Gone thrifting

My shopping principle has always been to only to buy things I particularly like because there's something special about them. Each item has to be like that. I trust that pieces loved in their own way can come together to form remarkable outfits.

I'm willing to spend a little more for such items, but if I really have to buy basics, I turn to thrift stores. As I have mentioned before, my trips to such shops began with the need to expand my office wardrobe.

But this time, thrift shopping has also provided me an opportunity to tread on relatively new territory. After stocking on skinny, horizontal tipped, and colorfully patterned ties in silk, wool, and cotton, finally, I find vests, a navy jacket, and yes, my very own cutaway.

I found most of these from a store that ships from Japan, so that even if there are no big-name labels, there is impeccable Japanese tailoring.

I suspect these vests were made by the same tailor. Now I have to decide if I want to send the navy one on the right to a tailor here so that the satin back can be replaced or if I want to keep the wear to let the piece have that lived-in character.

I love the cut of this pinstriped navy jacket. It is slim and the sleeves come right before my wrist.

If you remember the day I wore my tux jacket with drawstring pants, I was wishing for a cutaway jacket to make the outfit better. Well, here it is. The fit is likewise perfect. I am excited about all the combinations, both casual and spiffy, I can create from this formal piece.

Now it begins. These gold and bronze leaves baptize my wardrobe with its first brooches.

So here is the happy camper in the store where I bought most of the ties (not the jackets). In total I spent PhP1,700 (US$36).

I am still ticklish from the anticipation. Sending the clothes to the drycleaner right after I post this.


Elmo tee from Greenhills; open bonnet hat, 5cm; micro houndstoot pants, Custom Made; filigree belt, Brave Beltworks; leather sneakers; Converse; PVC bag; 5cm; gold watch, Omega Seamaster

Dark days

The days can just go on and on, without reprieve and without much reflection, not just while going through the motions but even when it comes to happy and continuous improvements.

I have just also enlarged the format of my fledgling street style site, La Folie Douce, and in the past few weeks have been getting more traffic and comments on this page.

Things are moving into a clearer direction, and this also applies not only to my recent fashion choices, but also to my day job at the FT.

Then again, it's been months since I've sat down to work on my poems, which for me, bring everything together in a way that is totally unexpected. Else, writing has meant magazine articles and blog musings. (On the topic of changes, someone has actually followed my poetry blog, which is surprising.)

Personally, only the creative process can distill the sharpest and clearest insights. And there are no point-by-point blog updates or Twitter feeds mid-way. In between there is only silence.

I wonder when that time will come again. I both yearn for it and fear its inevitable return. Till then, I cannot say I do not really enjoy these dark, opaque days. I do. But not as much.


Tuxedo jacket, from a local department store; thrifted plaid shirt, Izzue; micro houndstooth pants, Custom Made; skinny belt, APC; thrifted sneakers and open bonnet hat: both 5cm

Urban worker

Enough pockets for everything.

Except the heat.

Shirt, Bossini; tank top, United Colors of Benneton; cargo pants and camouflage ribbon belt, Izzue; sneakers, 5cm

Photos by Patricia Suzara

Mustard yellow jeans

I need a hat. I think the Paul Smith cap below would top this outfit quite nicely. A watch with a brown leather strap, perhaps?

Embroidered tee, Zara; nylon jacket, Izzue; thrifted painter's pants; Conbipel; thrifted sneakers, 5cm; thrifted leather bag, Rabeanco



I've never really devoted much time to hat hunting. I think I should. There are so many varieties - from trilbies to bowlers and newspaper boys to straw panamas - and I think it would be exciting to pair them off with unexpected outfits, either to make a casual look sharper or a relaxed one spiffier. Because of their provenance, different hats can also invoke different eras, and the mood of an entire ensemble. So there are plenty of things to try out.

Including other combinations with my mustard yellow jeans. White, beige, gray, and black tops are the obvious choices. Maybe I'll muster an outfit with a mauve/purple tee, as below. Will just have to find color counterpoints. Black and white check suspenders?

My latest fix: Black open bonnet

Open bonnet hat, 5cm; striped tee, Izzue; skinny jeans, Two Percent; skinny leather belt, APC; plastic necklace, Qeelin; plastic ring, Saizen (Daiso)

Precious, temporary things

I just realized that among my posts, thrift shopping is the most frequent tag. Five years ago, I never even considered buying any pre-owned items, except for furniture and books. Only when I started buying shirts and pants to expand my office wardrobe did I stumble upon the joys of bargain hunting, especially for thrifted shoes and bags. Also by accident, around the same time, did I begin to write for magazines on the side.


Wool trench, thrifted; tee, Polo Ralph Lauren; jeans, Two Percent; thrifted shoes, Clarks; old electronic typewriter case used as briefcase




Thinking about it, I have to admit that fashion has never been an obsession. I didn't grow up starry-eyed watching catwalk shows or gawking at glossies or store windows. Now maybe it's a highly time-consuming indulgence, a self-conscious way of sorting myself out, part of ordering my thoughts at the beginning of each day, and part of my never-ending process of sifting through inspiration from every aspect of life — mostly absent-mindedly, but eventually with the prospect of producing something creative.




Writers and artists of past eras dressed to the part as eccentrics and agitators of society. But in my case, I don't feel compelled to prove anything to anybody but myself. It is a personal challenge to seek to find something new each day — not just a new item, but a new way of looking at and wearing even just a single piece.


White tee and knitted hooded tee: both Bench; jeans, Sisley; open bonnet hat, 5cm



Not very different from discovering a new way of saying something even via the smallest detour from the usual turn of phrase. Initially just for myself, but hopefully, like a verse or a torn page, it can find itself bringing joy or use to somebody else.


First two photos by Patricia Suzara

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

Mula sa Rupero/From the Hamper

By Miguel Paolo Celestial



Madalas sa madalas, tuwing tayo'y nag-uusap,
di ko mawari kung sino ang iyong nakikita
bago mo pa isa-isahin ang plastik na butones,
bago mo tanggalin ang tupi ng aking mga manggas.


More often than not, when I catch ourselves talking,
I have to second-guess who it is you see
even before you remove my buttons one by one,
before you unravel each and every fold of my sleeve.




Dahil kapag niluwagan na ang sinturon at nahulog
ang pantalon, nakakalimutan ang landas ng sapatos,
nawawalan ng kasaysayan ang dumikit na alikabok.
Iisang mata lamang ang malulusutan ng sintas,


Because once belts are unfastened and trousers
surrendered, where my shoes have been doesn’t matter,
there is no history to the dust stuck to my soles.
There is only one eyelet to thread our laces,




ngunit pareho tayong nakapikit, natatakot
hubarin ang pinakahuling pilas ng damit.
Pawisan, balat sa balat, dagli tayong nagbibihis,
sinusuot ang sari-sariling kamiseta ng hininga.


but we go through the motions with eyes closed,
afraid to cast off our last layer of clothes.
With sweat sticking skin to skin, we quickly dress,
pulling our breaths like we pull our shirts.




Dahil bago mo pa ako hinubaran sa tingin,
sinimulan na kitang unti-unting tastasin.


Because even before you undressed me with one look,
I have already begun unthreading you from the hook.


************

Shirt and jacket: both thrifted; braided belt, Brave Beltworks; jeans, Levi's; laceups, Marlboro Classics; bag, 5cm; wristwatch, Tissot; pencil case, from Market Market; 'A Village Life' by Louise Glück, from PowerBooks

For more of my poetry and works by other authors, visit Buraburador

Black and brown, with some raspberry

I was seeing someone — or we were already "together", I'm not sure, but I'm certain that it doesn't matter — when I bought this 5cm beanie. It must have been around the time this blog was about to celebrate it's first year. In any case, I really should find other ways to mark my days.




Like getting a free scoop of raspberry cheesecake yogurt from Golden Spoon, which I of course topped with blackberries and strawberries. Since today marks the day when Trish and I managed to fill out our coupon. Diet be damned!




A berry good way, I must say, to ease off stress from work and to highlight something relatively new with my outfit. Of course, one other reason I'm wearing this beanie is that my hair is getting unruly and I'm just too lazy to pay the barber a visit.


Beanie and thrifted bomber jacket: both 5cm; tee, cK Calvin Klein; jeans, Calvin Klein Jeans; sandals, Birkenstock; belt, Brave Beltworks; Young Camel satchel and ...Property of tote: both thrifted; steel cuff, Hablo; tiger's eye bracelet from Divisoria

Photos by Patricia Suzara, who also ordered Raspberry Cheesecake yogurt, but topped it with almonds and dark chocolate

This post was not sponsored by Golden Spoon, Seattle's Best Coffee, or 7-11 (see it?)

Thrift shoe Shangri-La in Pasig

Yes, this is how the first shoe rack I saw beckoned. Like a prophet with a life-changing revelation.

I think out of experience, one develops a way of taking a quick glance at a thrift shop and deciding if it's worth visiting. One good sign is a well stocked rack. The first things you notice about this one — besides the boots — are the navy blue boat shoes.



Though no pair fit me, these chukka boots more than eased the pain. (Pardon the pictures for this post. This pair is actually more tan than olive.) I immediately took a liking to its handmade quality.

First time I saw chukkas I fell for the combination of rough stitching and aproned "skirts". I like the fettuccini laces on this pair. Too bad the one on the left seems to have been shortened.



The suede needs to be cleaned. But I think the chips in the sole and the weathered parts add to the folk feel of this type of footwear.



Another interesting detail: rusty metal fasteners.



I also found these very soft laceups (more mahogany than clayish brown) after the chukkas. In contrast to the boots above, this is a finely constructed pair.



Just look at the stitching. I also appreciate the thin soles. I wonder how the color will turn out once cleaned.



Even with just these two pairs, I could have gone home uncontestably happy. Here I am at Shangri-La Mall after the trip to Pasig City, already wearing the laceups instead of the shoes I left the house with.


Tee, People are People; jeans, Bench; belt, Brave Beltworks; laceups, thrifted; PVC bag, 5cm; gold watch, Omega Seamaster



But then fate interferred and brought me these tasseled loafers in the last store I stopped by.

The design is simple and clean. Was surprised to see tassel fastenings that looked like staple gun bullets, but eventually they won me over.



What is it about good slip-ons and their back stitching?



Here is Onin Lorente of Style Anywhere, who took my picture and accompanied me around the unfamiliar city.



And here I am with my camera print tee, a witness to the unfailing power of thrift shopping.

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

Parting is such sweet sorrow / My first sale

When Johanna told me that she was happily feeling the texture and shape of the rosette onyx beads and baroque pearls from the black necklace I just sold her, I knew it was in good hands.

This is how it looks up close — pearls and onyx with obsidian.




This was how I wore the very first version of this necklace, which was shorter and meant as a male accessory.




Jo is right by saying that from afar the piece looks just like any other bead necklace, and that it is only after closer inspection that one notices — from the colors and shapes of the reflected light — that the necklace is different.




Tee and skinny belt, A.P.C.; jeans, Two Percent; bonnet, 5cm; bracelet, three strands of ball-and-chain necklaces




It was Jo's suggestion to wear it double-stranded. Now the piece takes on a life of its own, just like any creation that exchanges hands.

Hips and lips

That's what's written in fine tangerine letters on this shirt I bought way back in 2005, even before I started writing for fashion magazines. I loved the print, and the fabric, which looks like TV static.

Tee, Rogan; cargo pants, Izzue; thrifted sneakers, 5cm; gold watch, Omega Seamaster

Accessories set against the green

Testing out the smallest of my safety pin brooches, together with a new tiger's eye necklace of varying colors.


Tee, & by Dolce & Gabbana; cargo pants, Izzue; tasseled loafers, thrifted; PVC bag, 5cm; necklace from Divisoria; brooch, DIY; gold plated watch, Omega Seamaster; steel watch, Tissot; tiger's eye bracelet (worn between) from Avenida

Photo by Anton Javier