Come Heel or High Water Retention

Have you noticed that wearing high-heeled shoes makes you look thinner? It instantly transforms a frumpy outfit into a sexy one. 

So now that I've gained some weight, I'm back to wearing heels. Problem is, that's extra weight to carry on your tippy-toes. 

Isn't it a bummer that the fat (does it sound better to call it water retention?) that makes you need heels also makes it harder to wear them?

Perfect, juuust perfect. 

Sigh.

Photo from garancedore.

Click here for previous posts on fatness.

my rebound shirt

I haven't been enticed to enter stores to go shopping these days. The lure of shopping has been lost on me since I took a break from work. Because I lost my shopping mojo, it turns out I haven't entered Zara in 3 months! I did though, right before Christmas to buy a few gifts.

And I was drawn to this cape coat. It was love at first sight. I loved how it still looked like a cape without limiting my arms' mobility like a cape would - even those with slits where forearms could go through. Yes, I know this because I tried it on. I allowed it to woo me. And it did... I loved how it looked with the collar buttoned up. Be still my heart!

Luckily, the pragmatic voice in my head drowned out the pitter-patter of my heart. What would I need a heavy cape coat for - bringing the kids to and from school? It won't even go with my daily uniform of shorts & a t-shirt. So I begrudgingly handed back the coat to the Zara lady at the fitting room.

Next, these ankle-strap shoes caught my eye!

Loved the leather-looking material (am not a fan of the gamosa, er-suede, material that is so common in shoes these days) and the subtle animal skin pattern on it. Plus, of course, the mixed-colorness of it! In neutrals this time (unlike here). And how sexy the toe-part looks with that plunging diagonal toeline! Oooohh. L.O.V.E.

Thank God it wasn't available in my size or I would have added a pair to my already full shoecabinet of heels gathering dust these days (this isn't as easy as I thought).

I guess my shopping mojo is still wired to shop for office clothes. It was heartbreaking to fall in love with the wrong coat or shoe.

So I stopped my eyes from straying onto another coat or pair of heels and my gaze landed on this shirt. I think I'd seen it in previous shopping trips (when I was still working and on a recent trip to HK), but was never enticed to buy it. I guess that was until I got so frustrated falling in love with things that aren't compatible with my life nowadays.

I liked that it fell within my casual clothes parameter. It's a tee! And I thought the leathery sleeves would give my casual outfits these days its needed edge.

So I tried it on. It was only then that I noticed this detail at the end of the side-seams. Love how it gives the shirt a chic subtle oomph for untucked days.

My rebound shirt. It is perfectly compatible with my life nowadays. I can even wear it tucked or untucked! I just needed to silence the voice in my head saying this is my 20 millionth gray shirt. :) Well, what can I say? Gray shirts have always been my type. :P

Photos are my own and from acupofjo, zara and here.

daily dishonesty

Remember here when I told you I have a hard time lying and that this one lie (above) I had to admit I actually do tell?

Well, I discovered this blog that very prettily (via her hand-drawn typography) features the lies we tell every day. And it made me realize there are a few lies I do tell myself...

I just cannot give up junk food & candy.

Oh, they won't. Because I am really never getting on that treadmill. Remember these yoga mats?

But yes, these actually do.

Oh, and the quintessential lie of a crammer...  

Nah, I'll do it at the very last minute. :)

But this, I never lie about. I know I will have more than one glass. Okay, possibly a whole bottle.

Neither do I tell this lie.

I guess I'm an unapologetic drinker. Haha!

It is true that I find it really difficult to lie. These next two are pretty common lies that I really cannot bring myself to tell.

I'm always honest about this. I say "I just READ your text".

I struggle especially with this next one. 

I'd rather text where, on the road, I am so the person I'm meeting can estimate what time I will arrive rather than commit to 5 minutes when I'm not sure I can make it on time.

But there still are lies I have no trouble telling myself. This one I actually believe. 

I actually believe that I lose weight from shopping all day! Yes, I've lied so well to myself about it that I don't realize it's a lie anymore. Turns out, I am guilty of some daily dishonesty. 

Photos from dailydishonesty.

these heels were made for walking

I haven't worn my mixed-color Zara shoes from here in a while. My daily shoe uniform these days for my household & motherly duties are flats. And when I do go on nights out, I tend to stick to wedges since I'm afraid I've lost my old knack for walking around in 4-inch heels - being flat on the ground day-in & day-out these days.

It seems that though my Zara shoes have been gathering dust in my shoe cabinet, her sisters have been busy.

In mixed-color or black...

I'm pretty sure this woman is wearing my mixed-color version to London Fashion Week - even though I can't catch a glimpse of the orange...

Looks like these black ones are busy in denims...

And even a dress...

This one's even playing with some dog...

Yes, my shoes' sisters have been busy while mine haven't seen the light of day in over 3 months. I know, I know my boots heels were made for walking. Okay, maybe not walking since the arch of these shoes are steeper than my platform heels. More for sitting pretty... And not in my shoe cabinet! But out there, in the real world. Okay, okay! I resolve to wear them to one of my weekly 4-hour lunches with the girls. After all, that's just a lot of sitting... prettily!

Photos from here, here, here and annnniegirl.

these rainboots are haunting me

They are! These Hunters are haunting me. Remember how I was surprisingly obsessed with these solid-colored rainboots here?

Well, there they are again... And this time, they're paired with a pretty sundress and a khaki trench. How adorable is that ensemble?

Am so smitten with how the rainboots (and the coat) take the summer out of the sundress! So, so pretty. Do you think it's a look that can work in rainy Manila? Please tell me via a comment or email if they will. Maybe if I get enough nods of approval from you guys, I can use this as an excuse to finally get myself these haunting green Hunter boots! :)

Photos from acupofjo and annnniegirl.

Click here and here for previous posts about rainboots. 

lost: my shopping mojo

I already knew I was taking a break from work during my last trip to Hong Kong. And it totally confused my shopping mojo. I guess I had always been programmed to shop for office clothes on shopping trips like that. So I ended up crippled. I couldn't decide on a look to hunt for.

Was I going to dress up sweats?

Or did I prefer casual chic?

I knew I was always going to go for classic staples like a striped lounge dress. But I already have lots of those in my closet!

I ended up buying a few button-downs from Massimo Dutti because I figure they could transition from work to non-work looks.

But weeks after my shopping trip, I realize I should have shopped for comfortable flats! After all, I don't see myself running errands around the mall in heels.

Sigh. I lost my shopping mojo.

Photos from pinkwallpaper, heritage, simplyme and garancedore.

Click here and here for previous posts about my break from work.  

why i can't buy these rainboots

Am obsessed with this pair of Hunter Wellies (possible reasons are in this post here). But I cannot rationalize buying yet another pair of rainboots.

You see, I have 3 pairs of Plueys already. This was the first one I bought.

Then a year later, I couldn't resist buying a new pair and even bought the kids their own. Here are pages from one of Isabella's scrapbooks on our Plueys purchases.

Yes, that's only 2 pairs of Plueys. Problem is, in 2009, Isabella and I had the same shoe size. But since then, her feet have grown bigger so I got her Catstooth hand-me-downs. And that makes 3. Eeep.

I have rationalized their existence by keeping one at home, one in my car and one in the office for unexpected rain. Sadly, I don't have any other locations to justify the matte green Hunters above.

Unless I can justify this foldable boot from Redfoot. They're lightweight and waterproof with a fleece lining that will come in handy when it gets cold.

I mean, my 3 pairs of rainboots are too big & bulky to pack when I travel to a cold, rainy place. So I need this foldable one, right?

Haha! Even I know that's a flimsy excuse.

Photos from acupofjo, Redfoot and here. Most of the photos in the scrapbook pages are my own or from Plueys Manila. Since the scrapbook pages were never meant to be published, I'm not sure if there are other photo sources. So if you know where they came from, please email me so I can give due credit.

Click here for the of-dots-&-things version of this post.

some unloved polka dots

I'm not sure why. But these posts here and here about the Louis Vuitton-Yayoi Kusama collaboration almost turned me against polka dots. It could be because there was an overdose of spots in the styling. The wall, the floor, the dress, the bangles, the bag, the shoes. Way too much for my taste.

It might be the overdose because the same ensemble is not as bad here.

But even on its own, this almost killed me. I know Louis Vuitton loves to vandalize its bags. And I have been okay with it, until now. I feel like a Vernis Lockit was vandalized - and not in a good way.

And while this LV scarf looks more intentionally vandalized than the Lockit, I actually like it. Maybe it's the irregularity of the dots that I am drawn to?

Versus the uniformity of dots in this other scarf - which sadly, I find painful to look at. :(

I really don't know why. Maybe it's because I only like subtle accents of dots. After all, I've always been delighted by polka dot lining on bags, wallets and coats. Operative word: lining. Not as the central print. Maybe that's why even as early as this very first post of mine on polka dots here, I had not found a wearable dotted dress.

I have to say though that I love this thin polka-dotted bangle. And while I kept everything yellow so far - for an objective comparison (so we're not swayed by color), I do love it in black & white as well.

Like I said, it almost turned me against polka dots. Almost, but not quite. I am still a fan of polka dots. Just the subtle, less conspicuous kind.

Photos from LVoe.

Click here for previous posts from the Some Polka Dots I Spotted series. Click here for previous posts from the Today, I Am Unloving... series.

where NOT to store shoes

Because of my shoe storage tip here, I got to thinking about where I (and I'm sure ocmominmanila) wouldn't want to store shoes.

No matter how pretty my shoes look, I won't be able to bring myself to put them on my bookcase (or side table for that matter)!

Because when I see shoes, I can't help think of the floors it has stepped on.

And as you know from here, I worry about how dirty the ground is.

The thought of storing shoes - whose soles may have touched spit, stray-dog poop remnants, pee or dirty canal water - on my bookshelf just makes me weak.

Unless of course, the floors they've touched are limited to clean polka-dotted...

Or striped ones...

Actually, maybe not even...

Photos from annnniegirl.

Click here for the post on shoe storage that inspired this one.