Outfits: The Staple Skirt

SHIP'S LOG: While A prefers the preppy gamine style and B the vintage grunge look, both agree that this floral skort is a wardrobe staple.

Now for a story on Thrift Magic.

About a year ago Arianne found the perfect black floral skort. It had a subtle floral print and was endlessly flattering with its high waist and A-line cut. I did not want to admit at the time but I was jealous. But being the gracious friend that I am I encouraged Arianne to get it. All the while secretly hoping she would change her mind so I could rip it out of her hands the moment she did.

Fast forward to a few weeks later. The exact same skirt was spotted in a different ukay by Arianne AGAIN! By this time, Arianne had used her skirt so much that she thought it best to buy a back up. I seethed in the corner, anticipating that I would have to watch the skirt of my dreams bought by someone else yet again.

But by some miracle the skirt was too small for Arianne's waist so hence the blog buddy skirt was born. Now the only down side to this is that Arianne and I always have to check with each other before going out.

Just as well worn and versatile as the skirt are my Ichigo loafers. The light brown shade and cute rounded toe keep the otherwise corporate shoe looking cute. I have literally worn them into the ground and would gladly shell out for another pair. Much more affordable than the P3000+ Topshop version. At our Ichigo shoot Gia, Aya and I all jumped at the chance to get a free pair. Now does this mean I have to call them up before going out too?

Anyway see the many ways our respective skirts have been worn below!







B wears thrifted skirt, Forever 21 brown sweater, Greenhills fedora, Arianne's tote and Ichigo shoes.

Outfits: House of Mirrors

SHIP'S LOG:  A and B give you a sneak peek of Ichigo shoes summer collection over a cup of tsokolate eh at every Filipino's home away from home, Pamana.



Pamana means 'heritage', a fitting name for a restaurant that serves all your grandma's favourite recipes from kare-kare to mangoes and sticky coconut rice. Surrounded by posters of 1930s Filipino film stars and sepia photographs of owner Happy Ongpauco's family, you can't help feeling that you've walked into a past where Sunday dinner was the highlight of the week, all sweet, eggy, glorious brazo de mercedes and lolo talking about how he led the guerillas during the war.

When we were asked by our favourite brand Ichigo to style their Spring/Summer collection, we immediately thought that Barrio Fiesta's Pamana restaurant would be the perfect backdrop to our shoot. Both companies offer a modern twist on classic oldies-but-goodies—floral prints on traditional Oxfords, pastel-coloured loafers, tsokolate fondue, tofu sisig . . . there's always something fresh and unique to find.







We asked our awesome friends Gia and Aya to be our dress-up dolls. According to them, they wore A and B costumes for the day, pastels and knits rarely something they rarely wear. But they loved Ichigo's moccasins and lace-up shoes so much they couldn't wait to get a pair. One of these days we'll show you how they styled the shoes their way!






B is very proud of her brown floral skirt, she hemmed it all by herself! We both absolutely regret not paying enough attention in Mrs Arugay's Home Economics class. We chose to write Harry Potter fan fiction round-robins or gossip about Ben Affleck's latest fling instead of learning how to do a drop-stitch.

It was so cool to find the exact same model of Singer sewing machine that we used in high school at Pamana! Converted into a side table, it is perfect for displaying an antiquarian book collection or the latest Ichigo bag.






We loved how crystal chandeliers and gigantic windows let sunlight flood the white-washed rooms. Mirrors of all shapes and sizes hung on the walls and made the rooms seem bigger, and A felt that looking glasses remain the best way to pass from one world to the next, more Alice in Wonderland than ponds in Magician's Nephew or twists of a door-knob in Castle in the Air.

Would you live in a house full of mirrors? Beautiful in the day time, but creepy at night methinks.



Ichigo
Greenhills Theatre Mall, Missouri Lane L37 Lower Ground
Greenhills, Shoppesville 3rd Level Atrium Lane
The Ramp, 2nd Level Shangrila and Glorietta Malls.
Inspired by Japan street style and the 1950s, Ichigo also sells satchels and canvas rucksacks. Check out the new collection at the Ichigo store near you! You can also order online at their Multiply site or Facebook page.

Pamana Restaurant
1315 Aguinaldo Highway, Tagaytay
Three floors full of traditional narra furniture and posters from the golden age of Filipino cinema create a cosy ambiance to have breakfast, lunch, or dinner with a fantastic view of the world's smallest dormant volcano.  A suggests tomato-drenched prawns grilled inside banana leaves (pinaputok na hipon) and her guilty pleasure, deep-fried pork with a fresh salad (bagnet). If you want to feel the wind in your hair and the tropical sun in your face, have your coffee and cake at the roof deck. Reservations recommended for Saturdays and Sundays when most of Manila heads up into Tagaytay.

A wears Hush Puppies loafers, thrifted belt and striped shirt, and paper bag trousers. B wears Forever 21 jumper, Zara boots, and thrifted skirt. Gia wears a Brooks Brothers button down and B's thrifted polka dot dress. Aya wears Bangkok shirt dress and a yellow Zara cardigan. Gia and Aya wear Ichigo shoes.

Outfits: Grunge Girl

SHIP'S LOG: Perhaps a product of too much Freaks and Geeks or My-So-Called-Life, B decides to jump on the 90's bandwagon.

Arianne's words to me when she was taking my photo today: 'Your style is changing a bit, isn't it?' Ah, only my blog partner would notice the little changes I've been making with my wardrobe.

Chalk it up to taking too much inspiration from Nick and the gang. I may be a season or two late to be climbing on the grunge bandwagon but lately I've felt that nothing looks cooler than an acid washed denim jacket and a slick pair of Wayfarers.

Of course, trust Manila weather to mess with my best laid plans. Just when I have my summer staples down pat rainy season rears it's head. Hello, boots!

It might just be me but cropped denim jackets seem to be popping up all over the blog-o-sphere. And I've been aching to get my hand on the perfect one. They are just so tough yet fresh looking. An experienced thrifter would know that ukay-ukays around Manila are just exploding with vintage denim jackets. Some even covered in Mickey mouse patches and other such ironic memorabilia.

One weekend, I swung by the Cubao ukay and found myself clutching an armful of denim jackets within five minutes. It was only a matter of choosing the perfect one. Which this powdery blue cropped number (complete with metallic blue buttons) proved to be.

This isn't to brag about my thrifting skills. There are seriously just THAT many denim jackets in any given ukay-ukay. This is why I knew it would be silly to invest in the 3000 peso denims found in Topshop and Zara.

The search for the perfect sunnies was much more difficult. I am just one of those girls who has a weird face for sunglasses. Nothing ever seems to look quite right. Nothing was worth spending money on. So I opted to invest in various Forever21 knockoffs until I realized I was breaking one pair a week. Cheap crap.

When my barkada and I decided to have 'hipster night' at Cubao X, I found these awesome Ray-Ban look-alikes in TodayxFuture (formerly I Love You store). I left them that night but the thought of them haunted me until I texted the very obliging owner to reserve them until I could pick them up. I love how heavy and durable they are.

This should hold me off until I save up enough to invest in real Ray-Bans. A classic piece worthy of investing, don't you think? Especially in a tropical country like the Philippines.

So that's what's been inspiring me these past few months, folks. I now leave you with wise words from the tote Arianne got me as a pasalubong.

Ah, totes. Another awesome summer staple!

B wears shades from TodayxFuture, thrifted denim jacket, Topshop dress and thrifted boots.

Overseas: Chatsworth

SHIP'S LOG: Racing leather-clad bikers up and down Derbyshire's twisty-turny roads, A arrives at a period drama staple, Chatsworth a.k.a. Pemberley. 



The day before my birthday my aunt's friends took us to Chatsworth, one of the stateliest stately homes in England. That first glimpse of the manor from the rise of a hill is breathtakingly gorgeous, all gently rolling hills dotted with ewes and baby lambs and the susurrus of a stream meandering its way across a valley.

Having lived in a big city all my life, I spent as much time on the grounds and gardens as I could. I walked through bluebell woods (Diana Wynne Jones' Castle in the Air!) and a hedge maze (Jerome K. Jerome's Three Men in a Boat!), and it felt awfully, awfully good to finally understand 'a Jerusalem in England's green and pleasant land'.

Sorry for all the geekery! It's just that I always wanted to visit the United Kingdom to see what all my favourite authors and poets cared so much for (or little, in Byron's case). I'm so amazed that what I consider the world's greatest literature came from one tiny island.





The dress is from New Look, on sale for GBP 6.00 and I just had to snap it up. It fits a little oddly on me because I found it under the Tall section and I'm five-foot-four, not gargantuan by any standard, so I'll probably have to alter it a bit. The three turrets among the trees is a hunting lodge that you can actually rent for the holidays (and there goes #89 on the bucket list . . . ) unless the current Duke's nephew has got his pockets to let. :P

Chatsworth is one of the most well-known stately homes in the world, Baroque ceilings and hallways filled with china figurines and Egyptian statues, but I couldn't help thinking it was just like any other house. When you go to a friend's house all their family photos and slightly tacky souvenirs are laid out for your perusal. It's almost exactly the same experience, looking through Chatsworth, only your friend's family is very, very old and very, very rich. So you have the cross-stitched samplers of countless aunts, the well-loved and rather bald rocking horse, the chipped tea sets, and paintings by 'artistic' relatives. Weird and slightly voyeuristic, I felt.









Who wouldn't want this library?!

Afterwards, we drove down to Beeley where I had a lovely almost-birthday dinner at a local pub with a big slab of fried fish on mushy peas, better than anything I had in London. And, best of all, I had my first glass of pear cider! It was brilliant, neither bitter nor dry, and light on the ethyl alcohol taste. Never was a beer or ale girl, so not a surprise it turns out I was born for cider.





So, Chatsworth the inspiration behind Mr Darcy's estate?

Jane Austen wrote in Pride & Prejudice: 

"The eye was instantly caught by Pemberley House, situated on the opposite side of the valley into which the road into some abruptness wound. It was a large, handsome, stone building standing well on rising ground, and backed by a ridge of high woody hills; and in front, a stream of some natural importance was swelled into greater, but without any artificial appearance. Its banks were neither formal, nor falsely adorned."

I think it is certainly a great contender. The grounds are wondrous and green, but I don't think Jane would have thought much of the slightly pompous interior. But if you'd like to see the paintings and wallpaper that I liked at Chatsworth, click here. The 6th Duke of Devonshire chose some lovely mint and Japanese-inspired prints.


A wears New Look dress, mother's cardigan, dime store tights, and Hush Puppies.

Overseas: Macaron Madness

SHIP'S LOG: A introduces the great Garet Garcia who shares some Gallic style and shopping tips. Also, some sweets for the sweet with a photographic selection of Parisian pastries. Ah, alliteration.




Friends, meet Garet Garcia, a girl B and I have known since we were four years old. We used to pick macopa fruits from our school gardens and play M.A.S.H. to see which characters from Harry Potter we would marry (I always got Percy Weasley. Yay!) and whether we would own Nimbus 2000s or hand-me-down brooms. For the last year, she's been studying in Paris and she kindly, nay, awesomely, let me kip on her studio floor. I seriously had the best night's sleep on her sofa cushion and camping bag nest.

I thought you all might be interested in learning a bit about the city of light from the perspective of a Filipino-Parisian. So enjoy the macarons and welcome to Garet's Paris.




Why did you decide to move to Paris?
To complete my masters degree, get international working experience, make lots of money so I can come home to Philippines and start my own business, find love and bring home an exotic husband.

Your top style tip for Paris?
To get the Parisian look, wear a casual blazer with folded cuffs and a lightweight scarf with everything (dresses, skirts, jeans, etc. it goes with anything). You need to walk A LOT in Paris, so comfortable shoes are a must. I see a lot of French girls wearing ballerina flats, mocassins and Bensimon sneakers (A French girl's Converse or Keds). Pull your hair up in a messy bun or if you want to leave it down, dramatically part your hair to one side. Always apply mascara and wear red lipstick as a final touch.

Where is the best place to shop?
Start from Opera Garnier, the converging point of many famous shopping streets, and from there the shopping possibilities are endless. Just a few blocks away you'll find Grand Magasins (it's very touristy though) which is the pulse of designer fashion. Rue Faubourg Saint-Honoré (my personal fave) is lined with classic designers like Versace, Hermes, and Yves Saint Laurent, but also some concept shops such as Colette.

Best shopping season is January and June, when the sales are up, designer brands are 50% off, no joke. Always ask for the 12% detax to make the shopping experience more enjoyable.

Do tell us about a typical day in Paris?
A typical, lazy weekend for me would be to grab a huge crepe for lunch in Rue Mouffetard, have a coffee break in St, Michel, take a stroll in Jardin du Luxembourg and lie down in the grass while reading a book/magazine/taking a nap. Depending on the season there's free ice skating rings, markets, concerts, exhibitions to visit as well for the afternoon, and I'll go to those. For a casual dinner, I head out to Bastille then have an ice cream for dessert at Amorino or another coffee.

What's your favourite pastry shop? 
I absolutely love Lenôtre for the chocolate-y cakes but Ladurée for the delectable macaroons. Classic flavors are best: vanilla, pistachio, salted caramel, chocolate, rose and cafe. Light as air and eggshell thin, they shatter in your mouth - like eating nothing but happiness. The first time I ever stepped inside a Ladurée Salon du Thé, I told my friend "This is ridiculous, we have to line up this long for macaroons?! This better be good stuff." A French teenager beside me overheard and turned around to say "They are. It's really worth it." Needless to say, I'm a believer of Ladurée macaroons.




And Garet's absolutely right about the macarons. The interesting thing is that each Ladurée branch has completely different atmosphere from the other, something unusual when it comes to chain shops. Ladurée Rue Royale was how I imagined a Parisian cafe to be—low ceilings, potted palms, and marble top tables next to well-worn chairs upholstered in dark and dreamy patterns—while Ladurée on the Left Bank (a ten-minute walk from the Musée d'Orsay and its Van Goghs) was a bright conservatory with Japanese-inspired wallpaper and bamboo and teak furniture. Both were beautiful, and I suppose you can go to every Laduree shop and be surprised!




Fauchon
26-30 Place de Madeleine, 75008
I would call this Paris' version of Harrods, though remembering the historical enmity between France and England I may be pelted with bread and sent off to the gallows for the comparison. Fauchon sells freshly baked bread and pastries, specialty cheeses, and take-away for those too lazy (or busy!) to make lunch or dinner. It also has a slick department store behind the Madeleine, but I didn't go inside. Please do, and take pictures!

Laduree
16 Rue Royale, 75008
21 Rue Bonaparte, 75006
Don't just go for the divine Saint-Honoré's (get the orange blossom cream puffs like I did!) and pastel-coloured macarons. Ladurée also serves light, fruity teas and gourmet coffees. The rather twee-ly named Marie Antoinette mix, a mild afternoon tea with a touch of rose and spice, is a better bet than the bland house blend.

Do you have a favourite pastry shop? Would you choose that marvelous indie-love, macarons, or some other cake or sweet? Moi, je préfère une crêpe noisette.