Glam Gams!

Under jersey dresses, draped/long tops, or paired with tank tops - leggings make for glam gams!

If you were an 80s baby, most likely you wore your leggings with huge pajama-esque cotton shirts that bared one shoulder and accessories included leg warmers w/ L.A. gear kicks or w/ awkward "Working Girl" type pumps for a more dressed up look (oh dear Lord), and big ol' knocker earrings (let's not even touch on the hair *shudder*). Then for the youngins and for us 80s babies that experienced the recent rebirth of the styles from said decade, then leggings were worn in a more acceptable way - with vintage tees or t-shirt dresses. Nonetheless, the style was more on rock glam rather than high street chic.

Nowadays, as with many styles that have resurfaced, we now know how to apply the working equation for how to look 100% modish = 80% classic elements + 20% trend. Evident in my examples above, we see a lot of the trend in the leggings as they are executed in ways we haven't seen in the past, but they are toned down with quintessential tops and footwear that are far from awkward. There is minimal use of accessories because the leggings are already quite busy and the tops serve as the solid foundation; think of the leggings as highlights in your hair and the tops as your base color. Basically, you don't want a full head of faux blonde. And speaking of hair, styling was kept very simple as should you when you rock these looks.

Let's discuss the looks from L-R: 1) While I wouldn't be brave enough to wear that much white, I have to say that I love the lacy leggings. They are so feminine and sexy in a subtle way. We just all need to remember to keep the top very clean n simple and to handwash only! Hehehe, 2) Ah the opaque leggings. These are actually very flattering for all body types, because they are the pants equivalent of a tummy tucking underwear. They really contain the bulges! 3) Sheer leggings are the best paired with dresses, because you still want to show skin even if its under fabric, 4 and 5) Leggings meet the ripped-jeans-from-the-90s-grunge-era. I'm not loving these, but I'm sure some of you could make this look work. I'm just not a torn clothes type of gal. Ü Best places to buy affordable, quality leggings are the department stores like SM, Rustans (they have the Juicy Couture brand), or even Landmark. People R' People, Terranova, and Mango have very nice styles AND a friendly reminder for everyone to take advantage of the mid-season sales! Besides, you're buying leggings not pants...how expensive could they really be?

Now, my dears, I believe we have covered this topic thoroughly and I shall leave you with more eye candy below. Keep living your life with divanity and go off and shop your way to glam gams!



Monique

The Frill of Life Will Make you Jump out of Your Suits & on to A New Platform!

Well, well dears. It has been awhile. And okay, the heading of this article may not make sense to you now, but it will. Despite busy schedules & lack of inspiration; after a refreshing week known as Philippine Fashion Week (PFW), the Divanity team is back and truly inspired. While we will be sharing coverage of our attendance at PFW indepth (sista girl Hannah SFO made use of her new SLR camera no less!), this post will focus not on the high street designs, but on the designs that we can relate to in our everyday lives. Lets just say that we were happily surprised to know that our outfits purchased or taken out of our closets for the affair were completely in tune with what's hot now - frills, jumpsuits, and platform shoes! We didn't even do our research during preparation to boot! It just goes to show that fashion is usually about instinct and knowing what works with your body shape.

So lets start with Agee Dee & Hannah SFO...and our keyword for their outfits will be FRILLS, which were seen all over the runway by uber talented designers Mich Dulce & Pia Gladys Perey. The former, our favorite dainty girl, wore a sleeveless, empire-waisted purple dress with a frilly skirt done in a nylon fabric. As you'll see below, she chose to accessorize the outfit with an embellished gold belt to cinch the dress right below the bust along with black, opaque stockings and black, round-toed pumps. The latter, our beautiful petite-framed photographer, wore an LBD (little black dress, I'm sure you all know), safari style with frills all around the hem of the skirt and done in chambray fabric. With slight hesitation, she donned some black pointy toed flats to accessorize due to a sprained ankle (even though beauty is pain, wearing heels w/ a sprain is just too OTT). Nonetheless, if you are that slender and that charming, heels are just icing on the cake. :)

Agee Dee Hannah SFO

Now on to Mia G aka our brave Divanity lady that allowed her feet to suffer in the name of beauty. Paired with her LBD, the self-confessed flats loyalist wore the very visible shoe style all over the catwalk - the peep-toed pumps with platform heels done in different woods like cork, rosewood, etc (hers were done in rosewood). Hats off to you Mama! They are gorgeous shoes, NOT hooker heels as you swore out of spite. Lol.
Mia G

Aaaand, you probably already guessed the missing link. Yes, I rocked the jumpsuit. Mine was strapless, cotton, with a bow as the top accent and in a plum color with brown/gray undertones. Both to accessorize and to create a slimming effect, I chose to wear a cashmere cardigan over my shoulders (not tied at the sleeves or buttoned in any way), a wide black belt to cinch my waist, and my classic black open-toed platforms with thick leather straps (not seen here, sorry!). Jumpsuits seen on the runway were done really well by designers like Eric Delos Santos & John Paras in tunic fabrics.

Monique

Finally, I'm sure you know what's coming up next...where to shop!? Well, if you've got a higher budget, then you should definitely shop at the boutiques that sell the clothing of the designers mentioned, given that all designs showcased were RTW (ready-to-wear). However, if you are on a tight budget, then you are in luck sisters! The malls have already started their mid-season sales (some stores are yet to begin so just sit tight), but Hannah SFO and I found many hot items for 50% off at super chic store Tomato located on the 2/F above the iceskating rink at Mall of Asia (check with Click the City for branches closest to you). Here are their versions of frills and jumpsuits:

(L-R) Frills (there are gorgeous chiffon blouses too!) & jumpsuits

Now remember, when wearing frills and ruffles, especially if you are busty, make sure you keep your hair sleek and straight or even slicked back into a ponytail to avoid the Mufasa look or the help-I'm-being-engulfed-by-my-top look. Also, for chiffon material, make sure you wear an undershirt with spaghetti straps that is exactly the same color as the top and at least touches the waist of your pants. As for jumpsuits, these really do work with any body type for as long as you find one in the material and cut that suits you best. For the more voluptuous body types like yours truly, it is best if you buy yours in a non-clingy cotton fabric like my example that have very little accents around the butt area and have room to be cinched with your wide belts and for the slim ladies, you can opt to try the tunic-type fabrics that come with their own belts and have pocket accents on the front and back. As for shoes, c'mon now. Have we not taught you enough? Go through the archives here if you know what's good for you. Hehe.
So that's what we have to share with you for now ladies. Stay tuned for the PFW collection pictures as well as more shopping finds amidst the sales.
XX,
Monique