Fat Cheeks, Big City

I have the fattest cheeks in the whole, wide world.

Yes, I am one of those few fortunate souls. Let me eat a platter full of rice, pasta, fried chicken, cake, ice cream and pizza every meal daily for a week without any form of exercise and my body wouldn't show a single evidence of weight gain. That is, if my face is covered by a paperbag. Everything I eat seem to always go to the healthiest part of my body--my cheeks. Ugh. Now all of you understand why I'm such a poker-faced blogger in photos. :|

Of course, I had to put that "facial expression" to use again during my collaborative shoot with another Iloilo-based online shop -It's Vintage  Darling a few weeks ago. Because it took the whole afternoon for the collection to be photographed, I decided to loose up a little and smile as I wore my normal clothes back. Cheeks were still chubby but thanks to Russel for taking these photos! :)

This plaid dress with drapery here and there may have stood on its own already but I just feel naked being minimalistic. Hence, the colorful neon add-ons! It wouldn't hurt brightening up an already bright and sunny day, right? Just one piece of style advice though, never leave your house empty-handed, errrr, unarmed. Your arms deserve to be prettified, too! Complete that colorful look with arm candies from Superb Finds. Skulls, spikes, chains, braids - name it and they have it. How I look and feel extra fun-loving with my arm in these circles! :D

|skulls, spikes, and metallic arm candies - Superb Finds | rubber bangles - SM Accessories | colorblock wedges - AsianVogue | makeup by Em Trava and Russel Mendez | photos by Russel Mendez |

Make your arms happy with free arm candies and more by joining this giveaway:
WWW x Superb Finds and TheCoupleStore
Have a blessed Sunday, everyone!


Much love,
Mela

Follow me on TWITTER: @meladelfin
INSTAGRAM: @wearismela

Wonka Nerd

I'm always on a rush and when it comes to last-minute styling, my mantra will always be "When in doubt, colorblock." With the color-loving person that I am, color-blocking is something that I have already mastered. Just a tip: On occasions when you don't really need to be dressy, why not sport a top and skirt in the same color family and leave the print-on-print trend on your bag and shoes? That would be like hitting two birds with one stone!

I love how this ensemble made me look a little grown-up without compromising my fun, youthful side. I feel like I taste so sweet and sour a la Strawberry and Grape-Flavored Wonka Nerds. Childhood nostalgia but yum! This is definitely something that I'd wear when I go on hospital rounds 5-7 years from now.

(top,skirt,sunnies : random SM Dept. Store brands | bag : Gap | photos by : Ralph Delfin)

And I am finally on Lookbook.nu! I've been receiving a lot of queries about why I don't have one. With the kind of schedule that I have, a blog and three or more social networking site accounts is just too much to handle. Chictopia has been the home of my outfit photos for over two years now and starting all over again with Lookbook.nu is a step out of my comfort zone. This is just my second LB post and I will be archiving my previous looks there. I hope to meet more amazing fashion inspirations and get some support too. Cross your fingers with me, please? I'd love to check your LBs out, send your links over! 

Also, thanks to everyone who stayed up late and took time to vote for me 247295627461846x just so I'd be StyleBible.PH's My Style Star for November. You're efforts were all worth it because I WON! Yiheee! *happy dance* Really, I am just a microbe in the blogging world but I wouldn't be who I am or where I am now without your support. So from the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU SO MUCH! May you all be blessed a hundred more times the votes you shared.
Happy weekend, everyone!

Much love,
Mela

Follow me on Instagram: @wearismela

Join my giveaways:

WWW x Put It On

WWW x Superb Finds and The Couple Store

Mellow Yellow

(mullet skirt: Bubbles, accessories: Retazzo, shoes: Terra&Agua)

Photos by Ralph Delfin

It feels so good to be able to spend the weekend in my hometown! I missed eating homefood and sleeping in my room with my baby brother for two painful months! Although we're expecting 3 exams and SGDs this week, not having a Monday exam is such a blessing. A lot took place this past week which include me getting sick to the point of missing my exams and classes. :( I almost got rushed to the hospital due to fever and diarrhea. Thank God, I recovered quickly. 

***

I've always been style savvy. You may have noticed that I don't give much emphasis on the brands I wear. That's because most of my clothes are 'brandless'. I buy stuff from the most random stores and if ever I'd drool over online boutique offers, I make sure that the items are the cheapest(in terms of price) ones available - not compromising the quality of course.

One online shop that has consistently gained my attention (and patronage!) is Bubbles. Bubbles started selling accessories and is currently into establishing its own ready-to-wear clothing line. New items and designs are uploaded almost every week and they get sold out in just a span of hours. You really have to be very alert to purchase the items of your choice! Aside from unique and good-quality pieces, what I like most about  Bubbles is that it's also based in Iloilo. I get spared from the hassles of bank deposits and shipping. :D Everything's affordable and very wearable, swear!

Click this link to visit Bubbles' Facebook page: Bubbles 

I hope everyone's safe and enjoying the drizzly weather as much as I do.

Much love,

Mela

Hey Shorty

Here's another attempt to colorblock. 

I got lost again in my messy closet, hence, what I wore here from the top to jeans are my mom's. :) I love the fact that whenever I fall short of clothes, I always have other closets to run to -- like my mom's and even my brother's. Even my grandma's. HAHA. My boyfriend is lucky that he doesn't live anywhere near because his closet might be the next victim. :P

Please don't hate me for wearing the same shoes. I just want to cherish the last days of its existence because I'm betting that it will breakdown anytime. :( Please, please, not until I find another one like it. :(

Thank you Manang Gina for being my last-minute photographer!

As a child, I often received compliments for being a long-legged girl. I used to think that I will grow really tall but then my growth halted at 5ft 3in. when I reached college. Quite average, but sometimes I wonder why I look so short in photos. :/ Maybe because of the angle or something? I've met some bloggers in person and most of them were just my height or even shorter but why do I look so short? Hehe. Help, I need enlightenment. :/ 

I just finished packing and I'm all set to leave my hometown again tomorrow. :(

Nevertheless, this isn't goodbye yet for us. I still have a few backlog posts before I finally go on a leave of absence. I will be holding giveaways, from time to time, so just keep visiting! :D

Much <3,

Mela

Barney Visits the Safari

So we went to Pontevedra earlier today to have lunch at Tita Rhoda's. (Thank you Bulans for making my tummy happier, I couldn't think of anything more to crave!)

It's a few more weeks before my sophomore year begins. How exciting is that?

Being the homebuddy that I am, I've thought of wearing my heart out whenever I'm not home. I'm taking

everyday as an opportunity to dress up. Yayyy! My flat shoes are all worn out, I need to take the other lovelies out for a bit. 

I've waited for months for these shoes to arrive but I've worn them only once since then. :/ I honestly found it hard to figure how to maintain the summer vibe with these high-cut booties. But when I saw this purple blazer, I instantly thought of the blazer+shorts trend which is also making its way up the charts this summer.

I chose a mustard cowneck top to add in some texture and white shorts (not black, or blue, or neon, or printed, or denim) to keep my bottom laidback but still with a touch of summer. I matched everything with silver to black and bronze accessories to complete the look. :)

What do you think of my outfit?

Have you spotted Barney, Tigger, and the  leopard so far? HAHA. I couldn't think of a decent title so yahhh.

Much <3,

Mela

Faux Beach Bum

I'm not really the kind who gets thrilled with trips to the beach but since it was Mother's Day yesterday and my family still hasn't had some legit bonding this summer, I felt a different kind of anticipation. :)

The BDO-Roxas Family decided to spend the entire Sunday at Talon Adventure Park. It's a newly-developed tourist destination in the city. I've actually been there two years ago for a photoshoot with Elite Metro Roxas but only the orchid farm was present then. Currently, it has a wildlife reserve with a mini-zoo, ziplines, ATV/mountain bike rentals, a wider orchid farm with more orchids HAHA, and the beach (which was unexpectedly far from the adventure park proper).

Anyway, despite not being a beach bum, I still do collect clothes that are beach-appropriate. I even have a number of bikinis, bandeaus, and cover-ups in my closet which have never been used. I'm not a partyphile as well, but I also have a lot of party dresses and sparkly tops in case I get invited to clubs which have sadly never happened in a number of years. But as I always say, I'd rather sleep than have my hair fumed with cigar smoke. :P

I decided to wear something light and breezy for this short getaway. The original plan was to wear a powerfully-colored bra, perhaps red, hot pink, or blue green, below this sheer top but my dad thought it was a little too revealing. Hence, the striped yellow top instead. I like how this turned out to be sooo Mela. So ME - bright and colorful. :D Even if colorblocking has gone its way out of style, I've always been comfortable with colors that scream fun.

Thank God for slippers! 

I left home wearing four-inched wedges which were perfect for this outfit. 

But seeing everyone in slippers made me think that it's better to just blend in a little. 

The moms there were the stars of the day anyway. :)

I finally met my goddaughter Summer! :D

To the person who taught me how to mix and match and be fashionable,

who often gets annoyed whenever I raid her closet but gives me her clothes anyway,

who taught me that style isn't what you wear but who you are and how you wear it,

who have made the person that I am now,

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY MAMA! I LOVE YOU!

You are certainly my No.1 Fashion Icon. :D

Belated Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there!

Much <3, 

Mela

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CLICK HERE!