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

SS 09: Tim Hamilton + Robert Geller

Hamilton's shirts with tux bibs and twenties vintage find kinship with Geller's gypsy and prison pants and Eastern European references.



There is a certain coarseness to both collections that is made more raw by hair slicked back.



So far, these two collections from the New York Spring/Summer 2009 shows have made the deepest impressions. The images they have conjured linger longer because of mood and character.



There will always be trends, like stripes which have appeared in many forms on several collections, but mood and character are not as transferrable. Credit the stylist, but I still think the separate pieces (esp. jackets, shirts, blousons, blazers, vests, boots, shorts, and pants) will be able to stand on their own, distinct.

Photos from men.style.com

Street fix: Layers and stripes

Jujiin Samonte and Shahani Gania tell me their stripe and monochrome partnership was not planned. Coincidence like one of those things.

The boat shirt

Been thinking about this ever since I missed out on an A.P.C. spring offering. I wonder when I'll stumble on something in my size. These shirts can be tricky because of the wide collar, but let's see.

Trevor appears on Citizen Couture

It would be perfect in white and navy.

Sheer on sheer, back to back

Say hello to my sister's puppy, Panda (don't ask). He's half Japanese Spitz and half Shih Tzu. Trying to wrestle free from my grasp, only to approach me later and bite at my shoelaces and my jeans (when I'm wearing slippers, my toes!).




Though my cK Calvin Klein tee is not in black and white, it is in white and stripes. Reversible from a roundneck to a v-neck, with the white layer made of cotton pique that is only a little sheer and the semi-transparent striped one, if I'm not mistaken, in Tencel (made from "fiber obtained from wood pulp using recyclable solvents": so my dictionary says).

But whatever fabrics the tee is made of, it is a fashion breakthrough for me since I swore before that I would never wear clothing that is dual-purpose or two-in-one (well, I swore before Junya Watanabe came out with his Spring 2009 collection), like shirts with built-in cardigans and the rest of its ilk. But of course the sheerness of it got me. A major weakness.

Till my next animal post! (My sister also has a rabbit at home, but I don't think it's a muggle.)

In retrospect

Wore this outfit last March 2009, and decided to revive it today, but in a different way.




What one year does, indeed. While I was looking for my first job years ago, I hated ties and felt they were too cumbersome for everyday wear. Blame this blog and more than a little boredom I guess.

Now, I would have rolled my pants up to my knees just for you to notice my argyle socks!




I think this must have also been the last time I wore these leather hybrid lace-ups. Notice that this is the same window backdrop in my last post.

Sheer sweater, Zara; shirt, Gap; jeans, Two Percent; shoes, Giordano Concepts; tie, thrifted




I'm still going through the recent Milan and Paris shows. Reviews soon. Besides reminiscing on the good old days of cameo picture-taking, I also sort of miss Tim Blanks's commentary. He disappeared when men.style.com became gq.com. Now the reviews are cheeky, and I suppose targeted at a younger audience with less cultural memory.

Amazingly, I find that looking at the shows in between my other activities clears my mind. Even if fashion history and reference-making are more complicated and cross-hatched than simple plaid.


Cardigan and tie: both thrifted; shirt, Gap; jeans, Bossini; shoes, Giordano Concepts

Photos by Patricia Suzara

Room for sunshine

No, I am not hopelessly optimistic. In fact, my optimism is based on being a realist. Take that!




They say happiness is not something you look for; it just happens. Something at the tail end of something else. Like the tingle of heat that runs through your body waking up to the morning sun. Even then, it remains unnameable.




Of course, there is the color yellow. Mustard yellow in the case of these thrifted carpenter's pants by a relatively unknown Italian brand. Yes, I know the knee stitches indicate that they were made for a taller guy, but does that guarantee happiness? LOL.




First I thought I should keep the sleeves in, but I think the stripes have a way of further taming my "happy pants", besides the fact that they are naughtily nautical. 2nd LOL.




Happy summer!


Henley, Zara; jacket, Izzue; old belt: Giordano; jeans, crochet sandals, and scarf: all thirsted

Photos by Patricia Suzara

Roadkill

Just a few minutes left to the weekend. Some bloggers post outfits, portraits, or even songs on Sundays. Maybe I'll try out a new habit: a short recap of the past few days to torture/encourage myself of what I have accomplished. Or what simply slid through my daily-crafted schedule or my mind, lost between the lines.




Been less sickly, so yes to: gym, blogging, reading (on the last few pages of Patrick White's Riders in the Chariot), DVD shopping (Dune, Vengeance trilogy, The Last Station, Monster, Happy Together, etc), book shopping (Doris Lessing's The Golden Notebook), movie out (though it was worthless), meet with an old friend over coffee. No: new Bosquejo jewelry made (though some posted), wasn't able to re-organize my room (never-ending process), … actually this list never ends. And mostly because I also said yes to: sleep, bad habits, and all the other entries in my yes list.


Polo shirt, Underground; hood, Izzue; braided belt, Nautica; jeans, Neil Barrett; electric typewriter case repurposed as a laptop bag; scarf and nylon tote: both thrifted; sneakers, Generic Surplus

Photos by Patricia Suzara

Street simplicity

Just like their outfits, I hardly have any words for this entry.

Folded red shorts and white shirt both crinkled, barely there collar, turtoise shell (?) glasses, gray bracelet.

The hair, his face, the bricks. By the way, his name is Henning.



Cat frame glasses and feline glare, cropped jacket revealing more stripes, drop-crotch shorts, corrugated cement.


From Stil in Berlin and The Sartorialist

Tied down

Finally I find a way to wear this thick blue tassel I chanced upon on one of my thrift shopping trips ... as a belt!

I was worried that even a sheer sweater would be too warm, but thankfully it wasn't. Many hail this day as the start of the rainy season. So I suppose wearing it with espadrilles is my way of "transitioning".




Just between the two of us: my supplier of these espadrilles has revealed that they would soon be bringing a large shipment of these wonderful pairs straight from Spain, so if I were you, tell me your size and the color/s of your dreams … It doesn't matter if you have to wait for next March to wear them!


Sheer sweater, Zara; striped tee, Polo Ralph Lauren; stretch trousers, Giordano; espadrilles from Spain; tassel, thrifted

Photos by Patricia Suzara, who almost tricked me into eclairs and cream puffs today!