Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Personal Style + Movie Feels: Rurouni Kenshin Inspired


Once upon a time, I was an otaku.

Not just any otaku…..

I was an otaku hipster! (Bro fist to those who got the Pewdie Pie reference! Lol!)

#iwatchedanimebeforeitwascool

Back when I was still a preteen (approx. 1995 or earlier), my sister and I enjoyed watching numerous random anime on Sky Cable. English subtitled anime did not exist on television at the time, so we had to watch anime without any translation.

It was so bad that even manga did not have English translations! You had to read them with the manga on one hand and printed translations on the other. (High five to those who experienced this! Lol!)

Knowing the 'medieval age of anime' that I grew up in, imagine our excitement when Philippine local channels finally began showing more anime on local TV!


One of my favorite shows back in the day was definitely "Samurai X" or more commonly known as "Rurouni Kenshin."


And as you all know, the live-action Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno was recently released here in the Philippines. Needless to say, I was very excited to watch it! So excited that I even dressed up for the occasion! Lol!

When I received this maxi dress courtesy of Cruella and Co, the first thing that crossed my mind was that the color reminded me so much of Kenshin's hakama!

Tankxi maxi dress courtesy of Cruella and Co

People might think I was going to a party instead of a movie in this outfit, but I do have my own reasons for wearing it. After all, I wanted to wear a Rurouni Kenshin inspired outfit, so never mind what they think! Wear what you want! Hihi!

To match the theme I was going for, I used my Terranova leather kimono belt (giving a kimono feel to the overall look) and a gray skull scarf to accessorize.

The skull scarf totally matched this live action movie (which, by the way, was super awesome! The highlight of the movie was definitely its jaw-dropping fight scenes!)

Leather belt and skull scarf: Terranova
Tata fringe bag: Fashion Cravings Official

The Cruella and Co Tankxi dress is made of good quality jersey stretch material. The flow of the maxi dress was really nice too, so wearing it made me feel like I was wearing a kimono (just like the characters in the movie!)

It was like a pseudo-immersive movie experience for me, but without the cosplay!


Speaking of the movie, I suggest that you guys go and watch "Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno" for yourself! Avoid reading the movie rave reviews. (Save that for later, after watching the film! Hehe!)

You'd be amazed at how this movie was directed, how the actors and actresses portrayed their roles (Okina is real! Lol!), and how realistic yet mind-blowing the action scenes were!


As for me, I think nostalgia had a lot to do with what I felt about this movie. Some die-hard fans may even have their own little complaints about the movie. But overall, I think everyone involved in the making of this film did justice to the entire anime/manga franchise.

It was definitely worth the money I paid for!



How about you? What did you think of the movie? What about my Rurouni Kenshin inspired outfit? Did you watch anime when you were still young too? Please leave a comment below because I would love to know!

Thank you so much for reading and I hope you have a thrifty day!





Friday, August 22, 2014

Kal Features: Happy Organism


Despite having already expressed much love for Happy Organism on Instagram, I still feel that I was not able to express everything I wanted to say about this particular online shop.

Photo credit: Happy Organism


I have been following Happy Organism on Instagram for quite some time now and I have to say that I am very pleased with the consistency of their posts.

As a matter of fact, the talent behind this online shop almost always leave me feeling at awe.

Happy Organism promotes positivity with their posts and spreads joy to shoppers by providing a wonderful online shopping experience. They also have the most unique accessories that are definite works of art. I think you would agree with me once you have seen the photos.


Knowing how much I love Harry Potter, it comes as no surprise to me when I fell in love with their Harry-Potter inspired potion necklaces.


Can you see how the details match what the potions stand for? She even got the color of the potions correctly based on the descriptions from the book! Pieces like this could only be conceptualized by someone with exceptional talent.



Speaking of Harry Potter, I was also quite happy with the most recent product I purchased from them: the Marauder's Map. 


Simply by knowing the amount of love, creativity and hard work that went into the design of the Marauder's map made me feel like it was definitely worth the money I paid for.


And of course, there is also the Happy Organism Stack Bangles. 


These stack bangles can be custom-made to whatever theme you want designed for you. These are perfect as party giveaways and gifts to friends. Below are examples of these themed bracelets.





The Promesa bracelet, one of their best sellers, is also one of their items that I enjoyed very much. It is a promise bracelet that you could either keep for yourself or give to your loved ones. The idea is that the Promesa bracelet should act as a constant reminder of the promises you made when you wore it. 

The beads of the Promesa bracelet can be either gold-filled or sterling silver and the bracelet itself is made of hand-braided silk thread. Plus it comes in this adorable little bottle with a cork stopper!


Of course, there's also their recently released collection: the Animal Totem choker necklaces.

Photo credit: Happy Organism


It is a fun little accessory that has different meanings for each choker necklace. Choosing which Animal Totem you are most attracted to is actually part of the fun when purchasing this item. These are perfect to wear if you are going for that 90's look!  


Here is a photo of me wearing their Sparrow Animal Totem necklace (which, incidentally, has a description that suits me so well!)

I am definitely one happy organism!



I hope you enjoyed reading this post! If you decided to visit Happy Organism because of this post, please leave a comment below and let me know what you think of them! ^_^

Thank you so much for reading and I hope you have a thrifty day!







Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Personal Style: Back to the 90s


One of my very first fashion inspirations came from an American teen 90's sitcom called "Clarissa Explain It All."

The show follows the life of a normal teenager named Clarissa Darling as she literally explains to the audience her thoughts about typical pre-adolescent concerns like school life, boys, acne, etc. Sort of like a video blog.

Clarissa did vlogs before it was cool! :D

I can't really remember how old I was when I first encountered this show, but I do remember how much I loved it. In fact, I loved it so much that it literally affected the way I dressed for several years until college. (On a side note, I totally shipped Clarissa and Sam in that show! Lol!)




Incidentally, today was the perfect day to post an outfit with this color scheme!


This particular outfit reminded me so much of the fashion in that show, which was totally 90's! Of course, I added some of my own personal touches, and the Farah skirt in yellow from Shop Thrift Market was perfect for it!

Farah Skirt: Shop Thrift Market

The origami cut out of the skirt added a little bit of quirkiness needed to complete my overall look. I still have a couple of outfit ideas that would look good with this skirt, and I'm really looking forward to wearing this again!

The Farah skirt from Shop Thrift Market also comes in other colors as well, and it would be a nice piece to have in your wardrobe so you could spruce up an outfit and make it more interesting!

Last but not the least, I rocked this look wearing the black creepers bought from Projectshoephoria (as if I didn't have enough creepers already, lol!)

I love these creepers because they looked like the "bulldog shoes" that was so "in" when I was still in Grade School. I really wanted to wear bulldog shoes at the time, but it was prohibited in my school. So yeah, now I'm wearing it! Yolo, y'know! Wear what you want! Lol!



What did you think of this look? Did you watch "Clarissa Explains It All" before too? Please leave a comment below because I would really love to know!

Thank you so much for reading and I hope you have a thrifty day!






Friday, August 8, 2014

Trends For Less: Creepers


Typhoon season is here again, which means floods, floods, and more floods! This is why I decided to make a blog post dedicated to creepers!

No, I don't mean the creepy men stalking your profile.

And no, I'm not talking about the enemies that come out at night in Mine Craft.



I'm talking about the kind of platform shoe made by the brand called T.U.K.



I have always admired how Jenn Im of Clothes Encounters styled her T.U.K. creepers. (Actually, she is the reason why I began wearing platform shoes in the first place.)

Just to give a little background, I first discovered Jenn's Youtube channel over a year ago and I instantly fell in love with her unique style. So when I first saw her video about styling creepers, I got so inspired that I wanted to get a pair of my own. However, at the time, it was really hard to find shops that sell platform shoes of any kind (especially here in the Philippines).

I tried browsing online shops (which was the only place I found creepers) but I was too wary of doing my shopping online. Because of this, I tried looking for those that do meet-up or has an actual store I could visit.

The first pair of creepers I have ever owned (or in this case, "platform shoes" would be a more appropriate term) was from a brand called B Club. I bought this particular pair for a rather expensive price at Landmark Trinoma. (I'm ashamed! Huhu!)

Fortunately, it was made of such good quality material that I was (and still am) able to put it to good use in numerous outfits despite having gone through numerous floods. It was from my experience using this particular pair that I began to call platform shoes in general "flood-proof."






The next pair I bought was from a shop in Market! Market! called Androgyne Manila. I discovered Androgyne Manila through their Instagram account. However, the one in charge of their IG account rarely replies to comment inquiries and wasn't very accommodating. I really wanted the creepers so I decided to just drop by their store in Market! Market! (since they were having a sale anyway.)

I bought their T.U.K.-inspired black creepers last year for 1,350 pesos or 30 USD.


I thought I already had a good deal, but I realize that their shoes were still quite expensive after all. Nowadays, I see creepers (of the exact same quality) for less than 700 pesos!


Note to self: Just say "no!" to impulse buying!


If you are a Philippine resident and want a good pair of creepers (or any unique pair of shoes for that matter), I would suggest that you check out these two Instagram online shops: @Projectshoephoria and @Scene_Stealer.

Projectshoephoria and Scene Stealer both offer fashionable and trendy shoes at affordable prices. They carry the exact same pairs that the more popular online shops (that shall not be named) sell for twice or thrice the price!

The only problem with these two IG shops is that they tend to carry limited sizes for particular styles. This is why I decided to mention both of them so that you would have more options to choose from when shopping.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~


Interested to rock creepers but not really sure how to style it in outfits? Watch the YouTube video linked below and be inspired by Jenn Im of Clothes Encounters!



I hope you were able to draw some useful information or even inspiration from this blog post! Thank you for reading and have a thrifty day!