Chictopia here.
Whether you believe in zodiac signs or not, you can’t deny that people with a common sign have common predispositions or tendencies. We love psychology and sociology and just learning about people and one thing we’ve noticed about those with common zodiac signs is that it’s much the same way as with people who are from a common hometown, school or even subculture. Seph is a Virgothrough and through. He’s very realistic and pragmatic, both feel planted firmly in the ground. Common sense is his best asset. He likes to think things through without overthinking them, and friends seeking advice consider him a reliable source of practical wisdom. He is able to take a step back and assess a situation from a healthy distance, and the risks he takes are calculated so that most of the time, he’s on the winning end. And when he’s not, he knows how to let go. He dusts himself off, learns from his mistakes and simply tries again.
On the other hand, Shai is a Pisces. She’s a dreamer, both figuratively and literally. There’s almost always a deeper meaning, a symbolic significance to all the people, things, places and dreams that she encounters. She’s whimsical and emotional and often has her head in the clouds, but she knows exactly what she wants and how hard she must work to get it. She easily loves and trusts in people and is fiercely protective of her kind, which can lead to disappointment and hurt whenever this devotion and loyalty isn’t reciprocated. Empathy is her best asset, but it can also prevent her from seeing the world more objectively.
We have so many things in common: likes, dislikes, thinking the same things at the same time, wearing the same types of clothes (which is how this blog got its start)… But we believe it’s our differences that actually make our partnership work. Imagine two people who are both analytical and practical and steadfast, lacking in fancy and creativity and passion. On the reverse side, imagine the chaos of two people who are both superfluous and sentimental and dreamy, lacking in grounded-ness and sensibility and rationality. It would certainly be a story far different from ours.
People often ask whether we ever fight. Of course. We argue quite a lot, which is no surprise given our predilections. The good thing is, our fights rarely last for hours or days. Our contrasting attitudes and perspectives enable us to see things from another angle so that we learn from each other. What one lacks, the other makes up for. In this way, we can work, play, or even do nothing together and not get tired of each other’s faces. And for that, we consider ourselves very lucky. ♥
How sweet it is to be loved by you ♪ ♫
Shelter
Be thankful for that one person who always tries to make you smile. :)
Happiness is.
They say we experience similar things when we’re crying and laughing: eyes filling with tears, shoulders shaking, face muscles scrunched up, irregular breathing.
Our body reacts the same way to either hurt or happiness.
When your heart is filled with anger and hatred, every waking moment is a pain. You go to sleep harboring all these ill feelings, you wake up in the morning and as soon as your brain starts to load, the heaviness in your chest returns with the instant recollection of that person or incident that has caused you this much suffering. You go about your daily routine carrying this burden, unable to see the blessings you’re surrounded with. Ignoring and undermining the things you have that many people can only dream of. You get trapped under this dark cloud and the longer it lingers, the harder it becomes for you to see the bright side.
When your heart is filled with hope and gratefulness, every waking moment is a joy. You go to sleep feeling thankful for every good thing that comes your way despite the troubles and challenges. You wake up in the morning and as soon as your brain starts to load, a lightness fills you up and propels you out of bed raring to start a new day. You go about your daily routine marveling at the blessings you’re surrounded with, grateful that you have been given many reasons to marvel. You get wrapped up in this warm sunny disposition and the longer you bask in its glow, the harder it becomes for you to get affected by unpleasant things.
Hurt blinds you, prevents you from seeing all that is beautiful about life. Makes you take for granted every opportunity you could be making out of each problem, every person who has loved you unconditionally, every good thing they see in you. You’re so angry you can hardly remember how it feels to not feel this way.
Happiness binds you ever more to all the persons, amazing fortuities and experiences that make you feel loved. When faced with stress, you’re aware that things could be so much worse. It is an endless cycle of being grateful and welcoming more blessings in your life that you never run out of reasons to be happy.
The dark cloud or the sunshine. The choice is all but yours.
Note: We’re discontinuing Dear Love Chic and merging our more personal blog with our fashion blog. We write why here.
