Blogoversary Series: Easy Breezy

One of the more frequent reminders I get from my mom is to Take It Easy.

I've always been the kind who stresses one's self too much whenever something needs to be done. 

I may not rant a lot amidst people but deep inside I am sick and full of complaints, frustrations, and ridiculous thoughts that are really oftentimes unnecessary. So I always end up realizing that I could have also achieved the same goals taking the easier path--the one that doesn't involve pessimism and pushing myself too hard. Sometimes it takes a trip to the spa or salon for me to realize that. XD

Because the first one was so lady-like and sophisticated (Blogoversary Series: Signature Poses) and the second was fun, girly, and youthful (Blogoversary Series: Twenteen Three), I wanted this part to just be as relaxed and effortless as possible--something that any girl could wear to the mall with friends.

Everyone loves skater skirts these days because of their versatility--they can be worn for day-to-day activities, in sports, or even in formal events depending the the top and shoes that you'll pair them with. Cropped tops like this are usually loose. Instead of tucking it in, I decided to pull one shoulder down to create a "skinny illusion". I'm using the same satchel as the Blogoversary Series: Twenteen Three post with it's hidden shoulder strap revealed. Very functional bag, isn't it?

Minus the shoes and accessories, this entire outfit from Stiles by Fabshop only costs: Php895!

cropped top: Php150

skater skirt: Php195

satchel: Php550

What a steal!

| cropped top, skater skirt, satchel: Stiles by Fabshop | sneaker wedges: Gifts Ahoy | aztec necklace: Mizar Clothing | neon bangles: SM Accessories | photography: April Garcia of Studio23 Photography-Events |

Hype this on Lookbook.nu here! 

If you want amazing photographs like the ones in this Blogoversary Series, "Like" Studio23 Photography-Events' page in Facebook or visit their newly-launched website via studio23.ph for affordable packages and personalized quotations!

I hope you enjoyed this blog series. :)

Much love,

Mela

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Blogoversary Series: Twenteen Three

Sometimes, I feel like I've missed a lot during my teenage years.

Being the homebuddy that I am, night parties, dancing, beer bonding sessions, and tambayans were never really my kind of stuff. I'd rather stay in my room and read a good book, go window shopping (until I end up shopping, uh-oh) or treat myself in the spa or salon. More often than not, I go through these simple adventures on my own.   

I know. I know. My life seems a bore. But looking back at my younger years, I believe that I also have a lot of stories to tell. Like reporting in national TV for KNN, exploring the province (and beyond!) for interesting segment scoops, meeting other young journalists, facilitating weekend retreats and encounters around the country, teaching Catechism on summer breaks, trying hard to be a ramp model, and various perks in between. My fashion blogging journey came a bit later but won't it be one exciting tale too?

Each of us grew up differently in different environments, from different families, with different groups of friends. With so many differences, I guess what really matters is living the best of our lives with each of own unique, best ways. By that, despite different pasts, presents, and futures, we can altogether someday look back at our lives with no bitterness and regrets.

May all of you, teenagers, enjoy your teenage years as much as I did!

This part of my Blogoversary Series is inspired by my teenage self.

My usual activities were spinster-ish but there was never a time that I forgot to look presentable and be the girly-girl that I am. I've been in love with colors since the day I got my first Barbie doll. Even now, I still enjoy playing dress up (with myself as the Barbie this time--haha). I loved how these pieces from Stiles by Fabshop exuded my fun, preppy and youthful side. 

Knowing that Stiles is a sponsor to top bloggers like Laureen Uy, I was also apprehensive of not being able to give justice to their products. Thank goodness for April Garcia of Studio23 Photography-Events, the entire outfit turned out as beautiful as it is in person. Thanks also to her friend, Caroline, for helping us out. :)

| peplum top, animal print leggings, satchel: Stiles by Fabshop | bohemian wedges: Asian Vogue | 

photography: April Garcia of Studio23 Photography-Events |

Hype this on Lookbook.nu here!

Having your birthday, anniversary, or wedding soon? 

You might want to avail of Studio23 Photography-Events's Summer Promo! The studio package above is now marked down from Php700 to Php350! It's the perfect gift to your inaanaks (godchildren), too. 

Visit their office or contact them via the numbers above for more details!

You can also follow them on INSTAGRAM:

@stilesbyfabshop

@itsmetatzy

Missed the first part of my Blogoversary Series? Click the link below to keep up:

Blogoversary Series: Signature Poses

Have an amazing week everyone! :D

Much love,
Mela

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Blogoversary Series: Signature Poses

April is What,When and Wearabouts' birth month!

This blog turned two last April 1st and to celebrate my second anniversary as a blogger, I'll be showcasing a three-part series in collaboration with Studio23 Photography-Events and Stiles by Fabshop.

Studio23 Photography-Events is the love child of the sweet, kikay events and portrait photographer extraordinaire, April Garcia. Ever since its debut on February of this year, Studio23 Photography-Events has proven its sparkle with creative and affordable packages for weddings, product launches, conferences, private parties like debuts and university balls, home and outdoor photography throughout Metro Iloilo. Studio23 Photography-Events is located at Unit 202D, 2nd Floor Perpetual Succor Business Centre Building, 38 San Agustin Street, Iloilo City. They cater to out-of-town clients, too!

I was also very thrilled when Stiles by Fabshop agreed on a double collab. I've had boutique and brand sponsorships before but this was the first time for me to actually handpick, pull out and style items that I liked for a shoot. Hearing from the countries' top bloggers, I always thought that pulling out is fun and as easy as dumping clothes in a shopping cart; but the sea of pretty clothes in Stiles made my mini-errand a little bit more challenging. If the mind-boggling stress of pathology and microbio practical exams was like this, I would never ever complain of daily exam schedules. :D

Here's one of my top three picks from their latest collection. 

What do you think?    

| top and skirt: Stiles by Fabshop | shoes: Janeo by SM Dept Store | bangles: Maruyog Charms | 

photography by April Garcia of Studio23 Photography-Events |

Stiles by Fabshop is located at Shopper's Avenue Valeria Street, Iloilo City (beside Coffee Break, in front of ACE Hardware). Visit their Facebook page for stylish and pocket-friendly pieces!

You can also follow them on INSTAGRAM:

@stilesbyfabshop

@itsmetatzy

There are thousands of fashion bloggers around the world. 

But in my little niche called Roxas Hall, I think I am the only one. Being an ordinary med student and a blogger at the same time is awkward, embarrassing, and very very humbling. More often than not, I walk the corridors in lousy, full-support stockings (ughhh to weakling veins) with no makeup or colorful accessories as I usually do in my blog photos. One can easily make a "Reality vs Expectations" meme out of my med student vs blogger facades. Seriously. =.=

Despite all that, I'm very thankful for my friends and classmates' support even if that means endless taunts, wacky and exaggerated versions of my poses, and saying "Wear is *__insert name here__*" to whoever doctor or classmate or faculty wearing stylish clothes. Those brief moments of laughter always make my day. 

Now here's a tribute to the best friends and batchmates in the world.

Check out their "Wear is Mela" poses. HAHAHA

| photos from Glenn Oyson and Mark Alfabeto |

I love you groupmates (with good fashion sense)! :P


Much love,

Mela

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Found By Fleet

Ola! Sorry, but I'll be shamelessly plugging something again for this month. Hihi. 

I've been chosen as one of the three candidates for Fleet Collection's Found By Fleet Campaign for February. 

If you could lend me a few seconds of your time, please visit this link and like my entry:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=439963206072912&set=a.267123643356870.60110.155794431156459&type=1&permPage=1

Simple, yes? You can also like Fleet Collection's page. They're worth a subscription. The dresses are really dainty. :) Aaand, don't worry! I'm not leaving you empty-handed. By reading this post, you'll automatically get a 15% discount coupon for an entire order from Fleet Collection.

Discount Code: FLEETMELA15

There, I shan't keep you any longer. Thanks in advance, guys! It's always awkward getting into Facebook liking contests but your help will be very much appreciated. Thanks to April Garcia, too--for taking this photo. Guess what, she's opening her own studio on the 8th! It's called Studio 23 Photography. Congratulations, dear! You can click this link for a full scoop of my outfit above: http://www.wearismela.com/2012/09/conspiracy-theory.html

See you around!

Much love, 

Mela

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Outfit Repeater

If you happen to be a 90's kid like me, you could have also watched Hillary Duff's The Lizzie Mcguire Movie in your teenage years. Remember how she was humiliated by Kate Sanders for wearing exactly the same powder blue dress from the spring dance? Dreadful. Or Jamie in A Walk To Remember--mocked for wearing the same ugly sweater since kindergarten. Just typical mean-insecure-it-girls-bullying-the-class-nerds high school scenes, uh-huh, but those kind of stuck on me.

 As much as I want my closet to be an endless pit, it just isn't. There will always be that favorite dress or top that I will never get tired of wearing over and over again. Or that only pair of leather jeans I have that does magic to whatever top I pair it with. We all have our own outfit-repeating stories to tell. In fact, we're all guilty of being outfit repeaters once or twice or even a dozen more times in our lifetime. And guess what, nothing's wrong with it! 

Now let me tell you a little secret. The sad part of personal style blogging away from home (as I always say) is not having a camera and a brother (who patiently takes my photos) handy. It's attending events and wearing blog-worthy outfits and not being able to document them.  

I celebrated my birthday with a few friends and classmates last October 13 and as a yearly tradition, I get myself a new dress, a.k.a. birthday dress. So on that same day, I searched for April and ambushed her on a party just to take my photos. How desperate! Anyway, it took her a while to send me the photos (no worries girl, I totally understand!), so I re-wore everything from eyewear to shoes during our vacay just so I'd have my birthday outfit taken. Good thing, my hair's digipermed already (yes, yes, yes, I am now curly!) and I forgot some accessories at home; thus making outfit-repeating a little more subtle. Oh, what a hairstyle-change can do! XD 

And finally, the original birthday outfit photos! Thank you so much, April!

| eyewear: SM Accessories | necklace: Mizar Clothing | dress: SM GTW | bag: Guess | shoes: AsianVogue | First 5 photos by: Ralph Delfin | Last 2 photos by April Garcia of Sugar Plum Studio |

Call me outfit repeater or whatever label you want, but I will surely wear this dress again. It's just so pretty not to! :D

To those wondering why I still haven't posted the PFW photos yet, I'm sorry I forgot to bring them over when I left my hometown after the break. :( I hope this makes up for my forgetfulness in the meantime. Besides, I'm also very excited to share with you guys that the Style Bible team approached me after the show to take this photo!

 

Click this link to view it on their website: http://www.stylebible.ph/gallery/popup/parties/4330#18_1351570201103012

Check out the other photos in the gallery as well!

Have a blessed Sunday, everyone!

Much love,

Mela

P.S. Have you joined this giveaway? Giveaway Alert : WWW x Put It On

I'll be giving away loads of neon accessories soon, so keep posted!

P.P.S. I am finally on Instagram! Because I shall be busy in the coming weeks, I might update it more often than my blog! Follow away: wearismela

Hats Off

(necklace: Bubbles, bangles: SM Kids Accessories)

My photos scream girly because of this girl. Meet April! :D

And her friend, Myla, who added more yellowness to my already bright and yellow day!

(hat: SM Accessories)

photos by April Rose Garcia

My head was aching to wear this hat with salmon pink trousers and wedges last weekend but then I found out at the last minute that my top had a low, low neckline. I had no choice but to wear a bandeau underneath. The only kind in my closet was in yellow green. :| I knew then and there that it would ruin the daintiness of the entire outfit hence, I decided to just give yellow green some moral support with colorful accessories. Since I couldn't give the hat up, I used a bag with the same hue and switched to black flats to minimize the chaos.

TIP: When confused with mixing and matching colors, just make sure that at least two pieces in your outfit have the same hue. Mostly, similar-colored shoes&bag or shoes&top make safe combinations - the rest of the pieces you can just play along with. :)

How do you guys plan to spend the long weekend?

In contrast to my bright outfit, my week was a rather gloomy one. With all the stress and tears that it caused me, there's no better remedy than some salon-pampering and quality family time. :)

I'm also posting a blog giveaway next, yayyy! Watch out for it, yah?

Happy long weekend, everyone!

Much love,

Mela 

Barriers

(shirt and bag: Gap, skirt: Bubbles, necklace: Margarita Fashion House)

Photos by April Rose Garcia

What is a blogger without a DSLR?

Because my brother is my only photographer and the only DSLR I have is a family camera which is currently in my hometown, I've already foreseen the bitter possibility of not being able to post outfit photos until the semestral break. Nevertheless, no matter how much I rationalize and rant about how busy medical school is, I still have this silent plea in my heart that somehow, someone kind out there will help me pursue what makes me happy (even just on weekends).

Two weeks ago, I received an email from someone I've never really met yet. I stalked her profile and was thrilled to see a cute and pretty girly girl with a queer Facebook alias. She's a photography student in the same university as mine. Small world, ay? We met up last Saturday for a few minutes for my outfit photos and you can only imagine how these photos were taken by an equally fashionable girl in 3-inched wedges! I had so much fun with our mini-chitchats and I'm really wishing that we'd meet up again for my next weekend outfit, haha! Thank God for sending angels like April. :D 

I couldn't talk much right now because I'm blogging from an internet cafe and it's almost curfew time. :( My laptop broke down just this morning and I guess this is another predicament that I have to conquer. But then, for the love of blogging, I will always find a way. Whatever it takes. :D

Much love,

Mela

P.S. April's sister owns Sugar Plum, an all-around photostudio that specializes in photographing babies and toddlers! Visit their page on Facebook for more details. CLICK HERE!

P.P.S. This is also an entry to IFB Project #107: Printed Matters