Morning news sold out

No matter how noisy, crowded, and grimy, the city will always be dear to me. It is where all lines converge, where parallels intersect. Day in and day out, in between the columns found in national papers lie the lives of everyone around - all of them unavoidably affected, if not incriminated.

Sure, I am not one to turn down one or a few weeks of rest out in the provinces - to the mountains or to the beaches - but I don't know how long I can last so far from the bustle of the metropolis.

Thrifted shirt, Emporio Armani; pants, Gas; scarf, vintage; newsboy cap, Zara; semi-leather shoes, Giordano Concepts; suspenders, SM Department Store

Photos by Patricia Suzara

The Sartorialist: On the Street......Le Marais, Paris

Black and blue shoes (in leather and suede)! My little heart is bruised...

The commenters are of course right; it's really everything about the picture: from head to toe, foreground to background, even the air...

White flood pants

You can say it's the worst timing to wear white pants when its raining, but each morning starts so bright and sunny that I always wake up hoping it would stay like that - no rain, but at the same time not too warm.

White is just so irresistible to wear during summer - even if the season has lately been unreliable - that one just can't have enough of the color.

Tee, Izzue; penny loafers, Bass Weejuns; white jeans, eco-friendly half-wool scarf, and green suede messenger: all thrifted

Just published this while I'm still building my next post on the American menswear designer who recently popularized ankle exposure, and, according to news last month, may have to look for an investor to prevent his business from sinking underwater.

Top photo by Patricia Suzara

This is not about tying scarves...

But about volume, houndstooth and stripe combinations, and the American colors.

It's about my new Tretorn by Acne nylon sneakers.

Or the lady in pink behind me who reminds everybody that this is just a shoot and scarves and beanies belong back to the office where it's perpetually airconditioned.

Once again- and with feeling - maybe this is merely about using peelable accessories for the tropical climate, where it's really quite cumbersome to keep on wearing and removing jackets and sweaters in and out of the workplace.

Thrifted shirt, Daks; jeans, Levi's; skinny leather belt, APC; sneakers, Tretorn by Acne; scarf from Kalinga Apayao province, produced by locals; beanie, thrifted

Photos by Patricia Suzara

L'Uomo Vogue: Exuberant excess

I find it silly how the financial crisis has given people excuses to tone down "excess" for the sake of appearing sympathetic. I mean, you only should if your existing level of compensation and incentives have been part of the vehicle that drove economies to hardship. If not, why pretend?

White tuxedo, Ermenegildo Zegna; smoking nero, Hugo Boss Black; giacca bianca con collo a scialle, Brioni; camicia, Del Siena; smoking con camicia, Gianfranco Ferré; cappa dorata, Norma Kamali @ Resurrection

Besides, how can you miss out on such a lovely scarf?

From L'Uomo Vogue, January 2006
Photos by Greg Kadel

Fine and Dandy

Speaking of accessories, Matt from the Fine and Dandy Shop sent me an email to check out their online store. Here are some items I'll definitely order or at least consider buying once they begin shipping to Manila:

Lee Allison black and silver polka dot bow tie and their own black and white striped bow tie

Scala grey diamond hat

Scala camel houndstooth newsboy cap

From top left, clockwise: Yellow and burgundy pin dot pocket square, black and silver trim pocket square, orange multi-colored edge pocket square, and white and black trim pocket square

Green paisley silk scarf

They also have a blog, where they feature real-life dandies, dapper editorials, and pretty much everything smart and natty.


I myself only have one bow tie, in all white, which I refused to buy with a fastener, to force myself to learn how to tie a real one. Now I'm inspired to get for myself pieces in other colors and even in patterns. The pocket squares will come in handy once I set aside time to find or have tailored blazers to my own liking.

For my own outfits, I want to experiment mixing dandy elements with other styles, such as street, grunge, and whatever transmutation.

Midas Dutij from Amersfoort

Bag, $3, second-hand; shoes, $80, Invito; lunettes, $250, Ray Ban; skiny jeans, $50, Cheap Monday; cigarette, €4, Lucky Strike

His Lookbook page here

Black and blue

Sometimes I am not myself, and I don't want to be. Even when I'm wearing layers of sheer clothing, nothing is clear.

During these times, the act of simply dressing up helps. Forces me to get out of bed, to pull up a face to meet the faces that I meet.



Sheer striped sweater, Zara; sheer striped tee, Guess; jeans, Calvin Klein Jeans; thrifted boots, Timberland; scarf, SM Department Store

Photos by Patricia Suzara

The day in detail

Some days go slow, some days pass in an unrecognizable and undifferentiated blur. They start in a rush.




Like in George Seferis's poem "Epiphany", many times all we have are the details.

Here is a cross-section of what I wore today:
Tee, Penguin; trousers, Y-3; tasseled moccasins and scarf: both thirsted; PVC bag, 5cm.




The moccasins I thrifted months before. I think they go well worn sockless and with the buttoned hem of the pants.

Here I am standing on the pavement in front of our house. The office day just ended.




Even when we are already sleeping, nothing stops. The history of the day moves right beneath our eyelids. We are still traveling, archiving, our memory picking out the details. Tidying the shelves as we tidy our cabinets so we can decide what to wear the next day.

Moonleaf Tea Shop, Makati branch

This is Maginhawa Street, all the way in UP Teacher's Village in Diliman, Quezon City, I don't know how many miles from Makati.




It seems like a good neighborhood, with nearby restaurants, spas, barbershops/salons, a bookstore, laundromats, a BPO hub, and of course, schools.




In such an area, a café or a tea shop is sure to rake it in, what with a captive and loyal clientele: people like me who suddenly crave for milk tea and almost do not mind the distance and the time.

Just imagine if someone franchised Moonleaf Tea Shop and brought it to Makati. Mind you, I am not alone in making this gentle yet urgent plea.

Do you know how many people travel to Makati every single day?





My friends and I would tie polka dot ribbons around the trees of Makati City just to prove a point. (Ummm, think of them as pearls. :P)


Moonleaf Tea Shop currently has three branches:
- 44 Magiting Street, UP Teacher's Village East (near Ministop Maginhawa), 1101 Diliman District, Quezon City
- 103 Maginhawa Street, UP Teacher's Village East (beside Delish)...
- Esteban Abada Street (next to Crave), Loyola Heights, Quezon City


Shirt, Ben Sherman; jeans, Bench; belt, Brave Beltworks; Converse sneakers, thrifted; viscose scarf from Mindanao

Cameo shots by Thysz Estrada, bow tie by Ziggy Savella

Bag denim on denim

Instead of wearing the usual denim shirt on jeans, I opted for the simple white shirt, but accessorized it with a denim tote and plaid scarf. The key is to wear different shades and textures of blue. The necklace is my male pearl substitute, since I wore this outfit to a premiere of Coco avant Chanel.


Shirt, Zara; jeans, Levi's; scarf, vintage; necklace, Qeelin; thrifted tote, Gap

More on scarves

Taking off from my post yesterday on scarf tails, let me show you the 11 – more than I need – that I have unconsciously accumulated. All of them were thrifted except for the second checkered scarf, which used to be my dad's; the fourth and tenth, which came from Benetton; the ninth, which bought from SM department store; and the rightmost, which I got from a seller in Kalinga Apayao, one of the northern mountainous provinces in the Philippines.




I like the fact that this collection comes in a wide range of textures.




Yes, they come in safe colors. Maybe it takes some getting used to, before I can don bright oranges or even pink.




Some have tassels and some do not.




Only one has a sheen to it, but I must admit that I have cultivated affection for all of them.

Shake that booty

Since I have no interest in shaking any tassels or any bag trinket tails – as Louis Vuitton did for its Spring 2010 RTW collection – I will settle for my trusty, practical scarves to wag the dust in my wake.




I told you this post was pointless, just by the title. It's just that I seem to have accumulated so many scarves that sometimes I think I'll just use them to add some interest to my bags as, yes, trinkets. (Now they are only mildly expected to warm my nape from the sometimes brutal office air-conditioning.)


Shirt, Springfield; jeans, Levi's; filigree belt, Brave Beltworks; Filler boat shoes, Young Camel bag, and scarf: all thrifted



I got these boat shoes from the meandering trip yesterday. Sadly the "croc" pair with tassels was too big, the Rockport one too small, and the others just fun to look at. (This one needs just a little cleaning and they're ready to go.)

Young Camel leather satchel

This has got to be one of the best items I've bagged from the thrift store. As with many unpredictable surprises, when I first saw it on the rack, I didn't even grab it. Just looked at it from the corner of my eye, consuming the color of the leather in my mind, taking my time before finally taking possession of it.




First I touched the grain and traced the seams. Unbuckled and pressed the fasteners, tried the zippers and buttons — no different from pinching my arm in disbelief.




The tag was still intact, and so was the metal plate on the shoulder strap, though the metalware was visibly tarnished.




The "Young Camel" stamp. Does anybody know when the cigarette brand released its accessories (clothes?) line?




The view from above: two main compartments, with one that can be buttoned, plus a small zippered pocket.




Ah, I wasn't just imagining it. As you can see, the bag lies on my bed.




View from behind. I've yet to figure out what the bottom rings are for.




One of the best things about this piece — besides the color and the leather — is the strap clasp, which looks like a bullet, or even a small flashlight.




I must say that I have always dreamed of a leather bag that was both structured enough to carry my laptop but also soft enough for me to enjoy it when I didn't have many things to bring.




My laptop fit! But unfortunately, not with the foam guard protecting it. I'd be wary of dirt and inevitable bumps and scratches, so I'd have to think about it. (Besides, the bag is heavy enough by itself to carry a laptop inside it.)

On the bright side, I also found this blue striped scarf that goes well with the leather and served more than a needed tourniquet.

Layers, the evil flu, and Harry Houdini

I know this is probably my weirdest post title, but it's flu season again — if not in the city, at least where I am concerned.

I have observed that the unpredictability of chills coming and going is no different from the changing weather, or even of merely going in and out of airconditioned offices. In both cases, layering defences are required. Soon, I hope it finally disappears from my system.


Suit jackes, Izzue shirt, striped fabric belt, and G200 linen pants: all thrifted; espadrilles from Davao; scarf, SM Department Store

Photo by Patricia Suzara

Not nude, but flesh-y

It's about time I took out these baggy drawstring pants, since it will officially be the rainy season in less than a month. And by then, these wouldn't be practical for whatever floods the weather may bring. Same goes for this similarly flesh-colored polo shirt, which has a pattern formed by tiny perforations.




It's quite unfortunate since I have very much fallen for the fabric of these trousers (even after all these years), which flows even with the slightest breeze. Even more compliant is this bamboo-derived scarf that I have decided to wear as a stole.




Worn as such, it makes me look taller (look again above)! Good thing warmth is not an important consideration, but still, I can't wait for the little added chill of the rainy season. In a way, you can call this in-transition.


Pants, Marks & Spenser; bag and polo shirt: both thrifted; scarf, United Colors of Benetton; tennis shoes: Bass

Photos by Patricia Suzara