Neck tales

I have always been a fan of brilliantly made statement jewelry. One of my favorite local designers is Nicole Wisenhunt. Her gorgeous creations ignited my love affair with opulent neckpieces. I swore to myself that when I get married I would wear a bespoke Wisenhunt piece. And I definitely will. But hopefully, I can get my hands on some of her creations before that far-off date arrives.

But in the meantime, I have to give her props for her latest collection Points of View. According to Stylebible.ph:

Photo via Stylebible.ph

"Nicole Whisenhunt was inspired by the 1920s and Art Deco for her latest collection, Points of View. Shown here are her architectural influences. The cubist painting on the top left,The Sleeping Girl by Tamara de Lempicka, captures the hedonist sensuality of the Jazz Age. "

Not the entire collection, but these ones caught my eye. And in the words of the great Rachel Zoe, I die. Hey, I rhymed!

Lourdes neckpiece

Belle vest (front and back)

Cosette neckpiece

Vionna neckpiece

Massimo pendant

Maxine pendant

Stass earrings

Gabrielle earrings

Dreaming of Yves

Tribute platforms - the YSL shoe-tastic claim to fame. From what I've heard, the comfort these skyscrapers offer is legendary. One of my fondest dreams is to be gifted (or otherwise buy) a pair of nude YSL tributes. But since that isn't going to happen anytime soon,  I resign myself to trolling the net in search of some YSL eye candy. And ooh, look at what I found:

Jane of Sea of Shoes' most recent purchase. I am in love with the chunky-ness of this pair. It would make my year to have one. Please universe?

Photo via Sea of Shoes

Tribute platform sandal in Gold Crackle. So versatile and so utterly unattainable. Look at that height! And they retail for around $ 790, yikes!

But, if it's any consolation (or not), I'm not so shoe-deprived after all: I ordered a pair of Gareth Pugh-inspired two-toned wedges from F-Stop. 

Photo via F-Stop

While these aren't anywhere near my desired YSLs, I'm at least happy to add something new to my shoe collection. Shoes just make me happy like that, you know? I've lusted after these babies for so long but was reluctant to shell out cash. I think the universe finally decided to give me a break by throwing F-Stop's reasonable (read: cheaper than another online shop's rates - by half!) prices my way. Thanks Melai (she's also from UP CMC) for starting my year on a jolly note with a pair of fashion forward wedges! Visit her blog.

I'm kinda scared yet excited at the same time coz these wedges are not my usual style. Wish me luck as I'll really try my best to rock them in the future!:)

Oh and may I just say:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KRISTA!!!

It's her 23rd birthday today. And as I've mentioned before, she's one of my oldest friends, almost 12 years now. Kayps, I love you super! See you on Saturday!:)

Shoe Lust

While fashion may be one of my best loves in the world, in it's internal hierarchy shoes still reign supreme! As the new year comes strolling in, I find myself craving and wanting shoes, shoes and more shoes. But practicality and the lack of extra moolah to burn force me to confine my lust to just, well, lust.

So these are some of the items that I'm dying to have. And to be fair ha, I'm not reaching for the stars. These babies are actually quite affordable. It's just that I really am trying to be responsible here and save while my resolutions are still brand spankin' new.

Christian Siriano for Payless Spring 2011

Love the shoe architecture. And may I quote: "Fierce!"

Christian Siriano for Payless Talon Pumps

While not the newest in his collection, they still manage to be fierce.

Gold Dot Bestie Clogs

Named after The Capricious Club blogger Bestie Konisis

Five by Five Tiller Wedges

I've been wanting this since  last year, but my Olsen buy made me delay getting this.

Jessica Simpson Dany

Now available at Five by Five! And may I just say animal prints and faux skins are one of my top weaknesses.

Imma say it again, shoes will be the death of me. *Sigh*

Off to work with some play on the side

As I've mentioned in my previous post, our dress code at work is fasyon casual. I thought I'd show you guys how I usually dress for work:

Cotton long sleeved top: Zara | White eyelet skirt: Topshop | Turquoise fringed sandals: Schu |

Bronze cameo-inspired locket: gifted | Cross necklace: Jerusalem | 

Watch: Fossil | UP Baller ID: gifted | Beaded bracelet: bazaar find

On a side note, isn't our little kitty so cute? Her mom left her in our backyard so we adopted her. We named her Ping Ping out of sheer love for cuteness.

Oh and inspired by Karl of Inkarlcerating's recent blog post, I decided to contact the monster shoe maker too. Too bad the Skull heels that I wanted are not set for production any time soon. Kermit offered me the Heel less  extravaganza instead. So, now I'm in a pickle: should I get them for Christmas? In leather too! Boo, the woos of a non-moolah endowed.

It's lovely how our own designers are bringing the world to our shores. See the similarity?

Heel less

Olivier Theyskens for Nina Ricci Fall '09
Image via pearlsandpoison.buzznet.com

Kermit Tesoro Holiday '10

Bone Heels

DSquared Finger Bone booties Fall '10
Image via myfashioncents.com

Kermit Tesoro Holiday '10 Skull heels
 (done in fabric)
Image via Lookbook.nu

 Skull heels (done in car interior material)
Image via Kermit Tesoro's Facebook page

Personally, I would love to get my hands on either Kermit's or DSquared's Bone/Skull heels. I'd love to wear them for my graduation. I'm already in the talks of having my dress made by a fellow blogger. The Bone heels would just be the perfect icing on my proverbial cake. Well, a girl can dream!

Some MAC lovin'

I've been a fan of MAC Cosmetics since I started watching makeup tutorials on YouTube. I mean, any respectable makeup guru had a stash that was mostly MAC so naturally I became curious. Case in point: my favorite makeup guru Sarah Victor is a fan. And although the brand isn't cheap by any means, you get great value for your buck. I'm not swimming in dough so I only have a few MAC items in my makeup stash. And of those few, I just have to say: I am loving their new Haute & Naughty Lash mascara like crazy!

Day, check. Night, check. Perfect!

Big and small.

It has two orifices: the small one (pink) houses a smaller spoolie for day wear and the bigger one (glittery purple) holds the night wear spoolie perfect for finishing up those smoky party eyes. I have been using them non-stop since they were given to me to try two months ago. It isn't waterproof but it doesn't smudge easily. So it's perfect for longtime wear but also easy to remove. It retails at P1,075. Not that cheap, but when you factor in the fact that it's like getting two mascaras in one tube then the price suddenly more bearable. For someone who's never been big on mascaras, I sure am hooked. Yep, I'm a mascara convert now.

For November, MAC also came out with a new collection: A Tartan Tale. They collaborated with famed London-based photographer Tim Walker. He's one of Vogue's resident photographers and he's been at it for about a decade. So yes, he is deemed worthy and with that our credential check is complete.

As its name suggests, A Tartan Tale is Scottish regalia liberally mixed with pop-punk whimsy. It's their holiday collection and it makes me wanna bust out me bagpipes, not that I have any.

"Do you hear the bonny bagpipes

on the moors,

or Johnny Rotten and the

Sex Pistols? One in each ear?

We’re telling a slightly twisted Tartan Tale

to celebrate holiday 2010,

in all its posh, punk, ancestral, anarchic,

noble and naughty glory."

"Royal and raunchy, colours and patterns collide, fantasies come true,

punk faeries take flight, with poetic new looks for

Eyes to gaze long upon Glamora Castle:

Dazzleglass Creme like Radiant Jewels; Lipstick kisses from The Faerie Glen;

Black Swan Pearlglide Intense Eye Liner; Family Crest Pigment;

My Highland Honey from the heather in Powder Blush;

Sexy Style Clan Nail Lacquer; and forever Zoom Fast Black Lash mascara,

for the Dark Prince, or Princess.

Enter A Tartan Tale, and be transformed!"

I am so loving the abundance of plaids. I think I'm getting some of these goodies. Oh well, 'tis the season anyway. Who knows, I might be lucky enough to be gifted with these. *hint hint* *wink wink*

A Tartan Tale is available in all MAC locations: Rustan's Makati, Rustan's Shangri-La, Marrionaud SM Mall of Asia and Power Plant Mall, Rockwell.

Photos and campaign blurb by MAC.

Wanted: A Decent Camera

This style blog has been a long time coming. As in its been literally planned over and over again in my mind for N years. The lack of sufficient web designing skills and a decent camera were the only things stopping me. But really, the web designing part is not a biggie anymore as there are templates available. So done with that, check! Although I wouldn't turn down anyone who wants to breathe life into my crappy generic blog. Haha...so help please?

A decent camera on the other hand is hard to come by. After all, how am I supposed to take note of my outfits if all I have is a point-and-shoot? My cashflow right now is pretty non-existent as my freelance publishing job pays, well, late. And I am now officially part of the workforce and am on the verge of being unemployed (thank you freelance job for at least saving me from the lovely status of unemployed). So at this point, I shall have to leech off from my lovely friends for outfit photos (hello Lester!). Or I can make do with my trusty but ancient point-and-shoot provided that natural light (hello bipolar sun) will be all over the place. With the weather in Manila being so wonky nowadays, I say, fat chance. Boo.

But still, a girl can dream, right? So to save this post from an all-text destiny, here are my dream cameras:

Sony α NEX - 5

Photo by GEARCULTURE.COM 

The Sony α nex-5 has been on my lust-list since the start of this year. It's a nifty little camera that has interchangeable lenses for point-and-shoot and dSLR quality photos. Woot! I really am in lust. And at a price of $699.99 for the kit with the 18-55mm 3.5 - 5.6 lens, it's a pretty good deal. But it's still a deal that my diet cashflow cannot handle.

Canon G-12

Photo by CANONG12REVIEW.COM

The Canon G-12 is the newest in the line I call the G-series. It pretty much combines the point-and-shoot portability and functionality with dSLR quality. If the photos you have to take don't really need to be high-res then this is definitely a nice substitute for the clunky dSLRs. Of course, quality is sacrificed. This is perfect for me since I'll only be taking photos for vanity's sake. This baby will set you and I back by about $499. A bit cheaper than the Sony camera, plus I'm a sucker for Canon. So user-friendly!

Canon 450D/Digital Rebel XSi

Photo by DPREVIEW.COM

I guess I can say that this is the camera I'm most familiar with since this is the camera I usually borrow from my fabulous friend Lester when I travel. Yes, the ownership is kinda conjugal. Anyhoo, it's a breeze to use and is really user friendly. Yup, I have a Canon bias. The damage? $899 which includes the 18-55 IS lens. My only complaint is that its flash regularly gives up on us. The pop-up mechanism's not all that as most of the time we have to pry it up for it to work its magic for us. But still, the photo quality is superb.

So those are my camera lust-haves. We'll see how I can manage to get my hands on one of these babies. Stay tuned to see how this turns out. Wish me luck!