My first cowboy boots ever! Two reasons why I bought them, they're FRYE boots and they don't have the diamond shape toe. They're more rounded. That is a $5.00 top. Cheap! The leather belt is vintage and thrifted from Goodwill. I love that blazer. I've been meaning to have it copied by my seamstress, Thuy because it's such a perfect fit! I've had it for uhmmm...10 years. I still have clothes from a decade ago and thank god they still fit.
This shot is taken on our front porch, on nice days, that's where Thad and I have our coffee and pancakes.
Friday finally. I've been waiting for this day since Monday. I really need to feel better already. I'm sorry if all I've ever talked about is my malady. I really can't wait to feel 100% better. There are so many things I want to do! Lately, when I get home all I do is watch documentaries till I pass out from Tylenol PM.
I look so sad in this photo, the moribund hues is helping me look so. But I'm not sad, just a bit sickly. I've had that vest since I was in college in Cebu, Philippines, where there really is no need for layering. I bought that from a thrift store where I used to buy my used books. The place was called Music House. I'm pretty sure people back home still remember that place.
The booties you can barely see because they are swallowed in the chiaroscuro display is a pair I got from ASOSlast year. I love them because when I wear them with black leggings, they make my legs look longer. That's hobbit magic.
My yellow flower filled dress and lacy vest all scream "spring", my ring isn't saying otherwise either. I guess I have just been feeling so cruddy and sick that I need some sort of sunshininess. Yes, I made up that word. The blazer, the legwear and the booties are sombre colors anyway so I'm still dressed in season. Dressing according to seasons was never an issue back in the tropical islands of my home. The weather never changes and the people never age ;-)
Back to the salt mines...I'm really still not feeling good but I'm getting a little bit depressed staying at home. I'm not sure if it was change of routine for just those two days that threw my mental balance off or if it was the meds but my psyche sure took me to a nebulous place. That being said, I couldn't really be a full blown anti-social recluse because I still missed being around people especially my girls at work. I guess I'm just so used to them. Nine years will do that to ya. Hehe.
Anyway, *waves depression away* I did have a perfect little weekend with Thad. We watched silent era Hitchcock films that I didn't enjoy as much as Thad did. He took care of me in my convalescence and made sure I took my meds. My Prince Valium has impeccable bedside manners, too. Heh. Also, I got me a pair of new boots (See above). They're a pair of dark chocolate brown campus style boots from European Club. I wanted a pair of brown boots for a long time. This one is a bit too dark almost black but I love the style. I'll find that elusive pair soon. In the meantime, I'll be rockin' these.
I got this too cute pumpkin carriage from ebay.com for a steal.
Well, since I am convalescent today, I might as well post Thad's academe style unless you guys want to see me in my chamois pyjamas. It's Veterans Day, so he opted to wear a little bit of red, white and blue. He explained something about the tiger tie since it's a Thursday but the medicine is slowly taking over my senses and I didn't understand anything. One thing I love about Thad is that he is not afraid to dress somewhat out of the ordinary like say a kelly green jacket over pepto pink shirt. We both get that "only Thad/Xio can get away with that!" comments when it comes to fashion. Of course, he tones it down for work since he teaches at a college. He is quite unlike anybody I've met. He's super cool, social, intelligent (pending MENSA member :D) , talented, introspective and he's so positive about everything in life that you can charge a dead car battery off of him. He is by far, the nicest person I have ever met in my lifetime. It also doesn't hurt that he is an attractive guy. He works a noble job, teaching Computer Forensics by day and occasionally playing music at night. I always tell people he's my little Hannah Montana. :-P
I hope everyone has a better Thursday than me. Food normally cures the achies but my throat feels like I drank Drano cocktail...and my lucidity is ebbing.
Foggy mornings always remind me of English countrysides that I've seen in Catherine Cookson TV novels. Any minute now, some gentleman with a top hat on a magnificent steed would come galloping by asking for the nearest inn where he can get some cold collation and tea. Of course, I would just stare incredulously at him, wondering how on earth he ended up in our backyard.
I'm wearing two stockings :-) a lacy one over a red one. It kinda has some brothel flair to it. When I got ready this morning, I asked Thad for $250 for making me stay the night to which he guffawed and said, "you owe me more than that for putting up with you" or something like that. That was my interpretation to his morning mouthwash mumbling.
Here's my beloved kelpie giving me sweet kisses. Looking at this photo, I just realized that Gotham is a huge dog. He always seems like a puppy to me. And yes, I have a dollhouse in the carport. It's a future project but as of the moment, fairies can squat in it.
This is one of my obsessions...Blythe Dolls! Here's one of them from my horde. She is a Cinema Princess Blythe whom I named Cerise Pixielane. This is not her stock outfit. She got my star quality style treatment :-) Teehee. I sometimes make my dolls dresses when I am inspired but the pieces on her ensemble are bits from my other Blythe dolls: plaid skirt from Bow Wow Trad and the striped socks from Gentle River. That fabulous military jacket was actually from a short lived series of dolls called Ali and AJ. I made the red lace overlay on her skirt and attached chains for toughness and then a bear button for kawaii purposes (kawaii is "cute" in Japanese). The red army boots I got from etsy.com
I made that tophat from scratch. I thrifted an ash tray shaped like a tophat and made my pattern from it. I think it came out awesome. I'm extremely proud of my handiwork. I didn't personally pluck the peacock feather though because, well, I value my eyesight. Peacocks are vicious fowls.
Alright, that's it from Xanadu for now. Stay tuned for some other stufferoos...
Snick Wedge by Jeffrey Campbell, the most comfortable footwear I have second only to my Frye Boots.
Thad and I have only have two identical articles of clothing. One is a Threadless shirt of a Balinese God shooting an arrow and the arrow ending up on the back of the shirt and the second is our The Decemberist shirt. We really don't listen to the same type of music but we both agree on The Decemberists. I guess it appeals to our predilection to rarely used words. Colin Meloy, lead songwriter of the band weaves his musical storytelling so beautifully as if you're reading excerpts from a Booker Prize winner novel. The Decemberists is also reminiscent of a UK band called XTC who were around in 80s and whose song Then She Appeared was our 2004 wedding song. Had to put a year since we got married twice ^_^
XTC's sample lyrics from Then She Appeared:
...Then she appeared, as the giggling crew of Marie Celeste Then she appeared, pale Atlantis rising out of the west I was a little dazzled Catherine wheeled and senses frazzled Know it sounds weird Then she appeared...
I perceive Mr. Andy Partridge (XTC lead songwriter) to be well versed on the arcane knowledge of mysterious tales and conjecture. He includes things in his lyrics that I have read about in supernatural-themed books. In Then She Appeared, he mentioned the crew of Marie Celeste, the ship whose crew vanished while at sea and left no clues in December 1872. It is still one of the most baffling maritime unsolved mysteries. But in the song, he made the crew look as if they were just playing a joke, hence "giggling". Nobody writes lyrics like Mr. Partridge well, except Colin Meloy who I realized after briefly talking to his bandmate that they were huge fans of XTC and he considered it an honor to be compared to them.
I love this song. Mr. Partridge is singing about how dumb he is when in fact, the lyrics here are so freakin' brilliant...see below.
If depth of feeling is a currency, (please be upstanding for the Mayor of Simpleton), Then I'm the man who grew the money tree, (no Chain of Office and no hope of getting one). Some of your friends are too brainy to see, That they're paupers and that's how they'll stay.
Well I don't know how many pounds make up a ton, Of all the Nobel prizes that I've never won, And I may be the Mayor of Simpleton, But I know one thing, And that's I love you.
The Decemberists sample lyrics from Legionnaire's Lament
Medicating in the sun pinched doses of laudanum longing for the old fecundity of my homeland Curses to this mirage! A bottle of ancient Shiraz a smattering of distant applause is ringing in my poor ears
On the old left bank my baby in a charabanc riding up the width and length of the Champs de Elysee...
Cover art on The Decemberists Castaway and Cutouts (shown below on video link) even reminds me of the Crew of Marie Celeste...
You should check both of them out. You will learn new words. Here's a funny saying that was going around for a while in London that XTC brought literacy to Britain :-)
Monday, November 8, 2010
This is not what I am wearing today. I wore this outfit one day last week. That lovely russian doll (matryoshka) printed dress is Anna Sui ^_^ That dress is the cherry on top of my-anything-matryoshka themed collection. Vintage mink fur hat is actually my mom's that we bought when we were living in New York circa 2000. She's back in the Philippines now, a very tropical country so there's no need for fur hats. Thus, I inherited it.
Wonderfully Nestled: vintage Orphan matryoshka doll thrifted for $0.25! ornaments from K-mart circa 2008 from Martha Stewart Collection, metal and enamel necklaces, Fred's nesting doll glasses from Urban Outfitters, purse from Forever 21 $7 or something like that. Flat coinpurse from Claire's. Re-ment miniature pot holder and spoon and fork caddy and LeSportsac satchel that holds my Japanese books :-) I'm a struggling multi-culturalist
I am totally charmed by this Japanese techno-pop girl group called Perfume and inspired myself to dress like them on this video. I don't really listen to techno but hey, they're Japanese and I have a predilection to all things Japanese. I love how their choreography is so easy, it's like dancing for a PE class. Inspiration comes in all forms so why not? Chocole-ito Disuko! Let's dance!
Responsibility dictates that I should crawl out of my bed to go to work instead of curling up with a book and letting this dismal weather mentally take me to somewhere in Ireland. Why can't this weather be on a Saturday morning...
Welcome once again :-) It would've been a year since I started blogging but I stopped after less than half a year of entries. I started FrugalFrox on this day last year but I am resurrecting it as My Own Private Xanadu.
The blog title is of course, a play on the movie My Own Private Idaho. Xanadu is the place Samuel Coleridge wrote about in his poem of the same title and was believed to be written under his opium stupor. The first significance is that it starts with an X, like my name and the second is that Olivia Newton-John's movie Xanadu was I think, the greatest movie ever. You can't go wrong with live action, a cartoonified Olivia and roller skates. Aside from that, I really have no clue what that movie was all about.
Xanadu is a place inside me. It's mostly where my fantasies and dreams reside along with my childhood. This blog is a visual and textual capture of anything, everything that fascinate and inspire me.
I really want to thank my readers who have been waiting for this new installment. I started FrugalFrox for my own selfish needs. Hehe. I wanted to chronicle my outfits just to keep track of what I had worn but I never thought that it will be missed. So thank you. Mad props to my ever loving husband Prince Valium, I mean Thad for helping me out with the CSS, taking the new banner photo and for just being an all around awesome husband.
This blog will be less limiting than frugal frox. As frugal frox was just all about outfits, I am going to be blogging more than just clothes. I want to share other things as well because there is so much more to life...well my life, than clothes. Expect to see toys, vintage thrift store finds,crafts, music, cool people, strange books and films, fun photography and maybe even magic tricks ;-)
So here I am again in blogosphere...and here goes everything! Take a seat on that wingback chair. Let it take you for a ride. Stay for a while. Make sure you come back. I will always leave a key for you that you can fish out from the stomach of my manticore...
I haven't been in these slums lately. Summer doesn't inspire me to dress nice. I'm normally just wearing embroidered peasant tops and jeans. Something I'd wear at home to lounge in. But, I am dressed nice today. According to me, of course so I decided to post this ensemble. I am thinking of moving all my entries here to a new all-encompassing blog about everything that I love. Fashion. Japanese Toys and Boys. Blythes. Vintage Thrift Store and Flea Market Finds. Craft Ideas. Music. Books, Artists. Thad and Xiomara Comics. Just anything and everything that fascinate me. A fashion blog is so limiting when there are so many things that set my creative mind reeling.
The new blog is called My Own Private Xanadu.See you guys there soon!And thank so much for following me here but please come with me to another sphere of X! Love you all!!!
detail on Coro Cuckoo Clock vintage 1940 fur clip which I got for a steal, of course
On this auspicious day, I am paying an homage to a Japanese designer Tsumori Chisato. This is an unfrugal post. I've never really been into high end designer clothing but Tsumori Chisato's sublime surreal designs are marvelous pieces of artwork. Her clothes are just not clothes hanging off your body, they're statements, they're stories, there's so much love and whimsy put into them. When I first discovered her, it felt to me like she cracked open my head, looked what's inside, and spun them into fabric. I believed she was designing just for me. No designer ever made that impact on me. Silk painted with mermaids swimming above an underwater metropolis, fairies feasting in a banquet, dancing bears in sky circuses but she also brings you down to terra with quaint country scenes of houses and rural shops. She definitely doesn't skimp on details. Most of her clothes when they are not painted, are appliqued with laces, tulle, tweed, whatever have you and more often than not, have painstakingly stitched embroidery and beadwork.
So today, on my happy birthday, I am celebrating it by wearing one of my Tsumori Chisato tops that I have made a replica of for my Blythe doll.
On Me: Tsumori Chisato top $XXX.xx Paris Blues Jeans $25. Frye Boots $XXX.xx On Blythe Xiomara made Chisato inspired top. X-made jeans. PuddingHouse Blythe Ugg Boots
The design concept on the blouse is of two girls ( little black girl and little white girl) holding hands while in a hot air balloon ride. I also have a fascination with hot air balloons, by the way so this top was just screaming for me to get my hands on them. The hot air balloon is floating on top of the city but there also happens to be a rabbit in a green dress with a basket leisurely walking on air. I tried the best as I possibly could replicating the embroidery on the Blythe version but it was too tiny even for my elfin hands. I hope my futile effort would still be worthy of my own praise.
It would be safe for me to say but not for my wallet that I will still be getting some more Tsumori Chisato pieces in the future. They're art I can flaunt, wear out and not just hanging up on my wall. Oh and yeah, a very Happy Birthday to myself! ^_^
Me and my Tweedly Do (almost twin) Blythe. Her name is Taura Deal (after Kim Deal)
Wet Paint Cardi $17. Vintage Secretary Blouse.Rue 21 Floral Skirt bargain bin $8.99 Dollhouse Jeans $25 Soda Shoes
There's no way I'd get away with wearing that short a skirt at work. They'll lynch me, so I'm wearing it with a pair of denims.I am going to feel really crappy in the next few months of sweltering heat because it won't be healthy to wear cardigans. I hate summer.
Click on photo to enlarge. Ostrich Brooch from Forever 21 and Rue 21 Necklace, it's just one necklace but made to look like they're several layered necklaces.
Embroidered Peasant Mini Dress (some boutique in Shenzen, China) probably about $14. Vintage Boot Cut Jeans. Fringe "Pocahontas" Wedges (mom-bought), Bracelets by Shekina
I don't think I will ever outgrow flowery embroidered clothes. There's a folkloric charm about it and since I live in my own folklore, I gotta dress for it. This particular top makes me long for that gypsy caravan I've been begging for Thad to make me but he's always so busy trying to rebuild C.H.O.M.P.S. his robotic dog from childhood. Oh, and that photo is a relic from the future.
Derek Heart Batik Dress $30. F21 Cardi. F21 necklaces
I wear jeans with dresses because I am not so crazy about my legs. I bruise easily, you know being an exquisite China doll can be a drag :-P and mosquito bites take a while to fade. My legs are riddled with dots that if you connect them, you can probably form a portrait of La Gioconda. You know who she is right? She is world famous! No? Wiki that shit, people.
This dress needs a beach scenery. Where's an unearthly spectacular paradise of a beach when you need one? Oh right, I left it to move here... this dress isn't really bayou-friendly :-)
Rue 21 cardi. Rue 21 dress bargain $7.99 Vintage denims. Mom-bought heeled slippers.
This post is not about the outfit, it's about that wingback chair I snagged from the Salvation Army yesterday. I'm not sure where the chair was made but to me, it has that English drawing room flair to it albeit some drawing room of an eccentric recluse which is what I am fast becoming of so we're well matched.
I stragetically placed that chair right next to our bookcase, by the window and close to the fireplace (that you can't see on this photo). It's the perfect chair for curling up with a book. Thad can't curl in it though but he can smoke his pipe and relive his days as a sailor on the high seas of my mood swings. Heh.
Rue 21 cardi. F21 Smock. Paris Jeans. Mom-bought wedges.
Same excuse I had for Monday's post absentia, too damn busy. The smock looks like a romper from here. I've probably worn this smock 5 times since I bought it last year. It's my to go for shirt when I feel bloated. It disguises the gut. Haha. I think. I know it's getting warmer but I still have my trusty cardis on because it is cold in my office. Alrighty, late Tuesday post, frock on!
This was supposed to be Monday's post but I was too busy with work, you know, that thing that supports my spending habits. I have worn this wannabe- Oaxacan top before on a cold December day, over a thermal. But this is very much so a spring/summer top because the fabric is gauzy-like. I love the embroidery on it! But the thing I don't love about it is it gets wrinkles really easy. Oh well. Frock on!
Charlotte Russe embroidered top $25. Cardigan by Absolutely. Vintage Boot Cut Denims. Sweet Seventeen Mules.Necklaces Rue 21
For people who don't know me in person but have chanced on this blog, they must think I'm the ornery sort. I just can't smile properly in photos. I believed I was smiling when I set the timer till I saw the outcome. Meh. I tried. I didn't have time to take another shot since I was in a hurry to get to work.
The star of this post is my clematis plant. I planted that flowering vine from bare root and now look at it! It's taking off. I'm quite proud of this achievement.
I'm still in neck-deep buried in a quagmire of deadlines but I am all happy because I snagged this 2.5 inches tall and full of awesome Gumball Brooch last night from ebay at the last 3 seconds.No one can rain on my parade today! Frock on, folkies!!!
Rue 21 Pink & Gray cardi bargain $7.99 Lacey top $Rue 21 bargain bin $7.99 over brown Old Navy tanktop $8.00 Refuge Jeans (not frugal) Necklaces all Rue 21
This is my messy office. It's a sign of "I actually work." It just might not seem otherwise to people but as you can see here, I have someone else to share the burden. This photo can also be interpreted as Thad's Dream or Nightmare. Haha. Click on the photo to enlarge. I have populated my area with toys, work samples, work inspiration and trash.
Alright, I don't really don't have time to goof. So I gotta toddle pip! Frock on!!!
Jennifer and Grace embroidered peasant top. Rue 21 Fringe Vest $12. Express Jeans. Vintage Mules.
Feliz Cinco de Mayo! I actually forgot it was today when I decided to dress all hippie, (well basically my uniform in college) or I would've worn my Mexican Oaxacan top. Squeezy, my friend at work thought I was dressed as a Mexican cowgirl. Haha! So I do have some sort of Mexican flair going on then.
I included the photo of how my backyard looks in bright morning light. It's so pretty. I never realized how massive that silver maple tree is but then when I'm standing in close proximity to anything, they look more gargantuan than they normally are. Woe is wee.
Striped cardi $7 on sale and grey mini dress $17 Rue 21. Vintage jeans.
Reef Flip Flops in Olive
I won't take credit for this combination because I bought the whole outfit (sans pants) the way it looked on the default display. I gravitated to the whole mismatched patterns and colors and how they still look good together. Rue 21 is about a 5 minute drive from my office so when I feel l need a little upper like when my highly creative job begins to saturate my mood in acid, I go to Rue 21. The clothes are very trendy and the prices are very wallet friendly. I have gotten to know the peeps who work there, too and they're awesome people. One of them is Rebecca. She is one uber-cool lady and it seems like we agree on style, too because we buy the same things!
By the way, Rue 21 didn't pay me to endorse their store. This is just a semi homage for the store that helps this slightly impecunious clotheshorse feel like $20 is a shopping spree budget. ^_^
Handmade necklace. Zombie Bear was originally a phone charm. I got the ivory color coated chain from Michael's...et voila!
Baby Doll dress from Aseras sa Colon 50 php. Very Blue Paris Jeans. Same shoesies from Friday's post. Bib necklace F21 $8.99Union Jack ring $3.99 Rue 21
Every Cebuana reading this will know where I got my shirt. Most people are unaware of the hidden treasures in aseras stalls(side street boutiques) and the most wonderful thing about them is that you can haggle the prices down. The same top or dress you get from there are sold in high end boutiques at the mall with 300% mark ups. I bought the top when I was in Cebu about two years ago. It was originally priced at 150 php (Philippine peso) which is roughly almost 3 dollars. That is still cheap and I could've bought it for that price but it's the thrill of haggling that gives this frugal chick the ultimate high. I ended up paying 50 php which would be roughly a dollar and some cents. I did leave the salesgirl a tip which kind of defeats the purpose of haggling because I still parted with money but she was nice and funny. One thing I learned about living in the US is that good service should be rewarded.
Alright, let's see what Monday has in store for me...
Rue 21 Cardigan $15 Anime Shirt circa 1999 over an Old Navy tank. Very Blue Paris Jeans.
Here we have a panoramic view of the half of our living room. Yes, that old TV has been gutted and now houses our DVD players, CD player deck, and our Creatures (some sort of speakers that look like alien spaceships.) That birdcage used to be a refuge for my origami birds.
An otaku like me should own an anime shirt. lt would be sacrilege otherwise. My besftfriend Bevelove owns the same shirt ^_^ I've had that shirt for 11 years. If it was a child, it'd already be in its tweens and starting to display (my idea of) rebellious tendencies by listening to the Jonas Bros and that Justin cub. Thank god it's just a piece of clothing!
Thanks to my wonderful ex-boyfriend now husband of 7 years who helped his idiot, non-kitchen wench take the photo out of the camera.
Have a great Friday everyone...it's going to be downpouring all weekend but at least the surrounding vegetation will be having a blast!
Lacey shirt ebay.com Military Vest $8 F21 Score! Rue 21 jeans. Steve Madden boots
So the Lumix/Leica camera came in. Right now, Thad is treating it like he's married to it. Put a wig on it and they're in business :-P Photo was taken by Thad and his new inanimate wife. This is a part of our backyard and there's my struggling flower bed in the back. My shirt is made of some lacey fabric which if it hadn't been for the knitted military vest, I'd be showcasing my underwear. I've worn the striped pants before. It's got that circus look to it. I really wanted to wear my band jacket and go out as a Ringmaster but my menagerie is not allowed at my workplace anymore.
Really excited about this camera, once I figure out how to work it, I won't get looks from Tabitha anymore. She'll be regarding me like I'm a goddess of photography. Just wait and see, Tab...
This camera makes me look really short here...wait this IS the actual height setting. :-P One thing's for sure, I look 10 lbs. lighter here. I love this camera. It's such a liar.
P.S. I'm still on my Camera Obscura (the band from Glasgow) kick...
Dress ebay.com $30. F21 Cardi $11. Steve Madden Wedges $16!
I was going to take my pictures by my little flower bed but I had forgotten my camera's memory card at work. So that lovely plan got shot to hell. I ended up taking a photo in my office...with crappy lighting.
This whole ensemble was what I wore to my friends' Chauntelle Dupree and Jessie Dupree's double wedding rehearsal dinner. I'm wearing it again because I love this combination. There is no plum color in that whole outfit to match/coordinate with the plum shoes but hey, I wanted something to jump out, what better way than to finish this look with irrelevant hued shoesies. One should try it. Mitchy-matchy is too safe...
Frock on! Oh and...
Band obsession of the week is Camera Obscura!!! Click on the image to play video Their songs just take me back to a time when I wasn't even a zygote yet. I heart them!
Threadless shirt $15. Paris Very Blue Jeans $24. Charlotte Russe Wedges. Charlotte Russe Cardi $8. Red belt ebay.com
I still have this blog. Aside from atrophy and uninspiration claiming my time recently, my excuse is that I find my spring/summer outfits blah. They're not interesting to me because I'm not doing any layering. I should consider this as a challenge though and be more creative. My other excuse is that my camera seems to be deteriorating. I begged Thad to buy me a camera, a point and shoot for the dummies camera. He opted for a Leica one. Even though I gave him the idea, he still thinks the camera he bought with his own money is his. Soon this belief will dissipate. I got the shirt from threadless.com That shirt speaks in precise sentence structure to the grammarist in me. I just made that word up.
Wet Paint Cardi. Angie Tribal Top. LEI Bootcut Jeans. Soda Shoes
Wearing tribal prints remind me of home, the Philippines...I don't own a whole lot of tribal printed outfits because I could never find one that wouldn't make me look like I'm part of a cultural dance troupe.
I love this cute tribal top. It's got those cool brass rivets sewn on the bodice.This top has spaghetti straps but since it's cold in my office, most of my outfits will always be finished with a cardigan. I think cardigans are my staple. They're warm enough for cold rooms and cool enough for the outdoor heat.
