Love Chic

We all have those days when things just feel slightly off-kilter for no apparent reason. You wake up with a weird fluttering in your stomach, and it’s not caused by the previous night’s sushi nor the good morning text your crush just sent you. It’s a sinking feeling, the cause of which you can’t really pinpoint—or maybe you can, and it’s just these minor annoyances clumped up into a big stress ball. So how do you quash that feeling?

You look on the bright side of things. Yes, it sounds patronizingly trite, but it’s also tried and true. One of my best friends, Joanne, would always tell me something to that effect whenever I would go to her for things that bothered me. “Life is beautiful, Shai! I won’t allow you to wallow when there is so much to be thankful for!” I used to feel bad at how she wouldn’t join me in my life’s lamentations. When we’re young, we tend to shrug off these things and be oh-so-dramatic about our woes instead of choosing to be positive.

But then it occurred to me that she’s one of the happiest, perkiest persons in my life and thought I’d give her attitude of gratitude a sincere try. Whenever an imaginary dark cloud loomed, I would list down every single thing I’m thankful for. Not just the significant, mind-blowing, life-altering ones, but even the most mundane (the amount of milk I poured was just enough to finish my Koko Krunch, all the stoplights I passed today were green, the barista spelled my name right on the cup) and those we sometimes take for granted (I arrived at my day’s destination safely, the elevator didn’t get stuck while I was alone inside, the waiter brought me water without being asked).

It’s one of those practices that are childishly basic and stupefyingly logical, yet a struggle to get the hang of. There are times when writing down all those thank you’s feels like the last thing I want to do. But cliches are nothing if not notorious tenets of simple wisdom: the more I rebel against it, the deeper I sink into a rut. The more I keep at it, the better everything starts to seem. These days more than ever, I’ve come to know that while we will always be besieged with trials, we will also never run out of things to brighten our days once we start looking. ♥

Outfit details: Binkydoodles midriff top, Flights of Fancy palazzo pants, CMG platforms, SM Accessories bag, Dickies sunnies. Contact lenses from Japanese Candy.

Hype this on Lookbook here and Chictopia here. Follow me on Instagram and Twitter @shailagarde!

Giordano chambray button-down shirt and shorts, Forever21 Run DMC cropped tank top, SM Accessories bangle and ring, Nine West shoulder bag, Call It Spring platforms.

Hype this on Lookbook here, Chictopia here.

Titled because Run D.M.C. is a hip-hop group from Queens, and because my best friend Lester lives there. This outfit is inspired by the street photos he sends me every day of stylish people and interesting scenes he comes across. It’s part-torture and part-motivation; before this year ends, I aim to finally see New York in person.

Giordano released a line of colorful shorts for the summer and I picked out this light blue. It can Iook denim, cotton or chambray, depending on the piece it’s paired with.

Got this button-down from Giordano in Hong Kong just because it was on sale when we went, but I think the Manila stores also have it.

Thought I’d throw in a couple of non-poses. Haha. My mom continued clicking the shutter while I was taking off the button-down.

Yes. On some days there’s many an awkward stance and last-minute clothes-fixing before arriving at a fairly decent shot.

I’d love to know how you’d style this look differently. Maybe with sneakers instead of platforms, change the hair, choose another color button-down? Or we could just chat about whatever. How was your Labor Day holiday? Have you ever been to NYC? Do you like Run D.M.C.? Why is it so hot? Drop me a line here or leave a comment below :)

Candies sundress, Quirkypedia headband, SM Accessories necklace, Janilyn wedges. My third and last outfit idea for CloseUp Summer Solstice.

Hype this on Lookbook here, Chictopia here. 

As you may or may have not noticed in the first and second, there’s an undercurrent of green in this trilogy. I took it upon myself to work with three musts. First, the outfits must be from pieces I already own (you’ll see this dress in a future post; I wore it on the HK/Macau holiday).  Second, the outfits must call to mind words like summer, fresh, carefree, happy and young. And third, I must not take more than three hours from styling, to makeup and hair, to shooting everything. I like playing little games like that. Haha.

I was able to put together and shoot all three in one afternoon, and my awesome photographer (Hi Mama!) did an amazing job as usual. It was quick and so much fun!

Don’t let the height of these lace-wrapped wedges fool you. They’re quite easy to walk in! I tried dancing in them as well and I think with a little more practice, they’re a good enough compromise for the vertically challenged who don’t want to wear flats to the festival.

Let me know what you have in mind for your Summer Solstice outfit, or ask me style-related questions, here! Oh, and which one’s your favorite among the three? :)

As I write this, the A/C and fan are on full throttle and bright sunlight gashes through the window despite the blinds being drawn. Seems like summer doesn’t just want its presence felt; it wants us to be looking it in the eye. Lol.

No complaints there, though. It’s the best time to be donning breezy outfits, few accessories and barely-there makeup. Forever21 dress, SM Accessories, Parisian shoes.

Hype this on Lookbook here and Chictopia here.

Coinciding with the coming of summer is the coming here of one of today’s hottest actors, “Hunger Games” star and newest Bench endorser Liam Hemsworth. This is what I wore his lunch tête-à-tête with the media a few weeks back. 

Here’s what went down with the hottie from Down Under as he talked “Hunger Games,” action films, beating up Thor and men’s fashion.

   
Shot with my DSLR on my right hand while my left hand was shooting with my iPhone (just to be sure). Haha! Just think of the shakiness and un-enhanced audio as your way of feeling like you were actually in the room—it was utter and enjoyable chaos.

Read More

Wearing summer’s bright jewel tones. Blind Clothing one-shoulder dress, SM Accessories bag and bracelet, Asian Vogue peep-toe heels, My Gilded Nest earrrings, Dickies sunnies.

Hype this on Lookbook here, and Chictopia here. I prefer to just wear a few items at a time these days, instead of having on so many layers. Part of my aim to simplify life, perhaps.

Best thing about this season? You can wear your favorite hues and pretty much get away with it. I just love color!

This is what I wore to a casual meeting today. Since it was a hot afternoon, I thought I’d go all summery chic, wear a lot of brights and bare a little skin.

Speaking of bare, I didn’t have the time or patience to do full-on makeup, so I just brushed on a little blush, put on some red lipstick and left the rest of my face alone. There’s a lot going on in my outfit already, plus sunnies make great concealers anyway. Haha.

Pulled my hair into a messy bun because it’s the easiest lazy hair style to pull off, especially when your hair is the naturally wavy type that doesn’t like to be combed.

I was never a fan of sunny days, but I noticed that a lot of the things I used to like and not like have been evolving. Lately, I’ve been thinking of the sun as something to look forward to.

Read More

Style meets casual comfort. Green tiered top from tiangge, Miss Sixty skinny jeans, Anne Klein shoulder bag, Call It Spring booties, SM Accessories ombré necklace and cuff bracelet.

Hype this on Lookbook here and Chictopia here.

A breezy top with jeans and boots is pretty much a manifestation of how I feel about the current transitional season. It won’t be long before temperatures start rising again in time for the summer, but I’ve always been a cold-weather girl so I wanted to hold on to whatever few and fleeting chilly spells we can still enjoy.

Hot or not, I love how the bright colors of spring/summer can perk up any outfit and give it that carefree, casual feel. Check out this ombré orange necklace! It’s not really my favorite shade, but I’ve been wearing this piece a lot because it just seems to make my outfits happier somehow.

Yellow and green are a different story—two colors I love wearing. Especially yellow. I got this bag from my aunt exactly a year ago during my birthday trip to the US and I’ve been wearing it to death every chance I get… I tend to do that with gifts from loved ones.

If you’ve been a longtime reader of this blog (and I sure hope you are!) then you’ve also seen these boots a lot. Because really, what can’t you wear with a nice pair of brown boots?

I seldom wear jeans anymore and usually go for shorts or dresses, but I’m glad I went with my gut that afternoon. As with most of my outfits, I put this together at the last minute to go and attend the Philippine launch of American Eagle Outfitters. Maybe because I’ve been a fan of the brand since college, my chosen neon-and-jeans ensemble was spot on with AEO’s Light and Bright Spring Collection.

Read More

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. ♥

Candy stripes are the order of the day in matching Giordano outfits, @PrimadonnaPH and photographed by Richard Romero. Vote for this look on Chictopia here.

Seph: Giordano shirt and blue shorts, Sperry Topsiders, SM Accessories wristbands and Bench watch.

Hype this on Lookbook here.

Shai: Giordano shirt, pink jeggings, Primadonna heels, SM Accessories bracelets and Ice Watch.

Hype this on Lookbook here.

Bangles and wristbands from SM Accessories.

When we saw these pieces in the Giordano store in Trinoma, we immediately knew how we wanted to go about the shoot—nothing fancy and with minimal styling; just candid fun, fun, fun! We love how Giordano’s latest collection adds a colorful twist to classic pieces such as striped collared shirts.

And who wouldn’t love these bottoms? Especially since they come in our favorite pastel pink and blue, for which we will forever love Giordano. Summer may be over, but on Love Chic, it never is.

Like Giordano on Facebook here.

Such a trite, overused word that I try to avoid 99% of the time, but unfortunately an apt description for this post. 

Photos by Seph; we were trying to do something that looks similar to his blog entry before this. Francis Libiran for Myth mens button-down, Divisoria umbrella-print tank top and denim shorts, YRYS fishnet stockings, Adidas sneakers, Nine West bag, The Belle Soeurs accessories. Hype this on Lookbook here and vote on Chictopia here.

We shot this yesterday at Rockwell, and it was really sunny one minute while the next minute brought rainshowers. So yes, bipolar: the top and shorts for the heat, the button down-turned-blazer and stockings for the cold.

I’ve always had a soft spot for menswear and androgynous pieces, long before “boyfriend polo” and “fashion blogging” officially entered the style lexicon. When I was younger, this preference for masculine apparel was often subject to subtle mockery. But really, what’s not to like? It’s slouchy, comfy and loose, like being in house clothes albeit better-looking.

Haphazard braids (the title of this post on Lookbook and Chictopia) that I did on the way while bored in traffic. Wore it for the rest of the day when Seph said he liked how it turned out. I thought I had colored my hair red evenly after the Funky Streaks experiment, but look at that! Turns out I still have four different colors in my hair. Cool.

Basic Black iced tea (without ice lol) because I have a cough, colds and a croaking voice that sounds like a thirteen-year-old boy going through both puberty and a sore throat, but it’s almost a tradition to drive thru for Basic Black on errands days.

Thanks to sisters Via and Vina Guerrero of The Belle Souers for these!

I seldom bring bags because I’m lazy like that, but on days that I do, it’s usually small ones just for my wallet, keys and phones. This one from Nine West was a gift from my cousins in the US and it’s my favorite for being the perfect size, weight and color.

Lace sneakers from Adidas that I seldom wear because I like them a lot and don’t want to wear them out! When I do my outfits, I usually have a running theme with some of the pieces. I wore these because my hair was in braids and my bag was pink (girly floral lace), but I had rugged shorts and fishnet stockings on (high-cut black sneakers). Don’t worry if you didn’t get that—it didn’t really make that much sense, haha.

In the car just before braiding, taken with Instagram. Hihi. Follow me on there @shailagarde!

Out to lunch in lazy-mode outfits. On Shai: Chemistry shirt and skirt, Sebago shoes, Ringaholic rings, Bench watch, Hodge Podge necklace, Funky Streaks hair color.

Hype this on Lookbook here, vote on Chictopia here.

On Seph: Chemistry shirt, Human shorts, SM Accessories eyeglasses and bracelets, Hodge Podge necklace, Ringaholic ring, Bench watch, Funky Streaks hair color.

Hype this on Lookbook here, vote on Chictopia here.

Our lunch? Yabu, of course! It’s one of our go-to places for comfort food, never mind that it’s an hour’s drive away. We try to schedule whatever errands we can accomplish around the Ortigas area just so we have an excuse to dine at Yabu. This day was no different, except that instead of our usual orders, we decided to try the spanking new offerings on their menu. We started with the green mango shakes—they had the perfect sweet-sour-fruity-slushy blend! They also have watermelon and ripe mango, which we plan to try on our next trip.

A Yabu meal isn’t complete without our favorite appetizers. Seaweed salad with ebiko and potato salad, now with egg added in the mix.

Yabu’s chef is Master Kazuya Takeda, head chef of a popular tonkatsu restaurant in Tokyo known as Tonkatsu Takeshin. He has created a line-up of Yabu Special Katsudon sets, which means you can only taste this kind of katsudon here and nowhere else. Each set is served with miso soup, Japanese pickles, unlimited cabbage with sesame dressing and a bowl of fruit. We ordered the Rosu katsudon, sprinkled with bonito flakes and topped with a sunny side-up egg. Just like everything katsu at Yabu, the meat was crispy on the outside, tender and flavorful on the inside.

Yabu has also added a second dish to their original Mixed Seafood Katsu set. The Seafood Katsu Set 2 is composed of salmon, black tiger prawn, crab and oyster, and each katsu was cooked to perfection.

We’ve been craving for cream dory katsu all week, so we also asked for it a la carte. Yum!

One of the wonderful things about Yabu is this promise of perfection. We asked around and nope, they don’t really get any replacement requests—and it’s no wonder why! For very reasonable prices, you get premium food and premium service.

For dessert, we had this Lava Cake topped with a scoop of Selecta green tea ice cream. We both love cake, cookies, brownies and other baked goodies that are chewy and creamy instead of crumby and crunchy—needless to say, we immediately fell in love with how soft and chewy this lava cake is! Each spoonful was filled with delicious fudge chocolate syrup; we planned to take a midway photo of how it looks after a few bites but before we knew it, we had bitten every bit. Oops!

Down the hall to the restroom, you’ll see a whole wall filled with public displays of affection for Yabu.

If you haven’t tried this place, you really should. We’ve brought about a dozen of our friends and family members here and they’ve since come back lots of times on their own. If you like katsu, you’re going to love Yabu.

Francis Libiran for Myth men’s button-down, Chemistry dress, Schu brogues. Second outfit for the Myth menswear challenge. Hype this on Lookbook here and vote for our outfits on our joint Chictopia here.

We had a meeting with some wonderful folks yesterday for an upcoming project. They requested that we come in our usual complementary outfits but without being too dressy, so they could take photos for their pitch.  

I wore this men’s button-down over a sleeveless Chemistry dress. It was too long, so I left the last three buttons undone, tied the bottom of the shirt into a knot and tucked in the knot upward.

Good thing the sleeves weren’t too long for my arms and could pass off as stylishly oversized, like a loose Korean top. Except of course with crisp details on the cuff, collar and pocket.

This pair of brogues is beginning to be one of my favorites. Just change the socks or wear it without and your outfit’s “vibe” instantly changes. 

Francis Libiran for Myth button-down, Chemistry harem pants, Call It Spring boots. Hype this on Lookbook here.

I seldom find harem pants that fit me right because I have weird proportions. When the upper part fits just right, the lower part is too tight. Or vice versa.This pair is one of the prototypes which I had designed for Chemistry. 

I got a couple of questions from male readers about what shoes to wear with harem pants. I’m thinking boots or other kinds of chunky statement shoes would be your best bet, as ordinary-looking sneakers might “drown” in the rather loud attitude that harem pants give off. I just don’t know if that makes any sense to anyone else… Haha.

I love that this button-down has all these details that stand out. From afar, it even looks as if I’m wearing a skinny tie. Plus, check out the double collars. If only more menswear pieces had Francis Libiran’s attention to the little details.

We thought “manning up” would be an appropriate title for tonight, not only because of the menswear element in this outfit post, but because of what’s currently going on in our lives. Lately, we’ve been rethinking and reassessing a lot of our major decisions the past few months. There are steps we have been afraid to take, fears we have been hesitant to overcome, hesitations we have been allowing to get the better of us.
   
Maybe it has something to do with being in your mid-20s? That feeling of not being quite sure what you’re doing with your life, whether or not any of the things you do still make you as happy and fulfilled as they used to, and a nagging uncertainty that causes you to feel inadequate when you happen to compare yourself with people your age who seem to have come so far. This upcoming project is one of those things that we hope would help us get out of this current rut, something to take our minds off the shallow things and empower us to, well, man up. Already, we’re beginning to feel a change. We can’t wait for the better things to start coming. 

Today’s outfits: his for pull-outs and gym, hers for a couple of client calls. Photos by Richard Romero and post-processing by Love Chic.

Memo cardigan, Topman shirt, Bench jeans, Sperry topsiders, Chemistry camera pendant, SM Accessories eyeglasses and bag. Hype this on Lookbook here.

Memo dress, Chemistry men’s blazer, Asian Vogue pumps, SM Accessories bangles. Hype this on Lookbook here.
   
We are now on Chictopia too :) Go to our ChicBlog here.