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

Smarty Pants

It's not that easy to get it right. Take this line-up of pants as seen on The Telegraph for instance. I wouldn't call the second one from the left - jodhpurs...


From the Telegraph: Hannah Betts wearing, from left, wide leg, jodhpurs, harem and tracksuit trousers Photo: Andrew Crowley

They just look like slim-cut trousers to me. But all this confusion is understandable, as the article points out, "now it takes a dictionary...to distinguish between the gaucho, gangster, peg, crop, skinny flare, super-wide leg, sailor, pyjama, and drop-crotched harem, zoave, lungi, jodhpur, and dhoti." Although of course, for people whose job it is to know which is which, getting all these mixed-up is a major booboo!

So let's traverse the tricky waters of trouserland together, because we are dedicated followers of fashion and we all got to get it right, goshdarnit! After this, we can all call each other smarty pants and be proud of it!

While wide legs, cigarette pants, sailor pants and pajama pants are pretty straightforward and need no explanation, I think the most common mistake is using jodhpurs and harem pants interchangeably.

So let's start with jodhpurs, which are also often confused with riding breeches. Either way, a pair is meant to be worn for horseback riding, but of course Nicolas Ghesquière of Balenciaga changed the course of jodhpurs history in Fall 2007.



More pics here and here.

As seen above, a pair of jodhpurs is characterized by a snug fit to the knee, with flaring hips. The snug fit from the knee down was designed to accommodate riding boots. The flaring hips allow the rider to move and be comfortable, especially when out for long rides. Real jodhpurs usually have reinforced patching on the seat and knees to prolong the life of the pants from riding wear and tear. Oh, and here's a bit of trivia, Jodhpurs were originally named after an Indian city, where the royals would play polo and wear pants tight around the legs and baggier around the hips. Although, let me point out too that modern day jodhpurs may also be tight-fitting all throughout, akin to leggings.

So jodhpurs, should be associated with riding style pants, okidoks?

Now harem pants (think Aladdin, Jasmine, the Arabian Nights...) started out billowy and clown-like if not belly-dancer sexy and costume-y, but the more common take on the trend is a narrower, sleeker, dressed-up version. Usually baggy on top but tapered at the bottom, they can be worn with heels...


Pants: H&M
Gladiator wedge heels: Nine West

...or flats.

Pants: H&M
Flats: Lanvin

And are surprisingly flattering for people of all shapes and sizes! Trust me on this! I was about five months pregnant in those two photos, and I'm barely over 5 feet tall. See, the billowy shape hides the belly, without making me look like the shortie that I really am. Sometimes, you just have to try something before saying no to a trend.

Now a dropped-crotch is a characteristic of the harem pants (the high-waist being a characteristic of the photos above), and one may choose from cropped...


Pants: Zara
Flats: Lanvin
Tee: T by Alexander Wang
Tights: Topshop Maternity

below the knee...


or ankle-length styles...


Now drop-crotch pants may be referred to as harem pants as the former falls into the latter category. Harem pants are also known as dhoti, sarouel, and zouave pants. What the heck, you may also call it Hammer pants.