BASIC MATTER 10: CUFFED RAW JEANS AND NAVY SUIT

Everything is beautiful tailored from the jacket down to his jeans and yes, I love suede!

Photo from The Sartorialist

“Nothing more refreshing than seeing a mature person looking this sharp. Truly a treat for the eyes.” Anonymous

DIAL SICK AND SPRINKLES

I hate that I have not posted anything worth reading lately due to my hectic work schedule, constant vertigo attacks and unscheduled fever. I don't have much of an internal life at all anymore, really. I have been sick for the past three days and I tell you, it isn’t fun at all. Last nigh, my temperature rose to 40 and I had to rush myself to the hospital.


(craving for cupcakes from sprinkles lately thanks to friends coming over to visit from the west coast bringing me a box of rainbow colored goodies - need sugar rush to keep me active)

I have been mostly spending my days in twitterville, the cluttered land of one-liner status updates that is supposed to summarize my entire life - ok, that made me more sick.

Guys, please pray for my speedy recovery.

PAUL SMITH FRAGRANCE LINE NOW AVAILABLE

Paul Smith Fragrance Line available in stores today. Paul Smith Manila is at Greenbelt 5, Ayala Center, Makati City +632.729.9898//+63.920.916.8906 and Shangri-La Plaza Mall, Mandaluyong City +632.636.0488//+63.920.952.6525. Email Paul Smith at
paulsmithmanila@triomarketingventures.com

"You can find inspiration in everything." - Paul Smith

BASIC MATTER 9: SLIM PANTS AND SHORTS

I always keep files and images for inspiration. Here are two images shot by Scott Schuman of The Sartorialist and yes, I love how both guys got the details right from head to toe.

TOLONG, SATU TIKET KE KUALA LUMPUR

Photo by Nurul

I’m finally booked for my trip to check out the relatively small, yet robust, contemporary art scene in Kuala Lumpur which will be filled with visits to galleries, alternative spaces, artist-in-residence and yes, Art Expo Malaysia 2009.

Side trip: definitely the hawker stalls nearby and oh, I’ve got to check out the local fashion too. Any good independent and lifestyle shops? Tell me, Buddha wants to know.

TURNING JAPANESE

I’ve always loved the way the Japanese understand art and fashion as something that can communicate anything to anyone.


TOP: Real People, Real Style from the Uniqlo Tokyo fashion map and Acrylic on Canvas by Katsuhiro Saiki
BOTTOM: Uniqlo

LAZY ARTISTIC WEEKEND + AN ART FAIR

Instead of relishing my character’s emotional limitations with quizzical, zoolander-style self reflections, I decided to drop chardonnay and brie over a couple of art shows in the metro and god, yes – it just inspired me to paint more ( my exhibit to follow before the end of the year).


Photography by Masafumi Sanai

Spot me!

Acrylic on Canvas by Katsuhiro Saiki

Museum of Contemporary Art and Design (Ocampo St. Malate, Manila)

MISSING GEORGE (1995 -2001)

Before getting introduced to Details, Wallpaper and GQ, dad would lend me his copy of George, a politics-as-lifestyle monthly magazine co-founded by John F. Kennedy, Jr.

During my last trip down south last Christmas, I got reunited with dads first copy which was an image of Cindy Crawford dressed as George Washington For the debut issue which received a great deal of attention.

Sadly, George departed a year after Kennedy's death in 1999.

SPECIAL DISCOUNT AT BEN SHERMAN

Trick or treat? Let Trio treat you with special discounts at Ben Sherman.

Ben Sherman in Manila is at the 3rd Level of the Shangri-la Plaza Mall,Mandaluyong City, Philippines. (T: (632) 638-5973 | F: (632) 637-9257, E: bensherman.shangrila@triomodrange.com)

ALL YOU NEED IS A PEN

Going old school has always been my thing and my Moleskine became my weapon on choice ever since I got hold of one a couple of years ago. One thing I love about it is its ruggedness and portability. A bit pricey for a notebook but totally worth the money.

(Today’s purchase - a new notebook and yes, it aint Moleskine. I discovered Monologue just now, a bit cheaper and oh, it has more pages than my old moleskine haha and a copy of Canteen/Issue four.)

It’s also a great venue to jot down ideas, an instant sketch pad or record something interesting that I’ve read or heard and yes, you can carry it around whether at a café on a lazy weekend, on a train or in an airplane.


(Photography by Stephen Elliott)

I also got myself a copy of Canteen, a literary magazine loaded with poetry, art and photography designed to look more like a fine art book than a dusty journal – such a steal for $10. I’m totally loving it!

MUST WATCH: THE SEPTEMBER ISSUE

Filmmaker R.J. Cutlers takes the viewers inside a world Hidden behind Anna Wintour’s trademark bob and sunglasses.

He follows Wintour and her team from January through August 2007 and focuses on the production of the September Vogue, which remains to be the largest magazine ever published weighing over four pounds, selling thirteen million copies, and impacting the $300-billion global fashion industry more than any other single publication.

THE PEN IN STOP MOTION

Sharing this dreamy video Olympus has created in stop-motion dedicated to the comeback and the 50 th anniversary of the PE, a camera that first appeared in 1959.



For this project, Michael Kadelbach amazingly shot 60,000 pictures, developed 9,600 prints and shot again 1,800 pictures and yes, no post-production or special effects were undertaken to produce this three-minute video. Song and lyrics are by Johannes Stankowski.

CONFUSED STATE OF BEING TRENDY

I was surprise to bump into a friend I haven’t seen in seven years two days ago while rushing to my small group meeting in Joya. She went “I love what you’re wearing, it’s really trendy”.

Trendy? Me? I was never trendy. I view myself as very traditionalist guy. I know I like my pants to fit a certain way but that doesn’t make me trendy.

(vintage Canvas bag with real leather straps, nylon sando bag from Daiso, notebook, lipbalms from Kiehls and Burtsbees, my trusty Canon digital ixus, orange card holder, post its and my old Nokia N70 [yes, I aint at all techy])

I remember mum would always tell me “If you want to know a person's true style and personality, look at their shoes and bags". Using one of those many aphorisms that mums hand down, the saying survives because it's perceptive whether it's a pair of scruffy wingtip hacked from my grandfathers closet or a shined pair of classic tussled Bass loafers.

My look is a mixture of different things: generally preppy which all boils down to classic clothes – a pair of khaki pants, dark denim, basic black pullover, gingham, a lot of tailored shorts and white and blue oxford shirts, plaids, stripes, real basic old school style and am still a pique polo shirt kid. Looking at my closet pretty much says I wear the same stuff all the time like a uniform.

(And oh, the photos above from street etiquette is truly a site to visit.)

I am as close to my tailor as I am to my mom and I have to credit my parents for being sharp dressers.

DESIGNER OLIVER SPENCER

I always get awestruck, giddy and totally speechless every time I see something I like - the simple things in life, color, great tailoring, etc.


Stylish yet never over the top, Oliver Spencer is a man and a fashion brand. Pretty much a jack of all trade, he is not only a designer but also a self-taught tailor, a switched-on and hands-on creative. His brand is an expression of modern man; his tastes, his touch, his style.