Monday, January 18, 2010

Fashion Experts' IN and OUT List This 2010

Although I'm not into trends, I have compiled pictures of what's hot and what's not in the fashion world this 2010. For the trendy fashionistas out there, you may want to update your look... or not.









Of course, I had references. For more information on fashion outlook this year, you may go to:
http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=resources&id=7208966
or
http://www.piercemattiepublicrelations.com/2009/10/the_official_whats_hotwhats_no.html
or
http://www.canada.com/life/fashion-beauty/what+what+world+fashion+2010/2407381/story.html
or
http://www.fashionising.com/trends/b--Spring-2010-Fashion-Trends-Womens-SS-2010-1288.html

---posted by Shirl

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Best Months to Visit Philippines & What to Wear

The Philippines being near the equator only has two seasons: the dry season and the rainy season.

Travel books and most internet sites say that dry season in the Philippines starts in December and runs through to about June. Maybe ten years ago that was true but now the real dry season starts in January and runs through about May. April being the hottest month.

June is the beginning of rainy season in the Philippines. July to September will be like typhoon months. December will be a combination of rainy and sunny days.

Our pick for the best months to visit the Philippines is January to March.
BECAUSE 1. Rain is seldom almost none. 2. The heat is tolerable unlike in April.
3. The beaches aren't that crowded yet.

So what clothes should you bring? Depending on which month you'll be visiting, there's really just two types of clothing you can wear in our country. First would be summer clothing and second will be rainy days clothing.

Philippine summer(third week of March to second week of May) can be very, very, VERY hot. Temperature can go up to 40°C/ 104°F. So for summer clothing, it's best to bring sleeveless or short sleeved shirts and shorts. Denim jeans or denim trousers are also okay. Please don't forget to bring your sunglasses and summer hats.
Rainy days clothing in the Philippines = SUMMER CLOTHING + JACKETS. Even if it's rainy season, it never gets cold in this country. The coldest will be around 22 °C/71.6 °F. So for the jackets, it's best to bring the waterproof and hooded ones. Don't bring those thick jackets-they will keep you TOO warm and will be very uncomfortable. Also do NOT forget to bring a pair of rain boots that can go with any of your outfit. Some areas in Metro Manila become flooded during heavy rain. The water from the floods are dirtier than they look. It's safer to wear boots.
Let's say you're going to Baguio which is probably the coldest place in the country. A shawl and that waterproof jacket will be enough to keep you warm.

Hope this post helps. Bon voyage!

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Shokojo Seira (Japanese version of A Little Princess)

A Little Princess is a children's novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett. There have been different film and television adaptations of it and we're pretty sure all of you have seen at least one of them.

We've seen them all (oops except the 1917 film, ayt- so not all then!) and we think the 2009 Japanese remake "Shokojo Seira" is the best we've seen so far. It's a 10 episode drama series.

This remake is not faithful to the novel but this is like the 6th television version. They had to spice it up a little bit. We think the modifications made sense and we loved how the screenwriter established them.

Anyway, for more info about the film and tv adaptations please go to:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Little_Princess

There are different "fansubs" and here's one of them:
http://timelessub.org/all-projects/shokojo-seira

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Shirl's Matron-of-Honor Outfit

Traditionally, it's the Bride who picks the bride's maids' dresses. It's one of the nerve-wracking decisions she has to make. And no matter how organized she is, a busy bride will always have the tendency to overlook a few detail. So as principal attendant, it's your duty to remind her about things gone wrong and have the initiative to fix them.

Perfect example is the yellow empire-cut dress that the bride has picked for me. When i got it, the bronzy gold bow at the back was skimpy. Even if you haven't seen the original design, you can tell that it's not right. Another error was that the bow at the back and the waist band in front were not the same color. The band in front is too pale- it makes me ask why it's there if it's supposed to be unnoticeable like that. So I had the bow and the bands fixed. The original bow was satin. For the replacement, I chose a coarser and stronger fabric to make the ribbon look sturdy. Check the differences.


After the bride, the maid or matron of honor is the one whom wedding guests look at. Remember as maid-of-honor, you are representing the bride's taste in fashion. So you have to take a step ahead in making yourself look beautiful but should not seem to compete with the appearance of the bride.

Spruce up your maid of honor outfit with appropriate items that will best work with it. Make sure that the accessory you choose doesn't overpower your outfit. Look at your outfit’s colors, feel, and texture when choosing accessories.

Since I'm so Disneyholic, I'm going for that yellow-blue color palette. Even if it's so last year, i think blue nicely sets off the yellow. Even Snow White thinks so. ;-)

I love it when my shoes match my bag and when my jewelry compliment whatever i'm wearing. Although it seems like they came in pairs, every piece was actually bought separately from different stores/brands. Pretty cool huh?

shoes Mario d'boro, clutch bag Landmark


earrings and bracelet SM Dep't store, bangle Cinderella


Here's my overall look. Hope you like it. :-)