shoes – Gizelle Faye Creative Studio

can too much excitement kill you?

bird-printed top with ruffled back detail – primal rave | black electro-pleated midi-skirt – thrifted | cobalt blue wedge sandals – gifted by Aimee | blue with yellow and peach accent satchel – primal rave | black wide-brimmed hat – cotton on | necklaces – downtown finds | rings: multi-colored bird – bangkok find, gifted by mom, turquoise connector – downtown find | cutout cuff – downtown find | studded green belt – primal rave

i’ve been feeling rather inspired and weirdly optimistic lately. my friend and i are starting a passion project and we couldn’t be any more excited about it. take out the fact that we’re both giddy type of people and you’ll still find us overly excited. unlike 2 years ago when i ventured on a project because i thought it was what i was passionate about, this one feels different. it’s not forced. it’s not frustrating. it just feels natural and true. i pray this is it. will definitely tell you guys more — soon! ♥

and ooh, here’s a sneak peak of my accidental obsession. my dad built this shelf for me — which was so sweet of him (or maybe because him and my mom could no longer stand my shoes strewn across the floor). i bought these shoes with my own hard-earned money from work and these pairs came with both sweat and tears. but you know what? a stress-free, full of passion life is something a wall of shoes can never compensate.

tiger lily boxer

finally, my leopard Forever21 boxing boots got its share in the little limelight in my little blog. i was initially drawn to the ankle booties but saw these and thought, “what the hell.. these look more bad-ass and i could use more of that in my life.” plus my sisters’ prodding and Aimee paying for the half of it as her Christmas gift for me did help with the decision too. no, it’s not just you but i realize i went on leopard overload last Christmas. leopard strappy wedges from Harry, leopard wedge booties from Shoe Etiquette and now these. LOL.

as of the moment, i am so swamped with backlogs for Vanilla Ice Cream. i have 3 more outfit post backlogs, an event feature — the launching of FIP in Cebu, a feature for a photographer and the most amazing part, 2 – 3 giveaways! whoot!

denim / khaki shirt dress – primal rave wholesale | leopard boxing boots – gifted, Forever 21 | tan braided belt – primal rave wholesale | white feather necklace – gifted | rings: skull, burnt orange stone, lion – downtown finds | brass bangles – downtown finds

a small step to color blocking

the amazing stuff that i find in the local market never fails to astound me. this skirt came with my PHP 10 dress and this one only cost me PHP 70. although you may notice that i love colors in my outfits but i’m actually still slowly succumbing to the color blocking trend that is so big this season. i guess this skirt is my step 1. tomorrow or next week, i might pair completely contrasting colors in my outfit, you never know. fashion or personal style to be more specific is that unpredictable.

on another note, if you are a shoe addict like me, then you’d certainly go bonkers for this shop owned by Denise of Denise Katipunera. the shop is aptly called, Shoe Etiquette and it offers shoes from the U.S. but are at really low prices. Denise has taken the responsibility of selling us those coveted shoes from U.S. so we don’t have to worry about the exaggerated shipping costs. with her amazing instinct for beautiful shoes (as seen in her blog), i’m sure pairs will be selling like pancakes.

get your boy to buy you a pair of shoes

first of all, thanks for the sympathy with my last post. your responses surely made me laugh, what with some of you raising both hands and some even their feet. it comforts me to know that so many of you can relate to me.

in continuation with the previous post, i’d like to believe that the best way to recover from the disorder is to form a support system from family and friends. as my i’ve outgrown asking stuff from my parents and the only way i can get stuff from my sisters is when christmas comes around, my best bet is my boyfriend.

as you may have noticed in some of my outfit details, a few of my shoes are gifted from Harry. gifted, yes but not really his own idea. i once had someone ask how harry buys amazing shoes for me and if he has great style as well. well, he buys them in cash (haha!) and he does have a certain laid-back style but not the kind of style where he’ll see a pair of shoes and immediately think it’s stylish and is perfect for me. i’d like that to remain that way as i don’t want my boyfriend to be leaning towards girly stuff (if you know what i mean).

visting department stores and different shoe stores is one way you can get the idea into your boyfriend’s mind. try on a few pairs and don’t stop gushing over them until he gets the point. saying it would look good with that dress would also help. talking incessantly about the pair even after you’ve left the store is one way for the idea to stick to his head. yes sure, these may be good steps and have been tried and tested by most girls but remember, guys are not mind readers. actually, there’s no one i know who can read minds. so giving hints and having your boyfriend pick them up may be romantic but there’s an 85% chance that you’ll get the wrong pair (or size or color) when you open your present.

so how do i get Harry to buy me a pair of shoes? i tell him. LOL. it would be good if you have an agreement to give gifts during birthdays and christmas which we have. so right when these occasions are nearing, i tell him straight to the point, “i want shoes for my birthday (or for christmas).” how do i get him to buy the right pair, size and color? i take a photo of the pair and save it in his phone with my shoe size as the photo name.

and that’s how you get your boyfriend to buy you shoes. it’s a win-win. he’s free from having to guess and take hints while i get to plan my outfits imagining the pair of shoes i’ll be getting. *wink*

polka top – thrifted

lace-detailed pleated skirt – thrifted

black cuban heels – parisian (gifted from Harry!)

black studded bucket bag – parisian, sm dept store

studded belt – pratunam, bangkok

necklaces: house key – DIY | elephant tusk – bangkok

metallic cuff – carbon find

bow ring – carbon find

turning out to be a disorder

i don’t know if it’s just me or that others may be able to relate to this but sometimes when i’m feeling apathetic or severely confused about what to do, i think about buying shoes. i used to laugh at movies where the heroine resorts to shopping, shoe shopping to be more specific, to alleviate their stress but i think the same thing is happening to me. the fact that this may be my fourth or fifth post about those wonderful creations is already a solid sign that i have got a slight disorder.

in a day, i’d usually think about them or look at online shops and ponder about buying a new pair. there was a time last week where i was lying in bed and i was feeling restless then i thought i needed to buy a new pair. luckily, there is still a conscious voice in my head that reminds me that i don’t need a new one as i’ve still a got a couple of pairs i haven’t worn yet so i think i’m still safe.

i hope i’m not alone in this. if you think you have this disorder, raise your hand. *wink*

peach blazer – thrifted

graphic tee – night market, bangkok

black leggings – random

black cuban heels – parisian, sm dept store

work watch – esprit

dog tag necklace – custom made

rings: bow tie and flower cluster – carbon finds | white stone – borrowed from sis

too old to party?

so there i was, all made up and ready to rock my new studded wedge booties at 10PM. aimee and i were planning to drop by the opening of vudu or party at our usual hangout, the penthouse; psyched up and ready to go make the most of aimee’s last weekend here in Cebu. that is until we sat around in our room for 2 hours waiting for our friend to come over, watched an episode of Vampire Diaries and surfed ourselves to boredom that i became really sleepy, left knee wobbling a bit and a decided to stay home. yes, i stayed home! i can’t believe that i used to party all night and stay up until 6am and i’ve now come to a point that i am too sleepy to go out…LOL.

of course, i can’t waste my outfit and had to take photos of it. *wink*

don’t forgot to enter the ‘Fashion to Figure’ giveaway. ♥ ♥ ♥

ps. THREE more awesome giveaway coming up! i’m totally feeling the holidays!

leopard chiffon dress – platinum mall, bangkok
black leggings – random find
grey puffed cardigan – thrifted
layered coin necklace – platinum mall, bangkok
bangles – carbon finds
rings: geometric – platinum mall, bangkok | skull – carbon find
studded wedge booties -ebay find

head over heels

as kids, we grew up watching cinderella getting help from mice, birds and her fairy godmother. we watched how ariel and eric were serenaded “kiss the girl” by frogs and how a candelabra and a teapot were singing to belle and the beast. these fairytales amazed me and instilled in me an optimism that had carried on till’ now.

having grown up, we now believe in different kinds of fairytales. aside from the usual soulmate-fate-take the risk movies, there is one kind of fairytale that i constantly long for. the fairytale of a place where all ladies can wear heels without strain. i watch how Carrie Bradshaw, Serena Van Der Woodsen and Andrea Sachs walk, romp and run in heels that i can’t help but wonder how it is possible. my shoes and theirs may differ in price by the thousands so theirs might have the extra comfort but it certainly can’t be denied that the constant tiptoe form of the feet would still eventually hurt.

so i may own all those heels above but the longest time i can tolerate the pain is 5 hours (12 hours if i’m in a carpeted room). running around in heels on hard pavement will always be a fantasy.

a nude kind of high

the truth is, i’ve been more afraid of wedges than of 5″ heels. yes, they both get me to better heights or at least not make me look small beside harry who is 5’11 and the extra height sure make up for our 9″ difference but i was afraid that wedges would make my thighs look bigger than it already is. so i avoided them until jeffrey campbell and those awesome girls who wear them convinced me to give wedges a try. i must say, i’m a convert. oh my heels will still have enough attention from me but my alfreda wedges from gold dot will surely be a wardrobe staple. this is my first online purchase and opening that package was really a treat — it was like christmas. haha!

white striped top – platinum mall, bangkok

mauve blazer – linea italia

skinny jeans – chillypapa

beige suede wedges – gold dot

silver robot necklace – borrowed from aimee

pink sunnies – carbon find

stacks of bangles – carbon find

classic never goes out of style

to resolve my dilemma in picking out the grey and camel-colored shoes i needed, i asked two friends if i should go with the clogs or the classic booties. one told me to choose the clogs as they are very much on trend right now and only a few people are wearing them here in Cebu. i thought about it and realized that yes, clogs have hardly touched cebu — well, not the cool kind, at least. the other friend told me to choose the booties as it is more me. i wondered if my friend thought i couldn’t rock the clogs and defensively asked, “so i do you mean i won’t look good wearing clogs?” he was surprised by my question because that’s not what he meant at all, to which he explained, “choose the booties because you have more a classic and timeless style.”

when i shop, i always look for something that i can wear again and remix with my other clothes. i’d look for something that i can still see myself wearing in maybe a couple of years. for shoes, i always look for a pair that i can pair with a dress, jeans, shorts or a maxi skirt. with being overwhelmed in choosing among so many amazing shoes, i almost forgot what my real style is. shame on me. i have nothing against clogs. in fact i am so amazed at how other style bloggers rock them. i must admit though that i was very much surprised at how far the clog went and i think it will go farther than expected, it not having reached most of the philippine stylistas yet. maybe by january and the next months leading to summer. however, the clog is not for me. in the end, i chose a boho strappy pair of camel shoes with wooden heels and a pair of grey booties. it took me hours to pick them out and my sister even called me out for choosing similar styles for my shoes but that’s me and at the end of day, it’s about how i feel wearing them.

polka dress – platinum mall, bangkok

black peep-toe booties – gifted from harry

long black cardigan – thrifted

white braided double-length belt – pratunam, bangkok

necklace: leaf and small clutch bag – carbon finds

gun-metal bangles – carbon finds

rings: clustered white beads – chatuchak, bangkok | owl – carbon find

brown sunnies – carbon find

which shoe to pick?

i think every filipina fashionista knows it’s such a pain trying to order stuff online because the shipping fee is more expensive than the price of the item. i once tried to order a $24 pair of shoes from forever 21 and the shipping fee to the Philippines is $34. so we usually wait for a friend or relative in the U.S. to come home so we can hitch a space in their ‘balikbayan’ (take-home) box. since my sister and her fiance have a friend in new york and they’re getting a box filled to send here, i took the chance of purchasing shoes for my sister’s wedding and have some pre-ordered by some of my friends. filling up the box as soon as possible could mean that i’d be rocking my new wedges earlier too.

i never thought buying shoes would be such a headache. with this chance to purchase amazing shoes online, i’ve spent hours checking styles, sizes, color and price. i may have bookmarked 3 out of 30 in a day only to realize that i may not need them and have to go through the process again the next day. there’s just so much to choose from. i mentioned this on my shoe post last june that though i love to have lots of shoes, i always tend to buy those of the classic colors — black, brown, camel, grey and white. to narrow down my choices, i listed down every pair i own with each corresponding color and realized that i needed grey heels after my fave one died last april. i also needed a pair of camel ones because the cutout heels gifted from harry have loosened up and are now a bit big for me. i picked out brown wedges and silver platforms for my sister’s wedding and i’m now down to picking my grey and camel ones. the question is, should i purchase the on-trend clogs? or the classic booties?

white tunic – thrifted

giraffe-printed shorts – pratunam, bangkok

gold ballet flats – sensini, bangkok

eiffel tower necklace – carbon find

plastic faux gold bangles – gifted from india

braided bead cuff – chatuchak market, bangkok

rings – carbon finds

work watch – swatch

on the first day in bangkok, i shopped…

our hotel is luckily situated beside pratunam, the wholesale shopping haven in bangkok. all kinds of vendors are selling at the side of the streets too so you can imagine my amazement at seeing all the shopping possibilities.

the striped briefcase bag, regardless of how cute i find it to be, i am selling because i realized i no longer work in a corporate office and will not be bringing papers anytime soon. i would love to put my laptop in it but i have yet to purchase my own laptop too…haha! i guess you could say this was an impulse buy which i’m very glad to share with all of you.

*shipping fee not included in the price so if you’re interested, e-mail me your location and we can discuss your shipping fee. for local readers, payment is accepted through paypal and gcash

*for international readers, standard shipping fee to U.S. and Canada is $15. payment is accepted through paypal only.

more items for sale will be posted soon. so if you want the bag, maybe you’ll find something to match it with. *wink*

oh and before i forget, Fashionista Fortune Cookie is giving away Ichigo Oxford Shoes that are just to die for! Check it out!