BASIC MATTER 24: NAUTICAL STRIPES

I have always admired anyone who can pull off nautical stripes and yes, Pia last night was on the spot – chic!


(Pia Arroyo - Magalona, Mother of 8 and wife of the late master rapper Francis Magalona)

Popularized by Coco Chanel, nautical stripes are more like a fashion staple than a trend and have been worn by everyone - from the French who pair it with tapered, navy coats to style icon, Audrey Hepburn.

My mom is a big fan too. She would normally wear the classic, boxy marinière paired with more than 3 strands of pearls – definitely tres chic!

SKIPPER HAPPY

Headed down south to enjoy the infinite stretches of warm blue water, fine sandy beaches and hidden coves? Well, even if it’s not in the horizon, you’ll still want to dip into Regatta’s current line-up of fresh and happy seafaring looks.



(Regatta at Philippine Fashion Week)

Get set cruise in the latest collection! The mood is nautical chic and yes, a more than slightly ironic take on traditional yachting separates, such as stripes, navy and a lot of neutrals.


(What I wore : Navy blazer, my usual plaid button-down shirt, bespoke trousers, red socks and my tan lace-ups)

OK, I badly need a tan. I totally can't wait to hit the beach this weekend!

BASIC MATTER 5: NAVY COAT

Classic navy two-button coat, light shoulder padding with waist pockets - The navy coat is one of the staple items of any man's wardrobe. You can never go wrong with it since it goes with all colors and can be dressed up for the office or dressed down on a lazy weekend afternoon paired with tailored shorts or jeans, It just looks very preppy that way.

STREET CHIC

Similar to what I wore yesterday (Image from lovedistortion/styledumonde)

Red shorts and Gingham, an equal opportunity exploiter (Image from Trendycrew)

Pink socks, oxford lace-ups and that man bag – totally Drool worthy! (Image from Trendycrew)

Cutoff shorts, white slip-ons and nautical pullover and a bike – effortless! (Image from Trendycrew)

The devil wears Prada represents where we are now. looking at fashion is another way of looking at where the culture is headed. It is so important, I cant emphasize it enough. I cant wait to see where it goes. The future is now.

(All Images from : lovedistortion/styledumonde and trendycrew, Barcelona)

NO BLEACH - I DYE

Shape shifting and deconstructing my clothes has turned into a genuine diversion of mine to fight stress...although inadvertent, but nevertheless time-consuming enough to keep me kicking ( yeah, I easily get bored). While scuttling with my stained DKNY dress shirt that I accidentally bleached due to not reading the “ no bleach” instructions, it got me into a light bulb moment – what is a better way to revive this thing? ( I totally don’t want to give it away, worse – throw ) trying to outfit myself for one thing or another, I often get drawn into a trance. Buzz – reconstruct this baby with new buttons ( preferably black), and dye it to something more magical ( time to work with my packs of venus fabric dye). I’ll have to rush to a fabric store this weekend to purchase more materials and maybe new fabrics too.

Project 1: dye my stained DKNY dress shirt
Project 2: Have a dress shirt made similar to the kaftan like cotton shirt below ( picture taken at Carlo’s new store in Greenbelt 5 and yes, it’s Paul Smith) I’m definitely on my preppy mode
Project 3: shop more and recycle