Casual Friday: Testing out Skinny Jeans

Never say never. For a casual Friday look, I decided to raid my mom's closet and purloin one of her skinny jeans. Now, I just need to explain something. Skinny jeans are not something I would normally choose for myself. In fact, when they first came out, the thought of wearing skinny jeans added a couple of wrinkles to my face. So when I was feeling bored with my closet choices, I decided to raid my mom's closet and check out her clothes without permission because that's what dutiful daughters do.

My mom and I do not have the same built. She never gains weight in her legs. She used to tell us about how her skirts were really short when she was still single. Unfortunately for me, I didn't get the skinny legs gene. 

Anyway, I still decided to bravely explore her closet and check out her skinny jeans. And here's the look I made using my mom's skinny jeans and my other clothes:

Uhm. It's not so bad after all. The skinny jeans I "borrowed" were made of a stretchy fabric and had a fabric waistband which was very forgiving. Good for avoiding the muffin top. I'm wearing the same Plains and Prints cardigan I wore here. My striped tank is a gift from my mom. The "necklace" I'm wearing is the detachable charm of a black dress which I recycled.

Here are some of the things I realized from this skinny jeans experiment:

1. Wearing your skinny jeans with heels elongates the legs and makes you look taller. I am wearing Stella Luna heels in the picture. These heels are about 4 and half inches tall with a 1.5 inch platform which allows me to comfortably wear them all day. 

2. A longer top keeps the look balanced and prevents you from getting conscious about your skinny jeans. I really am very conscious about my bottom half but the long top I'm wearing skims across the biggest parts of my thighs. The cardigan fabric was also not too clingy but drapes over the body for a nice silhouette.

3. Don't be afraid to try new things. What surprised me the most was that skinny jeans when done right could actually be very flattering. I received many compliments for my outfit today from people who commented that I was looking slimmer.

I may experiment with skinny jeans some more in future outfits. At the end of the day, if what you're wearing doesn't work, you can always take them off that night and start anew in the morning.

Thanks for stopping by!

Corporate Fashion: Black Suit

You really need the essential pieces in your office wardrobe. One of them would be a black suit. I took a break from sartorial experimentation to don a simple black suit since I had a hearing and had to conduct a cross-examination of the other party's witness. Here's what I wore:

Black suit by Theme, Scarf by Forever 21, Shoes by Nine West

The picture was taken at night since I got back so late from my hearing. My basic black suit is from Theme, a brand known for their corporate wear. You can find their stores here in the Philippines as well as in Singapore and Hong Kong.

The scarf is from Forever 21. You can't see it too much from the photo but it's a leopard print in gray. I like adding scarves to jazz up my suit. Unfortunately, it leaves me open to joking remarks from my office mates as to when my next flight would be as they associate scarves with flight attendants.

Wearing my basic Nine West peep toe pumps.

If clothing was armor, then the black suit should be one of the first lines of defense.

Thanks for stopping by!

Corporate Fashion: Dressing for the Rainy Day

Last Tuesday, I woke up to howling winds and heavy rains. By 7 am, power in our house went down so I had to scramble to assemble an outfit for work. Lesson learned: prepare your outfit the night before. Typhoon Pedring raged across the metro causing havoc in its path. And here's what I wore to work:

As you can see, I obviously dressed for comfort.

My gray jacket is another export overrun find. It's by a brand called Apt. 9. Did some internet research and this brand is available at Kohl's. You can get my jacket in black for USD48.10 (on sale from USD 74). I got mine for way less. Other color available was an olive green. The jacket is in a ponte material which has a very knitty feel to it. It kept me warm throughout the day so was pretty happy.

I added the floral printed top to put in a better mood in the dreary weather. I love how the floral pattern transforms me to happy summer days. The ruffle at the neck adds a nice detail. I plan to wear the top with jeans in the future. My top had no label but you can find a similar one in a different print at Banana Republic.

My black pants are another K and Company sale purchase. Invest in basics like these for your office wardrobe.

Finally, my shoes. Ah, the perils of dressing in the dark. Struggled to find pumps to wear and just grabbed the nearest pair. The shoes are O Oscar by Oscar de la Renta. It's his lower-priced line which does not seem to be available. They're round toe, patent platform pumps in BROWN. Sigh, it's a good thing it's not so noticeable in the picture. Yes, I know that I black and brown can be worn together.

Thanks for stopping by!

Weekend Finds: Prints Crazy

Weekend Finds

The Corporate Fashion Slave was very busy last weekend. Made a trip with friends to our favorite store and, as you can see, I went a little overboard with the prints. With the weather this gloomy, prints are definitely one way to brighten your mood.

Catch these prints in my next posts.

Thanks for stopping by! 

Corporate Fashion: Red Trench Coat

Rainy days and Mondays get you down? Wear a red trench coat like I did:



Red trench coat by Mango

Got the red trench coat when Mango went on sale last year so I don't think it's available anymore. The fabric is waterproof and perfect for trudging around in this rainy weather. Check out the beige and blue versions being sold by Mango on their website.

I wanted rain boots to go with my outfit instead of plain heels but I had a sneaking suspicion that I might end up looking like Paddington bear. What do you think?

Here's what I wore underneath the trench coat:



Dress by New York and Company

 The dress is from my favorite export overrun store and is from the brand New York and Company. They have similar dresses now on their website. Check here, here and here for the animal print version. The dresses on the website go for about 70 to 80USD but I got my dress for only 600php (USD15, approximate).

Heels are from Nine West and my ring is from H and M. Actually, it's my sister's ring which I borrowed. I'm hoping wearing this ring will cure my obsession for the YSL Arty ring but I doubt it.

Thanks for stopping by!

Corporate Break: Weekend Look using Miss-Match

 Trying out Miss-Match. It's the local version of Polyvore. Here's a weekend look I created:

Key pieces to the look:

White shirt - I love the clean and simple look of a good white shirt. The rolled-up sleeves are a bonus.

Long Skirt - I'm more comfortable wearing a skirt over jeans. Loving how easy and breezy this skirt feels.

Leopard print wedges - I love the leopard print. Wedges are perfect for the weekend.

Printed scarf - This colors of this scarf are a perfect complement to the leopard print wedges

Earrings - I love hoop earrings. I really think they jazz up a look.

Red bag - The red splash of color is refreshing and the polka dots feel so happy. 

Do you also create looks on Miss-Match? The best part about it is that all items are available locally. Really bad for the wallet but it makes creating the looks you want less aspirational and more achievable with the click of a mouse.

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great weekend!

Corporate Fashion: Amazon FSG - Luxe Cardigan

Here's the Refined Cardigan look from the Amazon Fall Style Guide:

Photo: Amazon

And here's how I recreated the look for less:

Key pieces:

Outdoor Shot

The original cardigan recommended by Amazon is the Joie Liz cardigan for USD248 (Php9920 approximate). My wallet would have cried. The green cardigan is the Camilla boyfriend cardigan from Plains and Prints (Php995, USD20, approximate). I went with green as I wanted to update my color choices.  It worked really well with the navy tank. The cardigan also comes in black and gray. Tempted to get all colors.

My navy silk tank is a find from the Shopaholic! brand at the Girls Teens Wear section of SM Department Store. It retails for (Php499.50, USD13, approximate). It also comes in lilac. Here's a tip, if you plan to buy items worth Php1000 or more from the Girls Teens Wear department, ask the salesladies for a coupon to give you Php100 off. Every little bit counts.

More finds from SM Department Store include the snakeskin print belt (Php149.50, USD4 approximate). I went a little crazy at the belts section because I wanted to update my look with new belts. SM really has it all for you! You can't beat this price.

The pleated skirt is from Iora, a Singaporean brand. I bought this several years ago when I went to Singapore for vacation so I can't remember the price. I do know it was under Php1000 upon conversion and was 70% off.

My shoes are by Dolce Vita, purchased from My Habit. I only wore the shoes to fully recreate the essence of the look for this shot since I don't own booties. The shoes are surprisingly comfortable despite the 5" heels. However, I actually used a more conservative pair of gray peep-toe pumps for work.

The long necklace is my mother's. Grabbed it (with permission) from her dresser.

Have a nice day and thanks for stopping by.

Corporate Fashion: Lace Skirt

One of the blogs I follow is Extrapetite. No, I'm not extra petite, far from it. But I love her sense of style and her style tips which I then try to incorporate into my everyday outfits for work. In one of her posts, she featured a lovely lace skirt:

 Source

Since then, I've been on the hunt for a similar skirt. On a recent trip to one of those export overrun stores, I stumbled upon a lace skirt that came in black and cream. I pounced on both colors. The skirts were priced at Php400 each (USD10 approximate). With a little haggling, I got both skirts for only Php700 (USD18 approximate). I couldn't wait to take these skirts out for a spin. So here's my take on wearing the cream lace skirt to work:

 Sorry for the poor quality of my picture. I'm too lazy to bring my DSLR camera to work.

I'm wearing the black version of the Jupiter top featured in this Plains and Prints ad. 

The fabric is very comfortable. Do drop by the Plains and Prints store and check out the different tops. The one I'm wearing is priced at Php895 (USD23 approximate). 


I'm loving this lace skirt and I can't wait to wear it in other ways in the coming weeks.