A Gift To Last ☃

Clean and crisp! Something I'm trying out now. I've had the boyish style and edgy style going on for the last few years, now I'm trying to channel my feminine side! :)

I ABSOLUTELY LOVE SKIRTS. I don't really like going out in pants, except that in school, we have a dress code and sometimes I don't wanna risk getting an offense just cause I prefer skirts. :( But during weekends, free days, and rebellious days, you'll always find me sporting a skirt :)

Trousers are my way of incorporating my boyish side with my feminine side, I could wear a lace or chiffon top with it and some wedges or brogues and still look feminine but structured. :) As for palazzo pants, I have enormous thighs (haha, that's a bit too dramatic but that's how I see it!), and these pants will not only cover them up perfectly, but also it'll make me look taller :)

I know the fur vest isn't a blazer, but I just mixed it in :) haha. Anyway, I love structured pieces like blazers. I always feel extra chic in them! Whenever I feel lazy, I'll put on a dress and throw a blazer over and voila! It makes your outfit look really polished, especially if you pair it with a statement watch :)

Givenchy has been one of my favorite brands this year. They've totally revamped the brand and made it mainstream again :) The nightingale bag is just perfection as well as the pepe clutches! :)

Despite living in a tropical country, I have quite a collection of scarves. Whenever I wear a plain tank and decide to not accesorize, I usually end up throwing on a scarf to get that Hollywood fashionista vibe. Haha :) 

MY CURRENT OBSESSION. I love bib necklaces!! I usually don't wear printed clothes, so in order to make my outfit more interesting, I wear one of these babies! The pop of color, shape, and texture brings out the beauty in any outfit :)

This is something I picked up from my mom. My mom collects watches, and she believes that this is the best and most useful accessory ever created -- and I agree with her. I realized that when I look at girls who look so polished, it's usually cause they're toting a really nice watch (usually, men's watches for me).

The YSL designs have been so beautiful lately! I noticed it early this year and have been eyeing their bags and clutches for some time now :) It's very classy working girl :) 

Wedges and platforms are some of the styles I've been into lately :) It's so comfortable yet stylish to be walking around in these heels which is my main consideration since I'm a student at a university :) I can't wear anything too flashy or too high since people will talk about me like I'm some nut, so I opt for more subtle styles, colors and heights :)

I went gaga over Prada when they came out with their nylon collection! However, I couldn't find any pictures on polyvore, so instead I put the leather goods instead :) Prada has always kept their styles classy and crisp but still very updated. I used to not be a fan since I felt that the designs were too "old", but now I'm learning to appreciate a good structured silhouette :)

For my phone, which I have a relationship with.. Haha! I never leave home without it and it never goes "undressed". I have a huge collection of iPhone cases that I change depending on my mood :) These are the cutest cases I've seen in a while and I can't wait to get my hands on them :)

Feel free to ask questions or to comment on this post! Tweet me at @HelloCarliexx :) Happy holidays!

The Jet Set ✈

Sundays are shopping days for me :) It's the only day in the week wherein I have my mom to myself the whole day, which means more kaching! Haha. We haven't been able to spend much time the last few because I've been busy with school work and moving in the condo. So, when I finally cleared my weekend, I made sure to sneak in some shopping. Here's what I got this weekend! 

(Pink Sleeveless Skater Dress, SM Department Store)

In my previous post, I was wearing the teal version of this dress. I got so many compliments, so I decided to pick it up in another color :)

(Heart Detailed Dress, SM Department Store)

This was a lucky find! I usually find some of my cutest clothes in the kids department of SM at cheaper prices. And if you're wondering how is it that I fit into children's clothes, I'll have you know that they carry size 18, which fits me perfectly. Haha.

Close up of the print. It's actually red and dark blue, not black. :)

The skirt part of the dress. :)

(White Knit Sweater with Elbow Patch, Forever 21)

I'm just trying out the whole elbow patch style that Zara and Forever 21 have been sporting. It has this very industrial revolution feel -- like a young boy in the coal mine with the whole newspaper boy hat, brown trousers and suspenders. Haha! I over think things. :)

Back portion of the top :)

(Dark Blue Knit Sweater with Elbow Patches, Forever 21)

Hope you enjoyed today's posts! :) If you have any questions, you can tweet me at @HelloCarliexx :) Hope to hear from you soon!

Sleeping Beauty ♕

Blazer: Mom's closet

Dress: SM Department Store

Belt: Forever 21

Shoes: Jellybean

Necklace: Tiffany & Co.

I wore this to an evening at the ballet. Ciaeli and I watched Sleeping Beauty at CCP -- which is quite odd since usually this time of the year, it's the Nutcracker that most ballet companies show. Nevertheless, the show was beautiful.

This, by far, is one of my favorite outfits ever. The silhouette of the dress, the unconventional flowy blazer which is like a deconstruction of the common square-ish blazers, the studded belt which brought a sort of edginess to the over-all feminine outfit, and the mix of white, brown and gold into one perfect pair of shoes. Hope you like it :)

And The Pretty Problem

The title of my entry today is from one of my new favorite TV series' called "2 Broke Girls"! It stars Kat Dennings as Max, who comes from a poor working-class family, and Caroline played by Beth Behrs, who was born rich but is now down on her luck, working together at a Brooklyn restaurant. Each episode ends with a running tally of the money they earned out of the $250,000 they need to open a cupcake business. 

(Source: Screen Junkies)

Coincidentally, the title also is very apt for the trouble I went through earlier tonight while I was trying to pick out shoes from my forever favorite department store, SM. Haha. They had just recently released the fashion week collection and I rushed over before they ran out of stock (which is usually quick). I was leaning towards the Rajo Laurel collection, but decided not to purchase them because it wasn't really my style, however, it was NOT a disappointment at all! Rajo's work, like always, was spectacular :) Here are a couple of the stuff I purchased earlier :) Pardon the poor quality of the photos, I only had my phone with me and I'm really lazy to reshoot the products right now. :)

The perfect caption for this photo would really have to be "The Pretty Problem"! I really can't tell which one's prettier, so I picked out the dominantly grey one first then I'll probably come back for the other pair tomorrow. :)

The side view of the platforms. They look like their color palettes were just reversed, but actually the dominantly yellow one is yellow and silver not grey -- which I found to be a tad bit tacky, making it my 2nd choice :(

And the comparison... 

The lighting doesn't give justice to it's real color which is a pretty turquoise! My favorite :)

Better! Now you can clearly see the color :) The details are a pinkish orangish tone, I'm not sure if salmon or coral (my friend Cha would know cause she's obsessed with that color) haha :)

This beautiful floral dress caught my eye because of the vintage vibe you get from the print. But, the back part is what really got me!

Beautiful, right? :) I'm a sucker for unconventional back detailing!

I remember finding one like this in Topshop a couple of years back, but of course, I'm not one to spend anything more than 1000 for a dress. Luckily SM always comes up with cheaper, and in my opinion, better alternatives :)

Hope you guys enjoyed this entry! :) By the way, I'm trying to start up a make up portfolio or whatever you call it with me as the Make Up Artist :) Haha. If you'd like to be a model, or if you know someone who could potentially be a model, just tweet me @CarlieTops :) XO!

Gotta Be You ☹

Let me take some time away from my usual "fashion posts" and share something with you guys that's a bit more personal and close to the heart. As most of my friends know, I am quite the observant little lady (well, that's an understatement). I tend to lurk around facebook and twitter trying to get to know people through their posts and interactions with others.

Recently I've been quite intrigued by a certain "couple". Yes, quotation marks -- they're in that more than friends and less than lovers niche. Let's name them... Jenna and Matty. I've been on an Awkward craze lately and these two names are the best I could think of. Haha. Anyway. Matty is your typical manic flirter, while Jenna is the sweet, simple girl that most people would say is a girl for keeps. Jenna may have thought she stabilized the ever so vivacious Matty with the women here and there, however, her efforts were useless as Matty was back to his womanizing yet again. Let's just say poor, sweet Jenna had her heart broken, and she's going through a tough time right now. Yes, "Jenna". I read your tweets every now and then, and I feel for you.

I would usually brush off people with tweets of desperation, longing for their exes and wishing they could turn back time and make it right. Not only would I brush some off, I would even make fun of them. However with "Jenna", it made me feel like my crummy 4th year HS self again going through what could possibly have been the worst break up of my life, and I knew that what "Jenna" was going through was sincere pain.

So to my dear "Jenna", you don't know me and I don't know you personally either, but you seem like a sweet girl. The only thing I can impart to you is something a good friend of mine once told me, and I hold true to this day. She said "Wag mo ibigay lahat mo sa isang tao. Magtira ka rin para sa sarili mo, and isipin mo din yung susunod na dadating para sayo. Ano nalang mabibigay mo sakanya kapag inubos mo na lahat para sa iba?" The gist being that, it does get better. It may take a while for things to go your way, but it WILL one day. All the waiting and the pain will be worth it one day when you meet someone who actually knows how to reciprocate love. Be strong. Pray. :) I may not know you, but know that I love you.

xo,
Carla

Carla's 10 Fashion Staples ♡

Sunny Side Down

Hey cuties. It's been pretty rainy today, well very, actually. It's signal # 2 here in Manila, and classes were suspended! So I'll be catching up on some blog posts. The rainy season is usually hard to work around for me, fashion wise. I never really know what to wear during this season since the weather's a bit bipolar as well. It could be really rainy and really hot, which makes it quite confusing. Instead, I'll be updating you guys on what I'm raving about lately.

YSL Bags

Large  Classic Leather Muse in Beige

$ 1550.00

Y Clutch in Stingray Printed Leather

YSL rings!! THIS I REALLY LOVE ♡ They're really pricey though, retailing at around $400 each. :( So will have to save up for the best one! :)

Doesn't this remind you of my recent outfit post? :) Haha. She's sporting the YSL ring in turquoise that I've been lusting over!

Isn't this multicolored star charm bracelet adorable too? :) It reminds me a bit of Agatha Ruiz de la Prada designs!

American Apparel

Chiffon Full Length Skirts

$ 46.00

(She's my favorite American Apparel model, btw ;) Doesn't she look a bit like Cathy Nguyen?)

Corduroy Circle Skirt

$ 39.00

Mid Length Accordion Pleat Skirt

$ 52.00

Natural Denim Circle Skirt

$ 45.00

Interlock Mini Skirt

$ 32.00

Pique Full Woven Skirt

$ 38.00

( Doesn't this look remind you of my model Bea's outfit?)

Silky Shirred Waist Skirt

$ 35.00

Seersucker Full Woven Skirt

$ 38.00

Chambray Full Woven Skirt

$ 38.00

Stretch Bull Denim Shorts

$ 46.00

Light Wash High Waist Jean Cuff Short

$ 58.00

Denim Front Button Short

$ 46.00

Jersey Pocket Skirt

$30.00

That's all for tonight, folks. If you find any resemblance in my outfits to the photos you've seen here, now you know why. Haha. I like browsing around my favorite stores online and checking their lookbooks, and then integrating their style with mine. Hope you enjoyed my little photo spree.

xx,

Carla ♡✌☼