NIMBUS DRESSING AND CHASING STORM CLOUDS

“I´m singin´ in the rain
Just singin´ in the rain,
What a glorious feeling,
And I´m happy again.
I´m laughing at clouds
So dark, up above,
The sun´s in my heart
And I´m ready for love.”
Frank Sinatra

It’s monsoon season on my side of the world and I have been trying to figure out how to keep myself dry, really dry in spite of the fact that some parts of the metro are still submerged in 4 feet of water.



Take a look at Monocle “Shower Dressing” Fashion Spread shot beautifully making you want to dance in the rain with a smile on your face.

PASSED ON FROM DAD

Being a southern gentleman that he is, my dad treats his moccasins like fine lace-ups when worn with a business look and on casual lazy weekends.

(Photos from Minkoff)

I have been eyeing on his vintage tan tassle moccasins he has had for years and I was able to convince him to pass it on to me 2 days ago ( love you Pop!) . It can be worn just like a pair of dark hot jeans and is perfect whole year round.

For the meantime, I am going barefoot until those moccasins get here next month with dad.

MUSIC PLAY : PAUL SMITH X

(Eric and Kris of Paul Smith / TRIO)


(Photo: ipod and bag by Eric Posadas)

In Manila, aside from functional dandy clothes and approachable shop staff who wear the brand better than anyone else, one of the other pleasures of a trip to Paul Smith is the carefully chosen music worth lingering.

BASIC MATTER 13: UNCOMPLICATED DRESSING

Life can be pretty difficult but your clothes don’t have to be. Just stick to some updated basics.


(fitted chambray and new solid oxford from GAP)


(photo: Outlier)

Trends rise and fall but a good tailored button-down shirt is always a good investment.




Photo: The Sartorialist and Mjölk Homme)

When your brain is fried by all the denim options available, always simplify with an old-school pair that has no special treatments or rips like the dark-rinse blue jeans or the reliable selvedge jeans. You can also go bespoke, locally try Viktors and Defacto. Also, never underestimate the power of a black shirt that’s casual enough for day but stylish enough for night.The best ones that I have are from Lacoste, Ralph Lauren and Fred Perry.

At night, work or the movie house, track jackets like the ones I got as a gift from Adidas leave me cold, really cold. I always zip back to my warm, fuzzy, well-fitting green hooded sweatshirt I got at Dean & Trent 5 years ago.

WEEKEND NIRVANA

While many of us journey to the freezing malls of the metro to look for retail enlightenment on weekends, I spend mine doodling on my moleskine, lazily sourcing for fabrics, and thrift shopping around Evangelista equivalent to Nirvana.

There’s more to shopping than those high-street retail giants. When I find something with interesting details that I like, I’m inspired by it and use it as an inspiration on my next retail excursion and my paintings.

BASIC MATTER 12: L.L. BEAN BOAT BAG

I’ve had my L.L. Bean boat bag for six years now. Nothing fancy though but it does the trick of carrying a lot from notebooks to paint brushes, paint canvas, a mini easel, my moleskines and magazines maximizing a lot into one bag and can be suspended over my shoulder rather than having plastic cutting into my fingers.



Despite getting a lot of strange looks from the public, they’re also excellent for those Salcedo/ Legaspi Village weekend market shopping excursions too.


Superior Labor Paint Tote Bag and Port Canvas Clipper Bag from Utility Coop

Aside from L.L. Bean, I’ve also discovered pages and pages of work wear and totes at the Japanese shop Utility Coop. When in the U.S., you can also find great totes at Estex, Filson, Billykirk and Klein Tools.

THEY TRIED TO MAKE ME GO TO REHAB AND I SAID ‘NO,NO,NO’

I finally got to download Glee’s pilot episode and watched it over dinner last night.


More amazing than the cast itself was a funny but brilliant choir performance of Amy Winehouse’s Rehab.

Definitely the most fun thing on TV this year, Glee is an hour-long musical comedy with a hodgepodge of casts from a fashionista with a falsetto singing voice, a girl who thinks she’s Beyonce and will never sing backup, an Asian punk, a cheerleader, a jock and geeky polio victim but strums the guitar like Ozzy Osbourne.

Buddha Banana is totally hooked!

Glee premiers on Jack TV (Philippines) on September 13 at 9PM