halfwhiteboy

I feel like corduroy pants are underappreciated in menswear and fashion in general. It's always jeans, joggers, linen, and whatnot that you see in stores but almost never corduroy. You'd be lucky to spot one in any given store at any given time. If it's any indication, the cords I'm wearing here are from several years ago and I haven't stumbled upon anything else since. But cords are fun! I mean, how could you not enjoy something with texture? I know, I know smooth is a texture but I'm sure you get my drift. 

I don't know if I'm happy or in pain because it's Monday? What do you think? I'm really enjoying the " tropical winter " we're currently experiencing. And because we only know air conditioning, and heaters are virtually unheard of, it's even colder indoors at the office. It's the closest we got to the real deal, a treat for us living in the tropics. While sweaters and jackets are out this season, in my case, I thought I could take this velvety suit out for a spin. It's not really velvet per se but it does have a velvety feel to it. I just don't know what the fabric is called. Nevertheless, it's warm, comfy, and easy to wear. Works well with a lot of stuff. For one, the thin maroon patterns in my checkered shirt here ties in perfectly to the suit's color.

They say fit is everything and oft we've been told by many a menswear bible to wear shirts that stay close enough to the body but not too much that the buttons are pulling at the fabric. But what a boring world it would be if everyone wore form-fitting shirts all the time! After all, loose is also a type of fit, right? Yes, I perfectly understand the concept of wearing the right fit, and in fact I abhor shirts with too much excess fabric around the waist when you tuck them in. But there are shirts that are intentionally tailored to be loose-fitting in the first place, like this blousy pastel checkered long-sleeved shirt I'm wearing here.

A plaid, or checkered shirt  is always fun to wear. It hardly ever needs any styling because it already is your outfit's statement piece (although of course you can always insist on styling it). Oftentimes I simply pair one with the right pants and I'm good to go.

Photo by AP. Oh, THAT shirt. Checkered, plaid, or whatever it is that you call it, has been observed as a favorite of new Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte, so much so that it's been dubbed by some as the " Duterte shirt ." It's also often unfairly called your dad's or granfather's shirt, dismissed outright as something totally unfashionable. However, we can always put a fresh spin to this much-maligned checkered shirt. Of course having the right fit already addresses much of the problem while styling takes care of the rest. I went through some of my look book posts from the last 5 years and hopefully offer some inspiration on how to wear your "Duterte shirt" with pride. Wear it with jogger-style pants . Given the fact that joggers and pants patterned after joggers are everywhere right now, I'm sure there's something out there that can complement your checkered shirt perfectly. Here I experimented with a red and olive combo witho...

Doing Duterte's fist sign that was a hallmark of his campaign. Call this my tribute of sorts to our new president, Rodrigo R. Duterte , who was officially sworn into office today at exactly 12 noon in accordance with the Constitution. I may not agree with him on a lot of things but, like it or not, he is our president. I'm only hoping that God or the powers that be guide him as he leads the country toward realizing that genuine change he has promised during his campaign. Much has been said about Duterte's fashion sense, or lack thereof. He definitely is no Trudeau in terms of style and he couldn't care less about how he looks. He is often seen wearing slightly baggy pants and of course, his trademark short-sleeved checkered shirt , which I'm totally embracing today. Yeah, you can call it plaid or whatever but in this part of the world, it's also fondly called the " Duterte shirt " by some.