LOOKBOOK | 'Buwan ng Wika' trip: Haciendero in the city

"Kayo baga'y may kapeng barako dine?"

Every August since 2015, our department has been celebrating Buwan ng Wika (Philippine Language Month) at the office where, just like school kids and teachers, we get to be in Filipiniana attire or traditional Filipino costumes. We also have a mini-program with some games and of best of all, heavy snacks featuring different Filipino delicacies. It's been my second favorite occasion at the office next to Halloween. The pandemic, of course, disrupted everything but after a two-year hiatus, our annual celebration made a happy comeback yesterday.

Because I've somehow grown tired of wearing a dressed-down Barong Tagalog for these mini-events, I bought something else to wear. But as luck would have it, my parcel still hasn't arrived and I ended up with the same barong. This time around, though, I embraced its formal nature a bit more and worked around its brownish tone. 

With barongs, an undershirt is a must because of its diaphanous fabric and white is the de facto color of choice (although black can also be great with certain designs). I prefer such undershirt to be long-sleeved, though, because the contrast between the white short sleeves and one's skin tone showing underneath the barong sleeves can be quite jarring. In this case, I experimented with brown, which, I believe, worked.

Haciendero in the city, coffee in hand.

The pants, on the other hand, were in keeping up with my brown theme but instead of the usual solid dark brown, I opted for plaid in a much lighter shade. I reckon it has much more character than a typical solid color. It also doesn't appear too high-strung, perfect for daytime wear. I then carried on with this relaxed vibe by wearing loafers instead of lace-ups or dress shoes. 

I wanted a salakot (native cone-shaped hat) to go with my outfit but since I couldn't find one, I settled for this straw hat instead. It wasn't all too bad, however, because I found this walking stick that perfected my old-moneyed haciendero look. Yes, the stick sealed the deal. The mask is probably the only piece that seemed out of place but at least it breaks the monochrome while still being in line with the Filipiniana motif. 

With my colleague and fellow best dressed winner. We came here for coffee but ended up buying the whole place.

As with any occasion, I dress up to feel good and have fun. Being awarded best dressed is just icing on the cake but is, of course, great icing nonetheless.

As if my haciendero look wasn't complete, I also made sure my fragrance of the day was aligned with my look, so I wore what else but Wren Atelier's Hacienderos! It's proudly Philippine-made, too. 

Scent of the day: Hacienderos by Wren Atelier.

Haciendero in the office.

"Nasaan ang lechon?! Sinong kumuha ng lechon?!"

And just like that, it's the "ber" months once again. Till next year!