When Chic Hits The Fun

We all live such busy lives, that sometimes the lack of time takes the fun out of shopping and dressing up. 

Thankfully, online shopping keeps me sane. It's a great way to de-stress, and even the mere act of browsing online late at night, when everyone in the entire household is asleep, is so relaxing. 

So when Chin Joson of Chicify invited me to be part of Chicify's re-launch, it felt like a siren call. So enticing, and yet potentially dangerous. It was like walking into temptation central.

In a Chicify bib tunic, during our shopping party. One of my fave easy, slip-on pieces

For one, our goal was to fill Chicify with brands and products we would personally vouch for. Great finds, curated selections, so you don't have to sift through shit.

Second, Chin and I got to design the clothes we've always wanted to wear, but couldn't find elsewhere, or at least, at pocket-friendly price points. 

Third, we had a ton of criteria: The clothes we make had to be easy to slip on, comfortable, and made from quality fabrics. 

But they also had to fit well, and had to have the ability to make us look like we made an effort to dress up, even if it only took us five minutes to get dressed.

True enough, I ended up buying most of the clothes we designed for Chicify. I'd try them on and fall in love, and never want to let go. Maybe it's self-love? A subjective appreciation of our work? Or healthy narcissism. I don't know. All I know is, I can practically live in these clothes, not just this summer, but the whole year round. 

1) The best-selling Chicify culottes. We are obsessed with culottes. Obsessed.  They're just so easy to wear, makes us look instantly stylish, and is so perfect for summer. This is version 2.0 and we've had to re-stock this because the initial batch sold out quick! Currently available in white...

and chambray.

Instead of wearing jeans, I'd wear these chambray culottes, and they're just so perfectly breezy! My friend Maymay says she loves to wear this to work, especially during summer, because it is so forgiving in this heat. Let's put it this way. Culottes vs Skinny Jeans under the scorching summer sun. What would you pick?

2) The Shirt Dress. It was love at first sight for my friend Karrots, that she wanted to buy the sample I had at home. I was planning to send it back to the office, but when Karrots bought one, and wore this exact same shirt dress with black wedge sneakers, I decided to keep it for myself. Ahihihi. When I spotted these old school Nike running shoes, BOOM! Bagay na bagay.

But pair it with pumps or ballet flats, and they're work appropriate in an instant.

3) The Painter Dress. Inspired by a painter's smock that you button all the way at the back, this is the everyday dress version. Rendered in navy linen and also in chambray, they look so mahal that it looked right at home at homme et femme in Shang. But mind you, it's just Php1,699. Where to find a heavy linen dress for Php1,699 pray tell? At Chicify, saan pa.

4) The Donya Dress. Technically, it's called the Tunic Maxi, but once worn, it has this magical effect of making me look tall, and Donyatique.

If a dress can make you look like you lived in a private island 165 out of 365 days of the year, or at least in a rambling house with a huge pool and a cabana on your sprawling backyard, you've got to believe in magic.

Lucky for you, I don't need to tell you how you and this magic dress can find each other. In a world that's full of strange brands, you've only got to believe in magic. Something's stronger than the moon above. 

Because it's magic when you and Chicify fall in love.

Promise. Cross My Heart. I don't want to die, but lightning strike me for telling a lie.

Shop SSI Stores, Online!

Back when I was in high school and college, my favorite place above all was the mall. Ahihi. 

So, you can just imagine what online shopping has done to my life. It has brought temptation right to my doorstep. Eeep!

I mostly shop US online stores, and a few homegrown sites like Chicify, Elin, Seek the Uniq, Ava, Taste Central and such. But I've found another locally based online store to add to the list - www.ssilife.com.ph, and it's not just any online store.

It's like an online mall of SSI brands!

Crazy good right?

Of course, I shopped it already. Bought a tea scoop, the crowd-pleasing TWG Silver Moon tea to serve to guests at home, a bottle of balsamic vinegar and a stainless steel funnel from O & Co., and of course, my ever trusted K-Palette eyebrow liner from Beauty Bar.

Buying is so easy. As with the typical online store, I just registered to create an account, browsed the site (they do need to add more brands and products to the merchandise mix), added my choices to cart, checked out, inputted all pertinent information, paid and received an order confirmation. That's it!

In two days, I received this well packed box...

So well packed, all the items were individually bubble wrapped inside.

And when I opened each one, each was so pristine, it was like I shopped and chose the items with care myself. Love, love, love.

With most of the SSI brands under the ssilife.com.ph umbrella, customers have the option to purchase online, or browse online and purchase offline in stores.

Says Anton Huang, President of SSI Group, Inc., "We are the only e-commerce participant that is able to implement an omni-channel apporach, where are bricks and mortar will complement the online shopping experience of our customers and vice versa".

In this day and age where "customer experience" happens to be the retail buzzword, SSI is definitely on the right track, with a digital shopping experience like no other. Especially as there are more SSI brands to be added in the following months.

To shop SSI stores online, visit www.ssilife.com.ph

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

Turn Your “Kalat” to Cash at OLX

A few months back, I tackled the gargantuan task of sorting out my pile of documents that I’ve been meaning to file, bags and boxes of gifts (some were actually wedding presents kept in my parents’ storage, eeek!), abubuts and such. 

I had a hard time going through all these because to me, my kalat weren’t just any ordinary household “kalat”, which is how my husband saw them as. 

Actually, most were treasures, so it wasn’t just a matter of deciding between “keep” or “toss”. 

I meant to keep most of them and I did end up putting them away inside cabinets that have been cleared up. 

Still, I am all too familiar with how unused things can suddenly turn into a mountain of “stuff” that just overwhelms – clothes, unused shoes, appliances, old golf clubs, tennis racquets, vintage suitcases, the list can go on really. 

Sadly, I can’t say the same thing about space. Kalat piles up, but unless you have a warehouse in your backyard, you could be labeled a hoarder in no time. 

Thankfully, and as a popular saying goes, “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure”, and this is where garage sales, flea markets, antique shops, auction houses and websites such as olx.ph (aka the old sulit.com.ph) enter the picture. 

I have friends who have sold old cars at sulit..com.ph/olx.ph, unused athletic equipment, even furniture, and just in a matter of days! You’d think no one would be interested but people are always in the hunt for a bargain, you’ll be surprised at what people are open to buying as long as it’s a good deal.

Seriously, there’s cash to made from trash, and if you’re gonna make money off of it, it’s always better that everything goes straight to your pocket. Cut out the middleman, and do the selling yourself. It’s really easy! 

Check out http://www.olx.ph/index.php/sell+your+item+now to see what I mean!

An Online Shopping Solution thanks to Western Union

Have you always wanted to shop at Amazon:

 

J. Crew:

Shopbop:

or Net-a-Porter:

but can’t, because: 

1. You are always close to the brink of going over your credit card limit 
2. You do not have a credit card
3. You have a willing accomplice who will shop for you but you do not have a US bank account or Paypal account that you can do online transfers with.

Well, I found a great workaround for you. *wink wink!* 

Thanks to Western Union, who invited me to try out their Send Money Abroad Service, I saw for myself how fast, easy and reliable it is for anyone to shop and pay for purchases abroad even without a credit/debit card or a bank account.

All I needed was: 

1. A friend who was happy to shop for me, in this case my good friend Me-an 
2. A valid photo ID and 
3. some shopping money 

Curious to know how this goes? Here’s what I did.

STEP 1: I emailed Me-an a list of the things I wanted her to buy. To make it easier for her, I sent a screencap of my actual shopping cart.

Here’s a tip: To save your friend some time, after all she is doing you a favor, register for an account and keep everything you want in your cart. Then, give her the password so she can simply check out for you. 

STEP 2: Upon checkout, and receipt of order confirmation, Me-an gave me the total amount charged for my purchase.

STEP 3: I went to my nearest Western Union agent so I can send Me-an my payment:

I filled out an International “Send Money” form:

I submitted the filled-out form along with just one, yes one, ID. In this case, my driver’s license.

You may submit any valid ID such as any one of these. For the full list of acceptable IDs, click HERE

The lady at the counter asked me if I wanted to send dollars or pesos. I chose to have pesos converted to US $, so she gave me the peso conversion of the amount I wanted to send.

Remember to ask how they computed the amount, just so you know.

I was then asked to pay the service fee, which in my case was $14, based on this table:

Yes, given this fee structure, it makes more sense to send bigger amounts to justify the cost of sending

I was asked to take a look at the receipt and to verify the information. Seeing no need for corrections, I signed it. 

The lady encircled the MTCN number, which is the reference number that Me-an needed to mention when picking up the money I sent her. 

I then texted Me-an the MTCN, and gave her the complete name as signed in the 'To Send Money' form, and the amount I sent. 

 
STEP 4: Me-an messaged me to say she got the money. Woohoo! Easy as pie!

While it took Me-an a few days to claim her money, she actually could have received it minutes after I gave her the MTCN number. Minutes vs 2-4 days if sent via bank? Huge difference. 

Apart from the ease and speed of sending money via Western Union, it is also safe in the sense that you can track the status of your money online or through the customer service hotline. 

It is very convenient to send and receive money too because there are close to 490,000 Western Union locations worldwide, most of which are open 7 days a week vs. a bank which is only open on weekdays and during banking hours. 

Which only means why just shop in the US when you can shop anywhere in the world? For as long as you have friends and family all over who will indulge your shopping requests, there are no holds barred. Which is both good news and bad news, depending on how you look at it. 

Haha and hala!

Shop Online at Beauty Bar + Billion Dollar Brows

Just in case you did not know, you can now shop Beauty Bar online.

When you wake up at 1 am realizing, "OMG, I'm about to run out of mascara!", you can just go to http://shop.beautybar.com.ph/ and shop like it's nobody's business but your own. After all, it's your lashes, not theirs.

If you don't have a credit card, or you simply don't want to do business online because you're old fashioned like dut, then opt for the "Pay and Pick Up at Store" option. Yu-huh, there is such a thing. Convenient na din, if you like it the brick and mortar kind of way.

Take note though that the item you order will be available to pick up at your preferred Beauty Bar store on the 3rd business day from the day you placed your order. All the T&C's are here:

By the way, have your heard of Billion Dollar Brows? My friend Eliza aka The Painter's Wife, tipped me off on this wonder product. I've always been one of those scraggly kilay girls because I cannot groom my own brows for the life of me. I asked for her advice and she told me to buy BDB from Beauty Bar. So, I did. OMG. Life changing!

It's perfect for people of all skin tones and hair colors, because it's a universal brow filler. Go easy if you want it light, put more if you want to go dark.

For the first time in my life, somebody made bati to my kilay the first time I used this. My kilay! Imagine that.

I felt like a billion bucks!

Fun Shirts & Onesies at Mothering Earthlings

December naaaaa! How's your Christmas shopping coming along? Here's a tip lang, SHOP ONLINE! No traffic, no parking, no crowds, no hassle! 

When it comes to shopping online for your nephews, nieces and godchildren, I suggest you head off to Mothering Earthlings. Lots of fun and affordable finds, like these fun onesies and shirts that Xavi has...

Facebook Like onesie by In the Crib

Mommy's Night Owl T-shirt by Planet Baby

Nothing over Php350,  and plenty of designs for girls too. You get lots of choices, free time to do other things than shop, and definitely more bang for your buck! 

Holidaze Sale at Mothering Earthlings!

Don't want to put the 'daze' in holidaze? 

Then shop the Mothering Earthlings Sale happening now! All Agoo, googoo&gaga and Fiddle Tops items are marked down! 

Don't wait till the last minute to do your Christmas shopping ha, October is about to begin in less than two weeks! Prezzure!

Panopio x Zalora Blog Raffle!

I have this delicate "C' pendant necklace from Panopio for Zalora that has become my everyday accessory. Unobtrusive as it looks, it still never fails to catch attention, and I just love how it is so simple and so elegant. 

This is the handiwork of Vicky and Bea Panopio, New York schooled sisters and the design-duo behind PANOPIO. They work with precious metals, diamonds, and colored stones to create exquisite pieces such as these:

They work out of their shop in The Manila Peninsula, and recently came out with an exclusive line with Zalora – Panopio for Zalora. My necklace, the Edwardian Script Initial Pendant, is the first of this line.

I am often asked if it is made from real gold. Actually, this is silver dipped in gold, and is really quite affordable at Php1,880 for the chain and pendant together. Panopio for Zalora pieces also come with a lifetime warranty on the color and shine (provided they are reasonably cared for by the owner of course), so no worries there if you are afraid that it will eventually tarnish. I often end up sleeping with my necklace on, and showering the next day with it, and so far, it hasn't lost its luster. It's really well made.

A Block Letter font will be released soon, as well as scripts with diamonds. And I can imagine these will all be as equally pretty as their debut product. 

Of course, I have got to share this great find with you. Panopio for Zalora is giving away 1 customized Edwardian Script Necklace to one lucky reader (meaning, choose your own initial hee!). Here's how:

1. The contest is open to all readers of MANILA FASHION OBSERVER with a local/Philippine address.

2. Contest period is from June 29 to July 13. Winner will be chosen via random pick and announced on July 15, 2012.

3. Join via Rafflecopter:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

NOTE: Participants MUST be a registered member of ZALORA. To register:

Step 1: Log on to www.ZALORA.com.ph

Step 2: On the upper right hand corner of the Home Page, Click on “Account” then Select “New Customer”.

Step 3: Fill in your Account information.

Step 4: Press Submit!

Bonus Step: Don’t forget you can get a free P250 Voucher when you sign up for the newsletter.

Want to shop for Panopio Jewelry now? Click HERE!

Find Me on AVA

I was invited by Oliver Segovia of AVA.ph and Kat Holigores of AVA.zine to be part of AVA's Idea-Listers and found myself in the company of people whose work I only read about. So yes, I was like, "What am I doing here?" Haha. So a huge thanks to Oliver and Kat for thinking of me and believing in my work too! :)

Of course, being an idea-lister requires that I pick out something from AVA each month. Just so you all get an idea of how I'd curate this month's selection. And hopefully, get you to discover the treasures in store at AVA. Here are my top picks for this month: 

It was seriously hard to whittle my list to just six items, seriously. But each item above is definitely something I'd want for myself or already have, so you know it's not just random pickings.

Oh! And of course, I do contribute to AVA.zine as well. It's like the magazine version of AVA, filled with nuggets of valuable information covering everything from art, to fashion and lifestyle. Yes, there are a lot of interesting reads there that pick at your mind and encourage you to look beyond just product launches and what people are wearing. Although of course, that's my guilty pleasure too. Hee!

Here's my list of the 5 Books on Style, which I shared over at Ava.zine and I think every girl should have these on her night table. Read here: http://ava.ph/avazine/archives/220

5 books on style, currently on my bedside table

Enjoy and see you over at AVA.ph!