Athleisurely

The past few months, i’ve been seeing a lot of sporty outfits being worn for everyday, non-sport occasions.

Before, “Athleisure” was more for leisure items worn for athletic purposes. Now, it’s turned on it’s head and is more about sporty outfits worn for parties, work or just a casual day out.

Most noticeable would be the proliferation of sporty pants. Aside from the usual joggers, you also see  pants with an athletic stripe as part of its design. Almost all foreign and local fast fashion brands have it, and one of them caught my eye.

The pair is from the local brand “For Me,” and it’s a classic black pant with gray stripes on the side.

You can pair this with a classic black tee, and you’ve got the athleisure look down pat.

And that’s how you play with style.

The 90s called. They want their shoes back.

Because back in the 90s, one of the biggest shoe trend was the pointed mules. It was a must have in every "woman of the 90s" wardrobe. My mom and sisters, my female officemates - they all had it. (And in the case of the women in my family, in different styles and colors, too.)

When I dropped by SM today, surprise, surprise, the 90s mules are SO back!

So, we have the "shirt inside the slipdress," "flannel checkered polo," "ripped jeans and Doc Martens," and now this.

What 90s trend will be back next?

Cold Shoulder-to-Shoulder

The "Cold Shoulder" trend in clothing doesn't look like it's going out anytime soon. Fast fashion brands, department stores, even my usual haunts, carry lots of pieces from this trend.

Not surprisingly, during Baby Noah's baptism last weekend, my sisters and sister-in-law ended up wearing variations of this fashion theme.

They look good standing cold-shoulder-to-shoulder together.

Patch Madams

Sometimes, it takes months, or even a year, for a trend to really kick off.

A year ago, I spotted a shirt with patches in Tokyo and SG, both of which I bought and gave to Ate Bullet.

By the end of 2016, these patches started appearing in fast fashion places and in my Divisoria haunts.

Now, they're everywhere! Just check out some of the patched shirts that are available at The Landmark.

This is a nice patch, but on a bad shirt:

This is okay. Gingham is another recurring trend, as well as blue and white.

This is too "Tita Baby" for its own good.

There are some good ideas here, but unfortunately, the executions are quite spotty.

That's a sure sign that a trend is about to end.

Pin it!

The pinstripe is one of the recurring trends that's appearing in almost all fast fashion brands - both local and foreign.

Just like the embroidered jean, it's actually a trend that took off in the 90s. And now, it's back!

One of my favorite incarnations of this trend is this Zara pinstripe dress with a knot.

But this piece is just one of many, many, many, many, many, many, many pieces that I've seen everywhere - from the swankiest mall to the smallest Divisoria stall.

And truth be told, my sisters have a lot of pinstriped items in their closets already. Thanks to both Zara and Divisoria.

Tripping on Acid

There are some trends that you wish wouldn't come back.

Among them are: harem pants, gold net sandals, stirrups, and acid washed jeans.

But to my chagrin, I saw this in Uniqlo today.

Acid washed jeans are back! (Ugh!)

Fine, it could've been worse. At least they didn't bring back the stirrups.

What's old is new again!

That's just how fashion works.

Trends rotate in about 7 to 10 years, so you have the tendency to have a sartorial deja vu. The items you once wore a decade ago is suddenly current and en vogue.

Case in point: embellished jeans. Which is slowly going back in the spotlight, as seen in this Topshop window display.

My first impression of this pair of jeans was: "Gosh! That's so 2006!"

Because it really is!

The embellished jeans trend exploded when I was still living in HKG. Back then, almost all stores - from big fast fashion brands in the mall to the smallest stall in Fa Yuen Street - had embellished jeans on their racks. The embellishment ranged from yarn embroidery to patch work to swarovski crystals.

It was such a big thing that it was impossible NOT to see anyone wearing this type of jeans. And admittedly, I joined the trend, buying a couple of pairs myself. (I think I still have one of them.)

I should tell the Ates that the trend is back. This is the best time to unearth their embellished jeans and show them off again.

More short stories

When people think of "shorts," they think casual, athletic, or even lazy. But when paired with the right top, shorts can be very chic and fashion forward.

Take for instance these two ensembles:

The first look combines khaki shorts with the top-du-jour, a loose, boxy top. The sheer shoulders give it that fashion edge, while the colors both echo and complement the color of the shorts.

The second look has a heavily patterned top - a piece from the Camille Co for Tomato collection - and grounds it with plain white shorts. Again, the loose top serves as counterpoint to the short shorts.

I don't see anything casual, athletic or lazy about these ensembles.

Hola Ombre

The ombre trend in clothes isn't really that new. In fact, it's been coming and going for the past decade or so. It's been on dresses, shirts, gowns, even cardigans. Who can forget Julia Roberts' ombre twin set in the film "Notting Hill."

I've been seeing a lot of ombre pieces lately, and I'm  having a bit of an ombre moment. Last May, I found two interesting ombre jeans in different stores, and I couldn't help but gravitate towards them. These two jeans ended up with me, and one is for Ate Lissa, while the other one I got for myself.

The jeans have varying stages of ombre-ness. With Ate Lissa's jeans, the ombre is very pronounced as the dark wash part is very short and it immediately fades in to the lighter shade. My pair is more subtle, with the light blue part dominating the pair, and it slowly fades to white.

It's easier to see the difference when they're side by side.

I'm not a trendy guy and usually don't subscribe to trends. But I think I'll give ombre jeans a shot. That is until the trend fades away.

LFLTAT: Three trends

Among the recurring trends that have been appearing on magazines and on the runway, three of the more consistent ones are: 1.) sheer, 2.) lace and 3.) pastel colors. 

These three trends reminded me of this dress that I found at The Landmark about half a year ago. 

The dress was made of this sheer chiffon that looked very light and breezy. The blush color added to its ethereal quality. It's something that will look in place in a wedding, or a lazy weekend in the city. The salmon colored belt wasn't part of the ensemble, but I thought it was a nice way to ground the outfit.

When you turn the dress around, a pleasant surprise greets you. A see-through lace back, with some draping to add a bit of modesty.

What's nice is that this dress is able to pull together these 3 trends seamlessly and fashionably.

What's even better is that this whole ensemble was around P700.00 in total.

Yup, more Look for Less than a Thousand chicness for The Landmark.

Smoking Hot

One of fall's biggest trends in terms of footwear is the Smoking Slipper. 

If you're wondering where the name came from, the "Smoking Slipper" was part of the proper smoking attire for men. This often included a velvet robe and a pipe. If you need a visual peg, think Hugh Hefner in the Playboy mansion. Scary, but true.

Needless to say, the Smoking Slipper was initially made for men. But with the advent of the "boyfriend" trend, women got into the Smoking Slipper action by using them in lieu of the usual ballet flats. Which is quite cool, if you ask me.

In the Philippines, the best gauge whether a trend is going full steam is when it starts appearing on the shelves of SM Department Store. After all, they've got it all for you. Harhar.

Lo and behold, the Smoking Slipper has appeared in SM, and has arrived in my sisters' shoe racks. That's courtesy of Parisian, which comes in this new, snazzy box.

And it comes with a dust cover, too. Not bad for something worth P600.00!

Now, on to the main event. Presenting, the Smoking Slippers from SM! (Sounds like a cheesy B-movie title.)

The first pair is a Smoking Slipper in black suede. Now to keep it from looking too plain, it added an element that's also on-trend for fall - hardware!

These Smoking Slippers have silver studs with rounded edges. I actually saw a version of this with spikes instead of studs. While they look very attractive, it can also be very deadly. I kid you not.

The black pair is for Ate Bullet, while I got a teal blue pair for Ate Lissa. Between my two sisters, Ate Lissa is more adventurous in terms of color and aesthetic.

Initially, I wasn't too keen on the color. But the more I looked at it, the more it grew on me.

Finally, they have another ultra chic pair, and this time it has texture as detail.

If you look at it closely, it has the texture of snakeskin, which is made more luxe by the fact that it's done in black patent. This is so Audrey Hepburn-meets-Valentina! Harhar.

Ate Bullet liked her Smoking Slippers so much that she wore it on the spot along with her Kate Moss inspired look. And overall, I'd say the word to describe her is the same word to describe the slipper.

It's Smokin!



(Sorry, I couldn't help but add a Jim Carrey reference.)

Peplum Squad

One fashion throwback from the 1940s that has been a recurring theme in fashion the past few seasons is the peplum. By definition, it's a ruffle or flare attached to the bodice of any article of garment. It can be a blouse, jacket, skirt or a dress. 

If you look at the current offerings of fast fashion brands - from Forever 21 to Plains and Prints to Zara to Warehouse, you're sure to find a peplum piece. After all, it's all the rage because it's supposed to do magic for a person's figure.

I've seen a couple of interesting peplum pieces of late, and among the lot, I chose 2 pieces that fit my sister's personalities.

First is this coral-colored peplum dress that I bought at H&M in Tokyo. 

For some color-blocking action, I added the turquoise layered necklace from the Tokyo Drift outfit.

Aside from it's cool and vibrant color, what I like about this piece is that it's textured. If you look closely, the fabric is like jacquard and has a floral and paisley pattern. It definitely adds oomph to the outfit and makes it visually interesting whether from afar or when you look at it closely.

The next dress in the squad is this cute and bold number from Dorothy Perkins.

For this piece, the point of interest is the neckline. It's the classic sabrina with some cut-outs near the shoulder area.

Since it's printed, it's easy to lose the peplum effect. That's why it's good that they added a white trimming to the peplum to make it stand out some more.

One trend done two different ways. It's amazing how fashion can go in so many directions. No wonder the industry is all pepped-up.