Gray uniform with a stainless steel razor brooch

Took these pictures after watching the last full show of the latest Pirates of the Caribbean. Call this my interpretation of the Thom Browne look.




This is my first prototype for a Bosquejo brooch, all pinned to a cropped gray suit jacket. Made of stainless steel razors and nuts. No, you can't use them for shaving.




It's as big as the gigantic flowers sometimes worn by women as brooches. I was actually wearing just a white v-neck that afternoon but decided to change into something both sheer and striped (also reversible).





Plan on making a smaller, less monstrous version. Can you imagine a ring with razors?


Tee, cK Calvin Klein; trousers, Muji; jacket and Clarks laceups: both thrifted; electric typewriter case repurposed into a brief

Somersault

Apologies for the long delay in posts, and again, for just posting pics of bed-cast clothes. This is what I wore to last night's event, a collaboration between Miadore jewelry by Yekky Balingit, photographer Seven Barretto, and the design alliance Fadal Manila. Plus a book that I picked up at the bookstore before going to the venue.




Unveiled were 14 canvases that bore photos of Miadore necklaces worn with the creations of the Fadal designers. (More on the event on my Benetton blog.)




Now that I think of it, I wore the same lacey-y shirt and skinny jeans with another Bosquejo necklace on the first day of Philippine Fashion Week last May. (Time does fly!)

The Bosquejo necklace I wore was new, not even available on my website. Part of the reason I've been so busy. But hopefully, I can take a much needed break real soon... But back to the clothes: don't you think the silver-edged buttons match my Hardware necklace so well?




What I also love are the paisley print blazers by Levenson Rodriguez, which go well with Yekky's shimmery brooches. I wonder when I can have a jacket made... (*hint, hint*)






But now for the title of my post, taken from the book I just bought: Somersault by Kenzaburo Oe. Because this is precisely what I need these days: a total change, a flipping of priorities, the lifting of feet from familiar ground.




Yes, changes are abound, which I shall be telling you about soon enough. For now, it is time to sleep, and of course, to dream!




Blazer, Fred Perry; Kenneth Cole shirt and Dior Homme jeans: both thrifted; belt, Nautica; necklace, Bosquejo; briefcase, Bally

More than halfway through to 30

So it's August soon, and that's where it's at. Promised myself a change of direction by my next birthday. Things are looking up, in many ways I didn't even expect. But just a few more things before I can get the train running.

This is what I wore last week. It's Saturday already. Who will I be tomorrow morning?


Tee from Hong Kong; jeans, Havanna & Co; sandals, Kickers, thrifted; beanie, 5cm; nylon tote, thrifted; Tisiphone razor necklace, Bosquejo

Ikat and faux fur

To my surprise (okay, I was aware of it, but not the date), all the lights on the street shut off and our house stood out of the dark. Then I remembered that it was Earth Hour. Thinking fast, I grabbed the faux fur jacket I thrifted recently and wore it over the Dries Van Noten ikat tee I wrote about just a few days ago. I like how the ensemble turned out against the black backdrop.




The scarf I borrowed from my sister (from a flea market trip that she didn't tell me about), and here also is my "Salvador" onyx necklace. The fake fur pattern is not as gaudy when worn — after all.




I know I couldn't hide my oily forehead — with the heat and the jacket, the shine could probably generate some kilowatts — but this has something practical to it. I have just had my US visa approved and an April trip to New York confirmed. I know it sounds silly to wear faux fur in spring (not sure yet if I will), but I really have no gauge, since I am quite sensitive to the cold and the last time I experienced spring was in 1999 (kids were skating in Innsbruck — or was it Salzburg — only in their tees while I had thermals and fleece).




Some advice from New Yorkers out there? What are we expecting in mid-April? The flight jacket I thirfted is still with the tailor for repair. A shirt, cardigan, and blazer? Denim and fleece? Wool? What would you wear?


Faux fur jacket and scarf: both thrifted; ikat tee, Dries Van Noten; jeans, Bench; belt, Brave Beltworks; necklace, Bosquejo

Blue and brass

This was what I wore last Friday, but these pictures were taken last Saturday. Don't ask. These past few days have whirled past me in a blur, and there is even more to come! So says the weather report, ie my schedule.




Need to get back to the gym, not just for my gut (sorry), but also to clear my mind. How else can we stop and smell the flowers (though yellow bells have no scent) amid all the distraction?




Wearing the Benedictine necklace from Bosquejo's Sacre collection, whose new pieces I will be delivering to stores soon. No time to hold my breath...

Happy Monday!


Jacket, Muji; tee, C.P. Company; jeans, Two Percent; beanie, 5cm; belt, Brave Beltworks; crocheted sandals, thrifted

Zuzeca and Panda

Apologies in advance: you'll be seeing my face more often than is necessary in this post as I experiment with the format of my blog entries. I think I wore this black-and-white outfit last Friday.









I wanted to wear a Hardware piece against black, but without being as somber. So I wore the Zuzeca necklace over the first three buttons of my cardigan, but left the rest open to reveal a striped tee underneath.









Zuzeca is part of the latest Hardware series, called Dragons, which can resemble snakes and other slithery things.









I love the resulting contrast in solids and stripes, the almost feminine silhouette literally weighed down by steel and made masculine by leather and denim.









So who is Panda? Like my outfit, he also comes in black and white (hence the name, according to my sister), but has a moist nose and white whiskers. Remember him?





Cardigan, Muji; tee, Ralph Lauren; belt, A.P.C.; jeans, Calvin Klein Jeans; sandals, Kickers, thrifted; "Zuzeca" necklaces, Bosquejo

Bosquejo presents: new Furies + the Dragons series

While waiting for the release of the final pictures for the Bosquejo Hardware lookbook, let me present previously unreleased necklaces that were also used in the shoot.



Let me begin with additions to the Furies, the Hardware razor series. First up is "Eumenides". The name, which means "Kindly Ones", is used interchangeably with "Furies", or "Erinyes", which means "the angry ones" to refer to the deities of vengeance.









Next is a modification to "Tisiphone", "Tisiphone II".









Leading the new Dragons series is "Jormungandr", a Norse sea serpent who is also the middle child of the giantess Angrboða and the god Loki. I had the idea of a dragons/serpents series after creating these new pieces for a stylist commission. I think the description fits.



According to the Icelandic work Prose Edda, Odin took Loki's three children, Fenrisúlfr, Hel, and Jörmungandr, and tossed Jörmungandr into the great ocean that encircles Midgard. The serpent grew so large that he was able to surround the Earth and grasp his own tail. When he lets go, the world will end. As a result, he received the name of the Midgard Serpent or World Serpent. Jörmungandr's arch-enemy is the god Thor.











Next are the similar-looking "Fafnir" (left) and "Sigurd".



Fafnir, also from Norse mythology, was the son of a dwarf king who turned into a serpent or dragon because of his greed (dragons are symbols of greed). Full story here. Sigurd, on the other hand, is a legendary hero of Norse mythology. He was not really a dragon, but is famous for killing Fafnir. So there.









While the first three Dragons necklaces are made from a mix of stainless steel nuts, bobbins, and rings, "Zuzeca" is composed almost entirely of nuts, with some coated nickel beads.



We do not know much about Zuzeca, a dragon from American myth and folklore, except that it is also known as "the serene dragon".









The fifth Dragon (not the last since there may be more to come) is called "Fraener", which is just another name of Fafnir. "Fraener" sounds like the younger version of "Fafnir", so I used it for a simple necklace of mostly stainless steel nuts and bobbins.









The entire Dragons series is now available at Anthology, Powerplant Mall in Rockwell, Makati. "Eumenides" and "Tisiphone II" are slated for release in other stores, or you may email me for inquiries.





Now it's time again to wait quietly for the release of the Bosquejo Hardware lookbook.



Happy Sunday!





Bosquejo presents the Furies: stainless steel razor necklaces

Teaser: Bosquejo Hardware lookbook

I'm so giddy with anticipation, I could burst. But before that, more work!

It's a sunny Saturday morning!




Photography: Rxandy Capinpin. Styling: Ryuji Shiomitsu. Fashion: FIP menswear. Accessories: Bosquejo. Grooming: Katchie Mejias. Models: Terence Lloyd and Jessica Chiao-han Yang.

Denim on Denim + Black Benedictine

Long after my first attempt at wearing denim on denim, I have finally found a suitable shirt for pairing.

Come to think of it, my penchant for denim-on-denim is in line with my taste for monochrome. Denim-on-denim being its most casual form.




I have accessoried this shirt by Topman with five steel beads hanging on the thinnest of necklaces. Don't want to interfere that much with strong and simple design.




The buttons are meant to resemble mother-of-pearl, much whiter than my coffee-stained not-so-pearly whites.

Shirt, Topman; jeans, Lee; filigree belt, Brave Beltworks; nylon sneakers, Tretorn x Acne; necklace, DIY




Days after, I wore this new necklace from my Sacre line of Bosquejo accessories. Named it Benedictine after the saint on the pendant.




Wore denim again, this time in black. Paired the Sacre necklace with another from the Djinn line, all in black.




I like how this one turned out looking like a striped shirt, with the colors of Charlie Brown's outfit.




Lee shirt and Izzue jeans: both thrifted; necklaces, Bosquejo; skinny belt, APC




I made this necklace thinking that this would first and foremost be masculine. And it is.




But that hasn't stopped my sister from wearing it. She appears today on my streetstyle blog, La Folie Douce, where you can see the rest of her outfit.


Cameos by Patricia Suzara

Ceil blue

I think I can breathe easier now—at least for the moment. With the lookbook shoot for Bosquejo's Hardware collection done (behind the scenes here and here), and with several pullout requests fulfilled, I have a very short lull before I need to start making new necklaces for both stores and direct clients. Finally I can show you the shirt that I had ordered from Drei Soriano (Will wear the matching pants soon.)




The color, I think, is ceil, which interestingly also refers to the act of lining or plastering the roof of a building (ceil-ing? con-ceil-ing?). I matched the shirt, which I wore as a jacket, with two necklaces from my Djinn collection (customized based on the piece "Gabrielle No 1") and with a polo shirt with buttons that resemble the stones.




What I loved the most about Drei's shirt were the zippers. Hopefully I can shed my gut so I can wear it as intended. And maybe with the matching tapered pants.

So what do you think? Are men ready for semi-precious stones? At first I was hesitant, even if the necklaces were black, but maybe it really just takes a little confidence (and some sleep) to sail through a new look.


Shirt, Drei Soriano; polo shirt, cK Calvin Klein; jeans, Sisley; belt, Nautica; boots, Timberland, thrifted

Hinge and bobbin hardware necklace: a variation

Met up with my friend Johanna last Friday to show her the black pearl and onyx necklace. (Just sold her today — my very first sale! — the longer version with obsidian I wore last Saturday. More on this in another post...) That day, I wore a single-stranded edition of the bobbin and hinge necklace I made earlier — which incidentally, another friend has already reserved.

Decided to wear the necklace with a monochromatic get-up for the steel to stand out.




This is how it looks up close, but only after one modification that Jo (short for Johanna) suggested.




I closed two hinges and removed the topmost one — which was digging into my neck (ouch!).

Polo shirt, Armani Exchange; jeans, Two Percent; sandals, Birkenstock

Outfit photos: Johanna Hife




I am besides myself with this new venture — creating new pieces, modifying them for clients, and posting them as fast as I can. I promise to write about regular topics as soon as I launch the online site of Bosquejo accessories. In a few days I hope!




Again I wore the piece with another necklace. Here is the stainless steel chain with a bike pendant I intend to wear/sell with it.