Sofia + Security Bank Cash Rewards

I have been meaning to get my hands on this issue of Vogue Australia, because of Sofia Coppola on the cover: 

So it was with much happiness that I saw the magazine stall in Podium selling it, woohoo!

As with most mall magazine stands,"Cash Only", pare. Well, so what. My August 2013 issue of Vogue Australia was just one of the many things I can buy with my Security Bank Cash Rewards, so OK lang. Heehee.

Have you joined the Security Bank Cash Rewards Photo Contest on Facebook? There will be 13 winners of P5,000 every week from July 25 to October 22, 2013. My friend Kris almost won Php5,000 by just by submitting a photo of how she would spend her Cash Reward. Luckily for us, the T&C's made her not eligible to win because she owned the agency, heehee.

Simply post photos of unique and hard-to-find items that you would like to use Cash Rewards for.

The more unique and interesting the item, the greater the chance of being chosen! Criteria for judging the photos:

• Creativity/Originality Uniqueness of item/experience 50% 
• Technical Excellence Clarity and Quality of image 15%
• Caption/Description Story 15% 
• Online Votes No. of photo likes on FB app 20%

Php5,000 is given away weekly until October 22, 2013. Join, join, join!

Disclaimer: All the images submitted must be the work of individual submitting them. This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook. You are providing information to Security Bank and not to Facebook. All images submitted by the participants may be used for merchandising later on.

Marni x H&M Launch

Ha! Trust Sofia Coppola & Lou Doillon to choose the best pieces from the H&M x Marni Collection. Here they are as seen from the launch:

From what I've seen from the lookbook, I also want the t-shirts and the collar necklaces. The shoes don't look shabby either. Promising, very promising! Will show you more looks soon!

Style SOS: Comfortable Casual/Corporate Clothing

Hi Christine =)

I'm a 25 year old girl living in Manila working in production. I'm used to wearing jeans, tees and flippies or rubber shoes because of the nature of my work. Once in awhile I attend meetings with higher ops or with clients but most of the time I'm running around during shoots which explains my attire. I also commute to and from work.

Thing is, I know I need to expand my wardrobe. I have casual clothes for work or business attire clothes (slacks, blouses and heels) which dont translate for good production clothes. I need to find clothes that are in between. Do you have suggestions for outfits that can cross over for meetings (can be smart casual?) and shoots? They need to be comfortable enough to run around and commute in but presentable enough for meetings. The compromise I've been doing is bringing either another pair of shoes or another set of clothes and change which isn't practical.

Oh, I'm pretty slim but pear shaped....Hope you can help me out =) I know you're familiar with our hot/cold weather and together with your love for fashion I'm hoping you can help me out. =)

Thanks!
Anna

Hi Anna! So sorry for this super late post! But there's still lots of time to shop right?

Anyway, given your work in production, I thought of having no less than Sofia Coppola as our style inspiration. More than Marc Jacobs's muse, she is an accomplished director and actress! Whether she's behind the camera or out on the streets, she dresses up for comfort, but with an eye for style:

On the set of Lost in Translation


At an event


Vacationing in Paris



With the above images in mind, I've put together pieces that will go from the field to the boardroom in a snap!

Let's build your wardrobe with a foundation of cropped pants such as these...



I find cropped pants to be highly verstaile as they are very comfortable to wear, but can still look "office appropriate", especially when worn with button down shirts...




Some might argue that wearing button down shirts aren't as comfortable as tees, but trust me on this one, if they are made of cotton or linen, they will still look good even when rumpled! They also look more "presko" and I just love how it can go from the set to headquarters for meetings! Choose a dark color so that wrinkles and stains won't be as evident!

If you are not the type to wear button down shirts, then wear a knit cardigan over a tank top, t-shirt or a pretty blouse. It will still look presentable for meetings with the higher-ups!





You can then accessorize with flats (a Sofia Coppola wardrobe staple!), cuffs, bangles, and scarves (to protect you from sun & wind) for a chic look that still means business!








These are all pretty basic pieces that won't cost you an arm and a leg, and won't attract stares from your fellow commuters! Hope this helps! =)

(Photo credits: gap.com, imdb.com, nytimes.com)

Sexy Shapeless Shifts

Loose dresses with sleeves bring modesty and propriety back in vogue...

Sofi Fahrman of Sofi's Fashion (ooohh! check out the Marc Jacobs mouse flats)
Dabney Mercer (right) in a Tibi floral mini dress
Marina Rust of Vogue
Gwyneth Paltrow in Balenciaga
Sofia Coppola in Chloe with Cate Blanchett

(photos courtesy of style.com)

Slicing the cake with a guillotine

Whenever I think of Marie Antoinette, I remember the infamous line attributed to her -- "Let them eat cake!"

I grew up believing that frivolous Marie, wife of Louis XVI and queen of France uttered this callous remark upon hearing the peasants complaining that there wasn't enough bread. This was said to have outraged the hungry masses and sparked the onset of the French Revolution.

Well guess what! Apparently, she never said "Let them eat cake." Historians believed that this was a hatchet job (actually more of a guillotine job) of propagandists out to topple the monarchy.

About.com has that on the authority of biographer Lady Antonia Fraser, who cleared Marie Antoinette of any wrongdoing at the 2002 Edinburgh Book Fair. "It was said 100 years before her by Marie-Therese, the wife of Louis XIV," Fraser explains. "It was a callous and ignorant statement and she [Antoinette] was neither."



Trivia-library.com has a different take on the matter, blaming not Marie-Therese but Jean Jacques Rousseau!

To quote verbatim:

In 1766 Marie Antoinette was but a child of 11 in the court of Maria Theresa of Austria; her future husband, Louis XVI of France, was likewise a child, and his father, Louis XV, was king. The Revolution was still two decades off. That year, Jean Jacques Rousseau was writing his Confessions and in them recounted an incident that may have transpired in Grenoble 25 years before. "At length," wrote Rousseau, "I remembered the thoughtless saying of a great princess, who on being informed that the country people had no bread, replied, 'Then let them eat cake.'" (MFO: The anti-monarchy subversives picked up on this story and the rest as they say, is history.)

If Rousseau's "great princess" did not actually speak those words, they can, perhaps, be attributed instead to an unnamed duchess of Tuscany, who spoke them in the 1750s, according to the 19th-century writer Alphonse Karr. Whoever spoke them, it obviously wasn't Marie Antoinette.

Let's see director/actress/Marc Jacobs' muse/style star Sofia Coppola's take on this urban legend! If not for history's sake, see how this movie will spark a Fashion Revolution and ignite a renewed interest in all things French! Oooh la la! Movie premieres on the 20th of October!



(photos courtesy of (in order of sequence) culture.gouv.fr, fantasticfiction.co.uk, ioncinema.com)