halfwhiteboy

With summer starting to heat up this part of the globe, all I can think of is the beach. Well, and what to wear to the beach. I've been searching for new stuff at a safe distance--that is from my computer--and found a few good swim shorts from Philippine brands . I also started checking out some foreign brands that have stores here and now I'm excited even more. Here are a few of the pieces I found: Zara I've always loved this Spanish brand and it did not disappoint in the swimwear department with checks, tie prints, and paisley. Though still limited for now, the pieces are perfectly short, allowing the wearer to show some thigh for a sexier look. At Php 1,595, I think it's a pretty good deal already. Checked swimming shorts, Zara.

It's really frustrating that we still don't have H&M in the Philippines despite several rumors before (at least Uniqlo's opening in June). And seeing their new swimwear collection only makes me pine for the Swedish brand even more. I especially love the swim shorts here. They're of the perfect length for me although they also have longer ones like board shorts. If H&M were open here right now, I'd instantly break my promise not to buy any beach-related items this summer. The shorts are short enough for me, and the tank top is just awesome.

February 2 will see pieces from David Beckham's Bodywear collaboration with H&M finally hit stores. It's already long been announced last year and the wait is almost over. Beckham, of course, is modeling his own creations. It's a given. After all, he did model for Armani underwear with wife Victoria for a time.

I feel like I'm overdressed today looking at this photo. But really I'm not. A blazer can really work wonders in dressing up any outfit. And how could I be overdressed when I'm only wearing a short-sleeved shirt underneath?

My day was entirely spent on one of several planning exercises for next year. Tomorrow we'll have another one. That said, I feel so drained by day's end. So I have to brace myself for another round tomorrow. And because I wasn't really going to spend my day doing my usual workload, I decided I'd wear jeans (and I was the only one in our group who did although few noticed). I definitely still had respect for Thursday, so I dressed the jeans up a bit with a long-sleeved shirt and leather shoes. I also chose dark jeans because they tend to look more formal than those in lighter shades. I accessorized with a necklace and some beads.

I woke up to a rainy Tuesday morning and was pleased with the considerable drop in temperature. The only problem was that I didn't want to get out of bed at all. But eventually I did. Today I'm wearing blue with brown. Pardon me for my insistence on brown because I simply am too lazy to change bags at the moment. So yes, my outfit is entirely anchored on my bag, which, ironically, I really don't get to photograph and include in my Project Look Book posts. While the blue worked perfectly in lighting up an otherwise gloomy day, the trench was a last-minute addition. I mentioned the temperature drop, so I expected the AC in the office to be colder than normal. And of course, I was right.

As Sheldon (of The Big Bang Theory ) would say, dear Lord! Lots of things to do. The Holidays are also fast approaching and before we know it, the year's over. Dear Lord! Anyway, I have a little affair with red today. There's the bow tie, the belt, and the socks. Red goes well with pink anyway. And brown.

It's farm boy in the city for me today. I originally intended to wear a double-breasted jacket but I got lazy with ironing the pants I had in mind. So I went through my closet to find something else to wear and found these braces from Topman that's been hiding there for months now. I've never worn it so I thought it was about time. What a way to start putting together an outfit!

I mentioned yesterday that the air conditioning at the office was as if it were on steroids. Well, today it still is. Plus the weather outside is relatively cooler than most days as it's been raining for days now. Being in a tropical country, it comes as no surprise that most people are sensitive to such drops in temperature. So nearly everyone was wearing either a jacket, a cardigan, a scarf, or a combination of one or two items. I'd like to think of it as enjoying a taste of fall -- only indoors -- in a country with only two seasons: summer and a wet summer. I greeted the cold with this knitted sweater from Zara, something that I don't get to wear often even if I really like it. Last night after rummaging through my closet for the right pants -- in vain -- I ended up with black. To complete the look, I slipped on these bluish gray metallic lace-ups, also from Zara.

November is fast approaching, so it's almost time for Versace's collaboration with H&M to finally hit stores. I've been seeing previews for the womenswear but I was dying to know what the men's items would be like. So I was glad to find a couple of images the other night, featuring model River Viiperi. First off is this jacket that I really like, particularly the medley of prints on the sleeves. I also like the gold tips on the collars of the shirt underneath. Now this one's a bit too loud for my taste. I like it, yes, but I don't think I can wear it. But if I push it, I probably can wear these items separately, offset with more understated pieces.

Finally, some rest! I'm starting the long weekend a day earlier with My Bibe . So I'll have Friday through Tuesday next week free of work. (To my readers outside the Philippines, we have back-to-back holidays next week, Monday being National Heroes' Day and Tuesday marking the end of Ramadan.) I wore pink today, a vintage Dior that we've thrifted somewhere. A colleague even remarked that it's not something available today, that the fabric was different. Our conversation led to our moms who wore these really short dresses in the 70's, us marveling at how good the fabrics were back then. So I perfectly understand My Bibe 's obsession with vintage clothes. And man has she been getting a lot of them from ebay! Anyway, I put on these gray pinstripe pants from Topman to go with the shirt. I would have worn brown shoes by default but I opted instead for these black ones from Traffic because I wanted to wear a non-leather belt. I went with this striped red...

I'm so brown today. The shirt's from Celio. I don't think I would have gotten it had it not been for the blue detailing. I love such simple touches that instantly spice up any item. And because I didn't want to cover up the vertical blue line in front, I threw the necktie and put on a bow tie instead. Maybe I got carried away with all this blue that I also wore blue socks. I didn't know what pants to wear, though. I initially thought of blue but none of what I had seemed quite right. I tried some brown but it didn't work either. So I ended up with black. I'd appreciate suggestions, however, some that I could use the next time around.

This morning I had a taste of what it feels like to wear shades indoors. Well, here's the story. We started shooting with me wearing a polo from Paul Smith, jeans from Penshoppe, a belt from Polo Ralph Lauren, and high-cut sneaks from Zara. I also wore a bracelet from H&M. So this was me before silliness came into play:

I've been a very good (half-white) boy these past few weeks. Good in the sense that I had no new purchases whatsoever. Well, it pays to avoid malls totally. I know Zara is still on sale but I've tried really hard to not think of it and just keep myself busy with other stuff instead. I've been quite successful so far although I don't know till when I can contain myself. I wore suspenders today sans any bow tie, which, I think would've been cute. But I just didn't feel like wearing one. I had to drag myself to work after all. Both shirt and shoes are from Tyler while the pants are from Topman. The suspenders are H&M.

It's Monday again. It's a little hard when you're used to driving yourself to work and then not having that car for an extended period. Our little Minitron  (our car's nickname) is still undergoing repairs after that flood and I'm missing him so much already, especially when I'm flailing like crazy on both sides of the road in hopes of getting a cab. But I'm kinda getting used to it after more than a week now. Today I'm wearing a shirt from H&M, bow tie to match from Merger, gray pinstripe pants, brown leather belt from Hickok at SM, and brown leather shoes from Traffic. And oh, though you can't see it much from the photos, I'm wearing blue striped socks.

Yesterday was hell. What started as a fine, sunny day suddenly morphed into a wet and stinky nightmare. My Bibe and I just visited his dad in Malabon and we were on our way to the Malabon Zoo. I was rearing to see and if possible, pet, their three newborn tiger cubs. It started to rain, and before we knew it, the road was flooded. We were fine at first even if the water was already knee-deep until a jeepney further ahead of us stalled. Water started to seep in the car and I was shouting and cursing. But it was hopeless. We couldn't move. It was a one-lane road and there were a couple of vehicles behind us as well. The water inside the car was almost up to our seats already. Eventually the vehicles behind us moved back, which allowed me to move a bit, enough to make it to a dirt road towards a dump site, which was on a bit higher ground. We waited for the water to subside before we moved on. I was just thankful that our car didn't stall. Otherwise, I wouldn't ha...

I don't exactly know what to make of it -- a draped vest, draped cardigan, or simply a draped sleeveless shirt -- but I'm loving this H&M find I'm wearing today. I could imagine myself wearing it just as it is with jeans or shorts but I wanted to wear it to work today. So I wore a plain white tee underneath. I was my fickle-minded self again last night since I couldn't decide on which t-shirt to choose. I had originally wanted some color but none of what I laid out last night felt right, and so I ended up with white. The black jeans are Topman and I just felt like rolling up the hems to expose some ankle. The t-shirt is from Bench and the sneaks, Zara.

I wore suspenders today, which I got from H&M. I really wish we had H&M here in the Philippines although there are rumors that there will be soon, along with Uniqlo. If rumors are to be believed, local retail giant SM, credited for bringing Forever 21 into this third world country, is bringing them in. That would be really nice. Having mentioned the suspenders first, it seems that everything else in my ensemble today revolved around this piece of accessory. True. I thought of the Bench chinos next, mainly because they have a shorter length and I wanted a bit of a cropped hemline somehow. I would have wanted to roll them up to expose more ankle but I don't think it's appropriate for the office very much. Next in line were the shoes (Tyler), which I anchored on the leather parts of the suspenders. I thought of white first for the shirt but I quickly opted instead for this blue one from Topman. I ditched the idea of wearing a bow tie and saved it for my next out...

Yesterday I said I looked like a tree. Well, the "green streak" continues today with something really green: my pants. No more tree allusions today but what do I wear with it since they're really green? This was the result: I fell in love with these pants the moment I saw one on a mannequin at an H&M store in HK. So in love was I that when it was time to "edit" my loot to fit my budget, I foregone a handful of cheaper items just so I could keep this one. And there are absolutely no regrets. I originally thought of wearing a blue double-breasted jacket with it but I thought it was too formal. Some other time perhaps. So instead, I pulled out my ever-reliable madras jacket from Zara. I actually wished I had an electric blue blazer -- that would be perfect! But because I wanted to tone things down a notch for my green pants's debut, I picked a white shirt from Celio and my not-so-white-anymore loafers from Zara. Then I just went white all the way ...

I've spent most of my weekend sleeping. How nice is that? But I was wishing the weekend was longer (as always). Nevertheless, it's good that tropical storm Meari (locally named 'Falcon') has left the country already, and we're now in for better weather conditions -- in the meantime at least. I didn't know what to expect of today's weather, though, if it's gonna be warm today or what. I placed my bet on warm. Rummaging through my closet, I found this long-forgotten shirt from Topman. It's a pretty basic one, no fancy stuff whatsoever. I just like it for its simplicity -- white with touches of gray, which I think is easy on the eye. Paired it with what else but gray pants, a slim leather belt from H&M, and a pair of Zara lace-ups. Accessorized with a ring and necklace, both from Aldo.