after years and years of hanging zippers, running pantyhose, flapping soles and unraveling hems, i have learned to keep a fashion survival kit. and i’m never caught unprepared in the middle of a fashion emergency again. here are the things i keep on hand:
1. elastic bands
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coming back to fiji with a two-year-old can be quite a handful… literally. there’s food and drinks for the both of us. since she still bottle-feeds when she wants to go to sleep, i had to pack the bottles and milk too. we had to stay a night in hong kong, and because i didn’t want to unpack my check-in luggage anymore (it was a mission just to get it shut), i had to also carry night dresses and a change of clothes for us. that’s on top of a child’s usual change of clothes during travel. oh, and of course the coloring books and storybooks and crayons and the stuffed horse toy to keep her occupied for nearly eleven hours. forget my handbag; all my personals should just go into the same cabin luggage.
so even though i’ve never been a backpack person all my life, i decided to get one with compartments big and numerous enough to carry all my pre-schooler’s stuff. yet keep both my hands free as necessary when taking a two-year-old for a long haul trip.
as i think about my impending flight back to fiji very soon, it occurs to me that i may have the wrong luggage.
first, my generic brand hardcase already weighs a great deal when empty, thus reducing the amount of items i can bring without exceeding weight limit. no, i refuse to pay excess baggage. when i came here, i only had a little over half the volume capacity of the case. in effect, i literally brought more pasalubong than personal items.
next, my carry-on is a sports duffel. it fits the required dimensions for the overhead bin, but i stuff more items in it than the maximum 7 kg. which i get away with most of the time if not all the time. it doesn’t have wheels nor does it strap onto my back, so i have to lug it by hand, by elbow or by shoulder, all 10+kg of it… aside from my mid-size purse that is itself brimming with trinkets and small personals. i normally don’t mind carrying stuff that heavy; if i don’t have to queue at checkpoints and transit lounges.
gone are the days when traveling meant humongous steamer trunks that weigh as much as furniture and gigantic wicker baskets for your food… modern technology has given us more options that promise less effort, less weight and less bulk.
christmas has never tarnished its childlike charm to me. and i always go into the season with the same feeling of wonder and excitement as when i was just waist-high and struggling to read the gift cards. now that i have been participating in the actual buying of gifts (and have been doing so for over ten years), it is even double the merriment that i am able to both open my gifts and watch people open the gifts i wrapped.
some females choose to post their wishlist online probably hoping some of them will materialize (meaning some friends and family will read the entry and buy the stuff) like a bridal registry. i have done it myself before here, and none of the things happened to cross my hands (well, i did get a pair of stella lunas after i wrote the entry, but they’re a different pair. so that doesn’t count). of course, i may have been shooting over my head there even with just three hundred thousand pesos (php300,000.00), but i could have at least bought robyn more books for her leap pad.
today, i am still hankering for a trip to japan and rimowa luggages to travel there with, but i’ll take my return ticket to the philippines and my cheap ass generic brand luggage if it means i can visit home and eat danggit again. nevertheless, i came into the christmas season with a mental wishlist much simpler, more tailor-fit to my current situation and more accessible than my imagination would warrant. but they by all means give the same sense of satisfaction, coupled with the warm fuzzy feeling that comes with being able to take part in another season of exchanging gifts. cheesy? you bet.
i chose not to post any sort of wishlist, despite my fascination with assembling lists. however, i will post some of the stuff i received. because these are some of the things that make up my wishlist and i’m happy-dappy like a little kid.
my favorite scent, 2008′s most awarded fragrance, daisy by marc jacobs. moderately old in designer fragrance years, but still my favorite. too bad i missed the limited edition edp (which strangely cost the same as the edt) by about three days from the when the last bottle was sold, but i’m very happy with it no less. i know fragrance is such a cliche gift, but i don’t think i will ever get tired of receiving them.
a woven raffia roxy fedora with shell, grosgrain ribbon and chain embellishments and…
…a black pinstripe quiksilver “mob” fedora with embroidered crest and same-fabric sash. i started to regain my thing for hats when we had to wait in the sydney airport for nearly seven hours en route to nadi last september. my husband bought me a white-and-black hat that looks like eva longoria‘s and then i remembered how i once really liked hats but the philippines just isn’t a country that exactly embraces the accessory whole-heartedly (unless you are a musician or an artist. which i neither am). now i’m back to liking and collecting them.
coincidentally, i wrote “toothbrush” in our grocery list, and look what i found under the tree! we’ve always meant to buy the oral b electronic toothbrush but thought it too expensive to clean teeth with, so i’m happy someone gave me and my husband a pair of these things.
books from two of my favorite humorists. when you are engulfed in flames by david sedaris and mere anarchy by woody allen. i believe all the hype. yes, they are all that.
ok, i don’t have the least liking for robert greene’s machiavellian laws on leadership and how many of my previous managers so full of themselves live by his books like religious fanatics, but i admit that i read them all the time. yeah, i do, so kill me for being cliche yet again. the very same way i read so many other political philosophies i heavily disagreed with but intensely admired for the thinking behind them (like hitler’s, for instance). collaborating with 50 cent, greene comes up with another set of leadership principles in the 50th law for me to read with intense pleasure then disagree with during discussions. because i’m silly like i just enjoy insecure guys defend their peer-pressured beliefs like they are defending themselves against murder.
the advanced 32-stitch electronic singer sewing machine! with a users guide that reads more like a computer textbook than a home ec training manual. while trying to prioritize things and making ends meet, my husband and i started talking about getting one and we’ve been playing around with figures like how much we have to pay every week or how much we should negotiate for a second-hand one (especially since all of a sudden one day i found that we have to pay every week for a new tv and stereo system on top of basic needs and utilities from a single-income household with an applying immigrant who hates cooking… me, in other words). then lo! i get a sewing machine as a christmas present from the folks! doesn’t the world just work in mysterious ways?
reviews on some of the items later.
hope everybody had a wonderful christmas!
i know how it feels. the pain of loss. of losing perfectly good pairs of shoes to improper packing procedures.
i have relocated over a dozen times, you would think i had gotten the hang of protecting my precious cargo from destroying themselves. at times they get crushed beneath the weight of heavier, bulkier objects, other times they get misshapen by hard loose edges. many times they self-destruct in that abominably and irregularly large cargo box: poking pointy heels into their partners, rubbing leather against each other until they fade into ugly mottled skins, scuff the surfaces where they are most obvious, and snapping buckles and straps as they entwine themselves with shoelaces and satin. and that’s not counting the molds and mildew yet. it’s like they attempt suicide with all the anxious confinement, like they are deadly afraid i am going to take them to a holocaust, they’d rather just die on me. i don’t really mean to be so careless; having to move just always seemed to catch me by surprise, i had to simply cram my things into boxes before i can even consider their likely destruction.
so i had to sit by myself before a big box of ruined shoes, singing dirges in my head for a small funeral bidding farewell to many of my favorite things.
my last relocation took me out of the time zone, so i thought the very stress of a long-haul flight and possible freight might just completely annihilate my shoes, so i took greater precautions in packing. fortunately, i found this helpful video from mayflower transit, inc., one of the biggest moving corporations in america.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTEkAGHN4bM&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x5d1719&color2=0xcd311b]
for even added protection, you can stuff the shoes with socks or crumpled paper so they retain their shape.
not only did i follow the advice of mayflower transit, i went crazy and mummified my favorite pairs one by one. with lots of tissue wrap and masking tape.
if i had cling wrap then, i would have probably put that to waste as well.
june means a few things to many of us (wedding, typhoon, independence), but most of us would associate with it the mixed memories of pulling away from summer and dragging ourselves back to the confines of school. love it or hate it, there’s no stopping it.
although some school opening dates have been pushed further due to heavy rains, others due to the mass hysteria of a(h1n1), school will inevitably start very soon, if it hasn’t started yet.
for students who are not restricted by uniforms, june also means having to put together school ensembles that are not only stylish but are also compliant with academic dress code.
here’s a brief checklist on the basics of back-to-school style:
comfortable tees (graphic tees will never be out of season)
basic button up top (i still like solid white best, but plaid is also a steady choice)
reliable jeans (gray is in season, by the way)
hoodies or light jackets
ballet flats (photo from nine west)
sneakers (photo chuck taylors by converse)
shoulder bag, backpack or body bag (i prefer mailbag styles) big enough for books
school supplies (there are notebooks, planners, pens and pencils by jordi labanda)
more importantly, study hard and behave! good luck and have fun in school!
as my husband and i walked from the mini mart yesterday under our flimsy umbrellas, we both didn’t imagine we were going to get slaughtered by torrential wind and rain. yep, it’s officially typhoon season.
i started my day today with the same light umbrella, but the rain wasn’t too bad yet. classes have been suspended for the second day in a row, so i believe i have to brace myself for the worst again.
so today opens up the idea of umbrellas for me. not that it’s anything extraordinary. i happen to always think of umbrellas. or brollies, as my husband puts it. don’t you think umbrella is such an elegant word?
trivia: what’s the difference between an umbrella and a parasol? an umbrella is waterproof and designed to protect you from rain. a parasol is usually made of lightweight material, designed to shade you from the sun.
the umbrella/parasol has been around since antiquity, having shaded and protected the heads of ancient egyptians, chinese, assyrians, greeks and romans. it has held on to its place in time through history. but with today’s simplicity in design to accommodate mass production, i thought the umbrella had been reduced to one basic shape. until i found bella umbrella and brollies galore.
pagoda from vintage bella umbrella. the term 'pagoda' is derived from the asian temples of that name.
ruffled from vintage bella umbrella. ultra luxe and feminine.
double layered from vintage bella umbrella. it has a solid colored outer canopy and a patterned underside.
what i really want are these:
dome umbrella (i believe others call birdcage?) from storm. designed to protect your head and shoulders from the rain.
cancan parasols from designer guy de jean. most extravagant with four layers of luxurious ruffles.
stay protected this season. don’t forget your brolly!
bella umbrella and brollies galore ship internationally. but i do hope manufacturers start producing designs like these locally.
this is my entry to the contest posted by posh pinay.
as i normally select which of my personal items would be useful for certain days, then leave behind the rest which won’t be of any purpose, i maintain a general weeday pack and a general weekend pack.
this is my weekend junk:
my favorite red bag
weekend pack
this is my weekday junk:
my typical weekday bag
weekday pack
what’s in your bag?
how do you keep your shoes dry this season? i take them off, put them in a bag, then wear flip-flops. there must be a better way, because i know wearing flip-flops in the rain is asking for fungal infection (insert grimace here). like wear galoshes, for instance. but many ladies would probably punch themselves in the eye if they were caught dead wearing galoshes.
then i found these things online. let’s all pray as a nation that they be available in the philippines very soon:
shoes + umbrella = shuella
it’s like a pair of shoes married an umbrella and they had a hybrid offspring called shuella. it’s a like a raincoat, only you wear it over your high-heel shoes. they come in various colors too.
shuella shop
it’s an innovative idea, but it gets mixed reactions from the ladies. some think it’s both cute and useful, others think it’s tacky. for those who would rather go barefoot in the rain than wear shuella, here’s another site that offers modern galoshes:
swims modern galoshes shop
swims, a brand from norway, offers rain gear from head to foot. they have these good-as-footwear galoshes that you can wear over your shoes or by themselves. neat, huh?
swims high heels galoshes
their high heel protectors come in three lengths. the lowest, shown above, can keep the edges and foot heel part safe from spattering for when you leave the house or office after a downpour. the mid- and high length can be used over your precious shoes even as the rain continues to fall.
the swims classic and ballerina can be worn as overshoes or on their own:
swims classic (or the mid-length mobster) can be worn to protect flat shoes (photo: www.notcot.com)
swims ballerina in yellow worn on their own (photo: www.blogselecto.com)
swims ballerina in pink (photo: www.blogselecto.com)
it’s so good, i wonder why no one ever thought of it before. and i further wonder why no one ever thought of bringing this over to a seasonally rain-ravaged country like ours!
what we do have here are jelly shoes. we have them in abundance in malls and department stores; then we have them in overabundance in tiangges and bazaars. there seems to be no end to the consumer demand for jelly shoes in the local market. of couse, the best known brand for these plastic footwear is melissa. but given their flats have been knocked-off in quantities that can clothe the refugees of this world four times over, many of us are quite hesitant to buy the real mccoy. you just might change your mind when you see some of the formal- and corporate-looking ones:
vivienne westwood for melissa
melissa joy oxfords in two-tone black and white
melissa neon in blue
melissa disco in pink
however, if i had to pay that price for a pair of jelly shoes, i’d probably still refuse to walk them out in the rain. which brings me back to my original problem about the galoshes.
with the economic crisis embattling the world today and the tides escalating prices of basic commodities, it’s just not conscientious to buy even the things we know are necessary, but not that necessary.
so today i’m trying to weigh the things i’ve been wanting to get. going head to head: warehouse wide-leg jeans vs. victorinox swisscard + funky cat zippo lighter.
contender no. 1
warehouse dark wash wide-leg jeans
i have mentioned in a previous entry that there are two clothing brands i trust for jeans. i already wrote about beyouk. well, the other brand is warehouse.
friends tell me a person can never have too many jeans. i used to say that this statement must come from someone who has no corporate dress code. when i moved to this other company some time ago, i unwittingly stepped into the only corporation which states in its lengthy and stringent fashion-forward dress code: jeans allowed (if paired with a dressy top). and i’m not talking about fridays only.
so now i’m thinking, can i really not have enough jeans in my life?
warehouse jeans at approximately 3,000.00 per pair. warehouse boutiques in galleria, shangri-la and greenbelt 5.
contender no. 2
this option is a tag team of:
first, the victorinox swisscard in translucent blue, black, red and green. not shown: pink and purple.
from the makers of the boy scouts’ tool-of-dreams, the swiss army knife, comes swisscard, the only multi-tool that fits in your wallet. with the dimensions of a credit card, this will render obsolete rummaging through your bag for small basics. this small formidable card contains:
this will organize my life because i’m always looking for: 1) scissors, 2) screwdriver, 3) tweezers, 4) ballpen and 5) ruler. straight pin occasionally. letter opener hardly. i don’t use toothpick. but still, right? i never know when a pointy thingy will come in handy.
second, this funky cat zippo in matte pink
i know, i know this would just help perpetuate a nasty habit, but please can’t i get something really cute while i’m being unhealthy?
but for the color pink (i’m really not into pink, sorry), this is the perfect cat lighter (come to think of it, how many cat lighters have i seen?). besides, i’ve always meant to get a zippo, why not make it this one? all my yosi buddies say it’s so worth it. one of them even carries to this day the zippo lighter his dad gave him before his dad kicked the bucket over ten years ago. way to teach your kid healthy habits, old man.
victorinox swisscard at around php1,200.00. zippo funky cat lighter at around php1,800.00.
now think… which of these choices would give me more bang for the buck? anyone could really use another pair of jeans. but the swisscard and lighter are two things i could use everyday.
maybe… i’d rather not buy any of them at all?
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