Let My Neon Glow

Earlier today,

me and my friends decided to schedule a shoot for our blogs.

Since the weather is always unpredictable, I decided to compose an outfit that'll keep me safe and comfortable whether it'll be raining or not.

and this is what I came up with:

For this look, I chose to wear a scarf, and i'm glad I did!

This is because scarves can be worn on both sunny and rainy weathers, making it appropriate for the complicated season that we have in the Philippines today.

Another thing is that, unlike jackets; scarves are less-hassle in case the weather will be hot for the day. One can simply remove it and keep it in his/her bag.

Aside from its function, this scarf is also really attractive.

I love how the classic camouflage print is mixed with neon green palettes to add more quirk and flair to it.

In order to compliment the scarf better, I also wore matching neon camouflage belt and bag.

(Look! i'm glowing)

Since i'm wearing a lot of neon colored elements, I also decided to take pictures in a dark area.

To better highlight my neons, I chose to wear a shirt and pants that are in the same shade.

I just love how my shirt looks like denim, when in fact it is actually made from a really light and cool material.

To finish off the look, I decided to once again, accessorize with camo.

I have an addiction to it! trust me, it's not normal. LOL

(mother father gentleman. LOL)

Outfit Details:

Top - Folded & Hung

Jeans - Folded & Hung

Boots - 21 Men

Scarf - Terranova

Belt - Terranova

Bag - Terranova

Watch - Cross Hair Manila (Visit their Instagram page!)

Bad Child

If you've been reading my blog posts lately,

you must have noticed how big a fan I am for Disney.

Simply because it reminds me of my childhood.

By reading my blog, you can also notice that my style is kinda grungy and somewhat rebellious. 

Because of this, I might get you confused on how Disney is related to my style.

Sure, I'm not really sparkly and such; but I happen to buy and wear clothes that have details that reminds me of my beloved childhood.

And this outfit is no exception:

Since it had been raining lately in the Philippines,

I can once again wear my leather and get away with it.

I have a love/hate relationship with the rainy season.

This is because, usually during the day; the sun shines so bright giving no hint of what's gonna come for the afternoon or evening which is rain.

And since I can't ask the weather to adjust with me, I'll just adjust to it. 

That is why I have another version of this outfit, this time for the sunny weather:

The key element in this outfit, I think is the muscle tee.

This muscle tee, reminds me of who I am.

For it manages to combine both being Grungy and being a huge Disney fan.

I just love how bad ass Mickey looks there :D <3

I matched this dapper muscle tee, with my leather running shorts.

This one is designed and made by a schoolmate of mine named Neal Corpuz, and I just adore how genius he made these shorts look. 

He combined grunge with being sporty, creating a masculine vibe for short shorts.

To top it all off, I decided to go with this statement-full shoes from Jeremy Scott's collection from Adidas.

All in all, I'm really happy with this look.

Honestly, it's one of my favorites :)

Muscle Tee from SOSHph

Leather Jacket from Muradito

Leather Running Shorts from NLPZ

Shoes from Adidas

Edward's Not Dead

"If you can live forever, what do you live for" 

- Twilight

I know, I know;

Twilight's already done and it's not trending anymore,

but the outfit that I wore on my brother's birthday earlier this week

made me feel like the leading man(or should I say vampire?) from that movie:

Yep, I'm talking about Edward Cullen.

Believe it or not, he was not in my mind when I composed this outfit.

It is the weather and my freshly dyed hair that served as my inspiration for this.

It's the weather because when I woke up that day, the blue sky is already covered with gray clouds signifying that it'd be rainy.

And my hair, because this'll be my 1st outfit post featuring it; so it has to be special.

Speaking of special, I believe that the special element of this outfit is my khaki coat.

I find this coat really really likable for it manages to transform any outfit and make it look classy.

I especially loved the collar of this coat.

Under that coat however is another element of clothing that I really like.

This one is a cotton button down that looks like it is made from denim.

I think that is clever for it makes it easy to wear during sunny days in our tropical country.

This button down also has paint-splattered details that made it look more interesting and unique.

It is definitely a scene stealer, for people always compliment me when i'm wearing this.

For my shoes, I decided to go for these stylish red option.

This is because I wanted to feature a pop of color into my outfit.

And that's it!

What do you think of my overall look, guys?

Coat from Oxygen

Button down shirt from Penshoppe

Pants from muradito

Shoes from Salvatore Mann

Watch from Casio

My Fashion Inspirations

"Style is knowing who you are, what you want to say, and not giving a d*mn" - Gore Vidal

When asked to describe my style, I just don't know how to put it in words.

Basically because it is influenced by a lot of things that used to and are currently surrounding me.

I can say however that music plays a very big role for me in dressing up, because

every time I feel uninspired; I just play some and these will urge me to create looks that are inspired by the songs. Not necessarily duplicating the way the singers look, but using the emotions the songs give me to produce something creative by means of styling.

An outfit example from me that is inspired by a song is this:

(photo from Corine Sibug)

- This is the outfit that I wore for a party called "Intensity" last year, and it was inspired by Miley Cyrus' hit song: Party in the USA

The afternoon that I spent preparing for that event was special because, I just listened to the song and it led me to conduct this really fun and youthful outfit.

Speaking of Miley Cyrus, i'm obviously a big fan of her.

And yes, it is not only her music that inspires me to dress up but also Miley as a person herself.

Miley is one of my style icons. Maybe because ever since I was in 6th grade, Hannah Montana is my favorite TV show. 

I just love the fact that I grew up with her, from teaching me how to wear ordinary jackets with jeans, Miley also taught me to be daring and fearless.

Trivia: I used to be obsessed with her during the Hannah Montana days, that I even have posters and tons of other Hannah merchandise. Haha, I was such a creep.

Being a teenager, it is normal for me to find myself and undergo a lot of processes in order to find who I really am. During this process, I managed to find another girl and treat her as my style icon:

It's Jenny Humphrey!

Yes, i'm talking about the Gossip Girl character Jenny and not the actress Taylor Momsen who protrayed her. This is because Jenny's style is grungy yet adventurous while Taylor is plain rock and roll.

From season to season, I witnessed the evolution of this character. I saw how changing and making your style better every time is what makes people be attracted to you. That is why I am a big fan of changing, not changing the whole me, but adding elements in which I believe I can be better with.

Based on this posts so far, my style is inspired by women, and I think that is one of my assets.

For I can grab ideas from them and make it masculine and original.

But of course,

men also helped in cultivating my style:

Vini Uehara

If you're a lookbook fan, the you must know Vini.

He is one of the most famous people there who received numerous hypes already.

For me, his style is the definition of "Dope."

And last, but definitely not the least:

David Guison

David is a a successful style and lifestyle blogger from the Philippines.

He is the one who showed me that Filipinos can be swaggy even in our hot country.

All you need to do is find the perfect timing to wear your clothes and pay attention to details.

Another thing that I find commendable to David is his personality.

Not so long ago, I was lucky enough to meet him for a styling event.

There, he didn't just showed me his talent in clothes but also his friendly and "kalog" personality.

(formal and wacky)

(Before and after of being Guisonized using Collezione's latest collection - photo taken from David's blog)

Being inspired doesn't mean duplicating.

It's a process of having the same heart for a certain vibe and producing something original from it.

So, those are the people who inspire me to dress up;

Who are yours?

Casual Prince

"Will you marry me, Cinderella?" - Prince Charming

One fact about me is that I always plan what I wear. 

No, I don't feel obligated or forced to do this; in fact I actually enjoy mix and matching clothes in my mind and figuring out the occasion where I can wear the planned outfit.

Last Thursday, I woke up feeling like a prince. It's prolly because of my new bed sheet and the breakfast that was served for me (mom's delish pancakes.)

 This affected my outfit-planning routine that I do everyday, thus making me come up with this outfit:

I wanted to look like a prince.

A prince who is confident, regal and free spirited at the same time,

so I decided to go for this button down that enhances the form of my body and has unique details which makes its design look original and thought through.

The design that i'm talking about are these synthetic leather pieces that're placed cleverly on specific parts of the shirt. I love the idea, for i'm a sucker for leather; and this shirt gives me a license to wear leather even on a sunny day.

But of course, since I'm only going to school. I don't wanna look like a literal prince and be too dressy;

so I matched my dressy shirt with my normal everyday jeans.

Like my shirt, I am also in love with these jeans for it hugs my body well while being comfortable.

For my shoes, I went for a casual one that has the same color of my pants.

This is a technique I use to make my legs look longer and myself look taller. :D

For my watch,

I also went for something casual, to dress down my dressy shirt.

Button down shirt from Muradito

Pants from Folded and Hung

Shoes from Penshoppe

Watch borrowed from my brother

Mini Outfit Post: Against the Rain

Hi guys!

I would like to share with you the outfit that I wore to school last Wednesday:

If you're living in Manila, then you are probably aware that it rained non-stop last Wednesday;

but that didn't stop me from wearing something lightweight and summery.

Why oh why? well it's simply because I wanted to feel the coldness in the climate as brought by the rainy season. 

And since it's seldom for our country to get chilly, I decided to embrace it. :)

If it gets too cold, my Denim button down got my back ;)

White long sleeved top - Maldita Man

Denim button down - Muradito

Shorts - Ralph Lauren

Shoes - Sebago

Watch - Casio

Accessories - from various stores

Thanks for reading :D

p.s. Sorry for the low quality pics! I only used my phone for this one, for I left my camera at home.

Hear Me Roar

If you're a follower of trends,

It is most likely that you already have an element of clothing that has a picture of an animal printed on it.

This trend has been going on for a while now and many people already did their take on it,

and now is my turn:

For the animal portrait trend look, I decided to go for monochromatic colors.

This is because I wanted to look edgy, but not too flashy.

Aside from from wanting to be edgy, comfort is another thing that I considered while composing this outfit;

and that is why I ended up wearing this really really comfy harem pants together with my trusted military boots.

(The tiger wants to eat cha!)

I love the tiger portrait that is printed on this muscle tee!

He looks like he's posing for a wacky shot, haha

But my favorite part of this top would probably be the spiked details on its shoulder.

I think it's a genius way make a statement and be different among all those muscle tees out there.

Muscle Tee from Local Celebrity Manila

Harem pants from Divisoria

Boots from 21 Men

Accessories from Divisoria

Beauty in the Eyes of the Industry

"Beauty is the enemy. We try to conquer not feeling beautiful all our lives. It's a battle that can't be won. There's no definition of beauty. The only way to achieve beauty is to feel it from the inside without breaking it down into individual physical attributes." 

- Miley Cyrus

Unless you've been living under a rock for the past years,

 it is a fact that a lot of Fashion Designers and firms consider ultra-thin people to serve as models for their merchandise. 

This had been a trending topic for sometime because a lot of these models are actually facing eating disorders, plus people who aren't as thin as them often end up with negative feelings about their bodies.

Since my blog is entitled "I PREACH Fashion," I am motivated to share my thoughts and experiences about the different issues surrounding the Fashion industry. 

And now, I will talk about Anorexia and the fear of gaining wait for the love of beauty.

Back on my early teen years, I can say that I used to be chubby.

(back when I was around 13 or 14. Haha, cute no?)

 This is because I didn't really care about how I look back then, and having fun with the things life has to offer for a kid is somewhat my passion.

But as I grew up, I started to be interested in Fashion and I saw how being beautiful is portrayed by the media. It is often in the movies and TV-series that the actors who are thin often plays the lead role. The fat one ends up as a sidekick or if ever he/she is the protagonist; his/her struggle about weight is shown in the story. 

As a teenager, these things affected me.

 Like everyone else, I also wanted to be seen as beautiful, but I felt like the fat that are in my body are impeding the people from seeing the beauty in me.

To make things worse, I also felt like I've been a victim of bullying back on my early high school years because of my many physical insecurities.

The pressure vested upon me by the media and the Fashion industry's view of beauty, served as my inspiration to lose weight and make myself look better.

 However, due to my busy schedule brought about by school; It was unlikely for me to find the time to exercise. Thus, making me try a wrong and dangerous way to lose weight: NOT EATING.

Okay, maybe i'm exaggerating a bit. Of course I ate during those days, but only a little. I limited myself to eating only one pack of crackers per day. Doing this, resulted into negative effects like me losing focus in school and getting all cranky all day, everyday. However, I still continued doing it for I used to believe that the effect of losing weight outweighs all these negative effects.

In more or less 3 months, my weight loss became obvious and visible to other people. My family, friends and acquaintances often complimented me about it; because of this; I continued my unhealthy routine.

Maintaining it became surprisingly easy at this point because I already lost my interest in eating. In fact, every time I see food, I don't get enticed by it anymore. In fact I see it as something unattractive.

Another 3 months have passed and I continued to lose weight, but this time I'm not getting compliments anymore, Instead I received a lot of negative reactions.

People told me that I look so thin, and unhealthy. They noticed how my eyes and face always look tired and how scarily visible my hipbone was.

(left pic: 14 year old me, Right: the time when people are reacting negatively to my weight loss)

Because of this, I came into a realization that maybe I have a problem. By that time, I was also able to catch an episode of Tyra Bank's talk show where she featured girls who are dieting extremely in order to lose weight. In this episode, I learned that it is dangerous to this and I shouldn't continue living with it anymore.

My recovery came out smoothly all thanks to Jesus Christ. I prayed to Him and asked for guidance on how to break free from being enslaved by an eating disorder.

Maybe extreme dieting helped me in losing weight, but I am not proud of attaining it by doing this.

In fact, if I can turn back the time; I would rock clothes with my plump body and always remind myself not to be affected by what other people say for it is the inside that counts.

So for all those plump ladies and men who have the confidence to dress up and strut their stuff, I commend you guys. :) Continue being modern day inspirations for our modern generation that needs help.

Thanks for reading this ultra long post!

- Raf :D

Disney Inspired Fashion Sketches Wave 2

And the posts inspired by Disney continues!

This time, i'm going to show you three Fashion sketches inspired by one classical Disney movie:

Cinderella

And so you ask, how come Cinderella gets a special treatment of three looks?

Well, it's simply because, even though Sleeping Beauty is my favorite, the movie Cinderella still has the most memorable and classical story line of them all. Plus, she featured the greatest number of costumes compared to other princesses in their respective movies; so I figured she should also have the most designs from me too.

In the movie, Cinderella is shown in 6 different costumes: her nightgown, her maid costume, the pink dress, the ruined pink dress, the bluish white gown and her wedding gown.

 From these, I decided to get three looks and use them as my inspirations for my designs.

The first costume that served as my inspiration is the one made by Cinderella's critter friends for her.

I remember back when I was a kid, I always insist that dress looks so much better than her signature one; but enough about that, let's move on to my design:

Using the pink dress as my inspiration, I was able to come up with another pink dress. This time, I made it more modern and sassier. I was able to do this by making the dress short and adding fun elements to it like sequins and frills. 

(Sorry for the random emo quote, haha)

For the second  look, I once again used the pink dress as my inspiration; but this time it was already in its bad condition as made by Cinderella's step sisters,

and this is what I came up with:

Okay, maybe she looks more like Lady GaGa than Cinderella, LOL; but anyway

for this look, I was able to channel my grungy style.

Since Cinderella's dress is ripped, I decided to recreate this look by ripping a white sweater in random ways.

This way, I was able to make a design that is not literally Cinderella but still inspired by her.

And of course, I can't afford to forget her signature gown.

And this is my version of it.

As you can see, I removed the poofiness of the dress, this is because I decided to make it look sexier and more seductive.

This way Cinderella will be sure that her prince will always stay by her side. ;-)

Aside from revising the dress, I also edited her glass slippers.

I made 'em into glass stripper heels, for a more modern vibe.

So once again, here are the three looks I made for Cinderella:

Which one is your fave?