Say Hi! to Chicify

If I've been quiet here in the blog, it's mostly because I've been busy with the Dada and kids, getting ready for our bun in the oven arriving next month, holiday preps, and a couple of other fun projects I've been working on, one of which is the relaunch of online shopping site, Chicify!

Chin Joson of Chicify and I have been working on getting the site ready for a couple of months now, and it has finally, finally hatched. Yay!

Many of you are probably familiar with the site, I've even run a Chicify giveaway years ago, and while it did well, Chin realized that over the years, Chicify needed some creative direction and curation, and a fresh new look to keep its old customers happy, attract new ones, and get everyone coming back for more.

So we decided to trim the brand list down to the labels that fit into our concept of chic, come up with a whole new look for the site that is fresh, fun and full of great finds, and relaunch with the in-house label, Chicify, which allowed us to come up with pieces we've always wanted to wear, but couldn't find locally.

We thought of ourselves, our sisters, and friends, and decided on this capsule collection of easy-to-wear pieces that take out the stress of asking ourselves, "What do I wear?"

There's a billowy Racerback maxi dress with pockets that we can wear with flip flops to weekend markets at the park, but may also be dressed up with a long gold chain, a stack of bangles and gold wedge sandals for a dressy beach house party.

We loved this flouncy Cropped ruffle top at first sight, straight from the sewer's sample room. It instantly dresses up a basic pair of shorts or denims, and can transition from day to night with ease.

As I cannot live without button down shirts, we came up with a Square cropped version that has a longer back. I suggest you button it up all the way to the top, and wear it with your favorite denims. It has an insouciance about it, and totally goes against the standard preppy aesthetic that button down shirts are associated with.

Both tops would look great with the Chin culottes, inspired by Chicify founder Chin, who has a pair from so many years ago that is still a favorite to this day, they've lived around long enough to see a style resurgence. We think Chicify's version should become long-term staples in your closets as well.

I fell in love with Madewell's poncho dress from a season or so back, and loved the striped accents it had going on. But I found it too tent like, I wished it came in a slimmer tunic version. The result is the Santorini tunic, which makes for a super stylish piece to wear to grocery errands, brunch with girlfriends, or for what it's named after, an essential summer piece for your Mediterranean getaway.

The Bib tunic is a more subtle version of Santorini, perfect for school pick-ups, mall runs, weekend lunches at your parents' place, or  Sunday get togethers with the in laws. 

Lastly, the Piped dress, is an inspired piece that aims to solve your corporate dressing woes. It's polished enough to wear to work, just pair it with pumps and a structured bag. But come weekend, it also works as a comfy dress that you can pair with flats and a slouchy cabas tote. Finally, a dress that can take you from your work desk, to dinner date, to weekend downtime. Hopefully not in a span of 24 hours.

These pieces are all limited runs, as with all the other styles we have on our pipeline. Expect to be delighted and surprised with new designs from Chicify as the weeks progress. Because we're always dreaming up perfect pieces for us girls to wear, for every imaginable occasion.

Of course, don't forget to check out the other brands we have on board! 

There's Anthill, Cole Vintage, 12Twelve Maternity, Sexy White Shirt, Ziggy and Zooey. We think they make great additions to your wardrobe. 

From L to R: Anthill Panyo Kapa, Cole Vintage Ilaria dress paired with Ziggy & Zooey flats, 12Twelve Maternity Goddess dress, Sexy White Shirt

With the holidays coming up, we're also beefing up our Accessories and Chic Objects category to take the guess work out of gift giving. 

Check out Magpie's Nest, a line of gorgeous accessories from Bangkok which is also stocked at Anthropologie, House of Heirloom's fun, affordable line of neck pieces, canvas bags from FEED and Baggu, and our latest discovery, Tangle Teezer brushes, because tangled hair is so not chic. Heehee.

From top L to R, clockwise: Magpie's Nest bib necklace, House of Heirloom rope necklace, Baggu backpack, FEED tote, Tangle Teezer hair brush

We've got more brands coming on board, so check soon and check often. We hope you enjoy browsing and shopping the new Chicify as much as we had fun putting everything together!

Model: Jackie Go
Styling: Me
Hair & Makeup: Eliza Santiago-Ypon
Photography: Anthony Co

Leather Baggus + A Giveaway

I've been a Baggu user since 2007 so I reached a point where I wasn't visiting the site any more. What for when I pretty much had all the colors and prints I wanted. UNTIL. I saw that they had come out with leather Baggus! OMG.

Leather Baggu Medium Php7,500 

Leather Baggu Small Php5,995 

Loop Php750 

 Medium Pouch Php1,995

Drawstring Purse Php6,500 

Wedge coin purse Php750

Kalurks diba? I want one of each please! All these bags and accessories are made from genuine leather in New York. Although I do have a black Cast of Vices grocery shopper na, so I guess no need for the bags. But, but the array of colors these leather Baggus come in - so pretty, so tempting. Eeep! I must stop looking!

But enough about what I want, let's talk about you and your family and friends! You can give these as gifts you know! Prices range from Php750 for the wedge and loop and go up to Php7,500 for the medium shopper tote. Leather Baggus, along with the regular nylon totes and canvas bags are available in the Philippines via My Ticker Tape Parade and on AVA.ph

Of course, since Christmas is just around the corner, we have a giveaway courtesy of Jen Osmena of Baggu Philippines! We'll be drawing 2 winners! 1 will get 1 wedge and 1 will get 1 loop. Handy dandy small leather accessories that you can keep for yourself or win for a sister or a friend!

Just join via the Rafflecopter widget below: 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Contest is open to readers with a Philippine address. Winners will be announced on December 4, 2012.

By George!

My friend Belinda got me to look at leather shoppers with a fresh eye since she told me about hers, and I feel like jumping into the trend, teehee. While satchels are the hottest bag shape these days, leather totes in the shape of grocery bags are going to be hot, I can feel it. With versions ranging from Margiela to Baggu, there's a leather grocery tote to suit every budget. 

If a stylized tote is more your thing, and you don't want something too literal, then consider the Givenchy George V Shopper. They've been around for years now, but when I saw these on the window of Givenchy in Paragon, I admit I did a double take.

It's quite nice no?

My Ticker Tape Parade

With the advent of local online stores lately, by now you probably have discovered the joys and convenience of shopping online. With most local click and mortar sites like AVA.ph, Chicify and Catalogue63 successfully filling a niche, commanding a loyal group of customers with their curated local finds,  comes My Ticker Tape Parade which offers cult gift items sourced abroad, apart from being the Metro Manila distributor of the popular Filipino skincare brand, Leyende.

Jen Osmena, who started My Ticker Tape Parade, has brought in products from Mimobot, Ken + Dana, Noir, Necklush, Alchemy Goods, Paperself, Calourette, Threadless, Tiny Meat, DCI, Emily Rothschild, Komodokat, Lego, Tsubota Pearl, SKF, O'clock, WeWood, No Milk Today, Verabel, Cambridge Satchels, Field Notes while continually adding to their roster of brands. Given that these brands are not commonly found in Manila, and often can only be bought on trips abroad, the store caters to a particular demographic. "My ideal customer would be someone who appreciates and understands the value of design." Jen explains.

For Jen, My Ticker Tape Parade is the realization of a dream and a store that fills a void, "I've always wanted to put up a store. Aside from putting it up online being the best option given that I have a day job, I also think there aren't enough places to shop online here in the Philippines." Jen shares.

Jen started working on the site earlier this year - sourcing, getting the website up, etc. and launched the site in July. By now, it's chock full of great gift ideas, maybe enough to shop for the whole family in the comfort of your own home.

When asked to highlight her top gift idea's from her own store, Jen advises, "It's hard to pick something specific but I really think that the Baggu bags would make great gifts for anybody, with a million (okay, more like 50) colors/designs."

She also recommends Leyende Christmas packages. "Aside from the products themselves being great gifts, they already come beautifully-packaged for Christmas."

"But really, I like to think there's something there for everyone!", Jen enthuses.

To start browsing for cute tchotkes, visit My Ticker Tape Parade or their Facebook Page, now!

Today is Earth Day

What have you been doing for this planet we call home? I have to admit, I still have much to do to lessen my carbon footprint, but I do segregate my trash, buy organic and earth friendly products as much as possible, and use reusable shopping totes when I shop! Which reminds me, I am planning to clean out my closet and put things on sale, I hope some of you would adopt my rarely or barely used shoes and other articles of clothing. Hey, that's recycling too!!!

If possible I would do all my shopping at Green Depot where everything in store is eco-friendly. In the meantime, we can all start doing our share by using reusable totes, since Envirosax has something special for Earth Day...

What's big, blue and green, and our responsibility? The Planet of course; and these new bags will be a groovy addition to your green lifestyle. Produced under license with Planet Green (TM), these five new designs feature contemporary geometrics in fresh hues of green, aqua and white.








Baggu on the other hand is giving away 200 Baggu Bags at the Bedford L stop in Brooklyn! They'll be there from 1:30 pm until supplies last! Yay Baggu!

Grocery Shopping with My Baggus

Fed up with the plastic bags that I take home every time I go to the grocery, I have now made it a point to bring my own bags with me not just to the grocery but wherever I go.

I usually do my supplies shopping once every two weeks, and I usually bring home at least 10 plastic bags with each visit. Suffice it to say, I have accumulated a whole lot of plastic bags that it sickens me. I've got a huge Chinese market bag full of all those non-biodegradable junk!

So imagine my pleasure when I did my groceries this week and only used up 3 Baggus!




Not to mention, I got a rebate for bringing my own bags!

Best of all, it folds up nicely that I can store one or a few Baggus in my bag, see...


To make sure that I don't forget to bring my Baggus with me, I hang the Baggu storage sack (which can fit up to 10 Baggus) with my keys so that I can grab a couple before I head out the door!



Baggus are available online through their website. They ship worldwide for $9.

Oh, and great news for those back home who have been looking for Envirosax bags! These bags are now available in the Philippines through Envirosax Philippines' multiply site.