These shoes were made for walking

A lot of people know me for my high heels. At my old job, I learned to run in three-inch heels because I was always rushing to beat the bundy clock (the security guards were on my side. And oh, I have since progressed to running in four-inch heels). And, on one occasion, when a co-worker caught me in sneakers on my way to the gym, he remarked, "Ang liit mo pala!"

Which is why I don't really wear flats. I always thought that ballet flats would make me look squat because of the width of my feet and my, uh, general self. Haha. But I resolved to buy ballet flats that I could live with, and so I went hunting. The result...

...Flats that I can't just live with, but which I actually love! As you can see, they're by el cheapo Parisian, found in all SM Department Stores. I heart this brand because they have such stylish shoes that don't cost a bundle. This pair, for example, was less than P500! Woohoo! I love the whole snakeskin thang it's got going. Funnily enough, while I was wearing these, I ran into one of the fab former Preview girls, and she was wearing platforms in the exact same pattern. (She got hers on sale at H&M.) And they don't make me look squat at all--in fact, they seem to make my legs look longer. Yay! On the minus side, these pinch my feet a bit because they're a half size smaller than normal--SM ran out of shoes in my exact size. But I snatched them up anyway because they're just so darn cute.

Hooray for cute, cheapie finds! Hooray for being a girl who can blog about such inane things!

Breathtaking

I first heard about Slim's a few years ago when I found out that a couple of friends were taking sewing classes there. I wondered about the name but wasn't curious enough to research. It was only late last year--when the office was all abuzz with excitement over the launch of the Slim's Retrospective at the National Museum--that I learned that it's short for Salvacion Lim Higgins, one of the Philippines' most famous designers.

I was not familiar with her work, but I got acquainted with it through this book:

I'm not a fashion person (though I often wonder what my life would be like now had I taken that Preview job years ago), but that was the first time that I ever got lost in the pages of a coffee table book about fashion. Neal Oshima's photography was glorious, the subjects even moreso. Even vintage photos of Slim's works really struck me. Beautiful gowns seemingly floating in mid-air, the masterful draping--I was mesmerized. Such detail, such construction, such imagination! The inspired, architectural things she did with the terno! Oh, this was a woman who was truly ahead of her time.

I have to somehow convince my husband to accompany me to the National Museum again, so I could see these works of art up close. If you get the chance, do head on over to Manila; the exhibit runs til March.

The Slim's Retrospective is at the Museum of the Filipino People, National Museum of the Philippines, Manila. Exhibit open daily except Monday and Tuesday, 10:00 am to 4:30pm. Entrance fees: P100 (adults), P30 (students) free admission on Sundays. For more info, call (02) 527-0278.

I've got a crush on you

Today's look was inspired by...

My girl crush, Emmanuelle Chiriqui, aka Sloan on Entourage. I've always found her so gorgeous, but she was especially so in season 6. And I loooved her clothes that season--classic and chic, never weirdly edgy.

In the season finale, pictured above, she wore a men's gray sweater over a coral tank and distressed boyfriend jeans (not shown), which she wore in a number of other eps. I could never pull off boyfriend jeans, at least not REAL boyfriend (or, in my case, husband) jeans. I'm just so small that I would look like a little boy in his dad's clothes. And I'm convinced that the look works best on skinny frames--something I have never had!

I do, however, have a pair of distressed jeans that weren't even intentionally distressed. They've got a few rips here and there because I played disc in them one time. (Couldn't help myself.) I also have a favorite gray off-shoulder top from Bangkok. First option was to wear it over a white tank, but I dug through my closet and found my almost-forgotten hot pink Topshop tank. Too bad my silver hoop earrings were no longer usable.

It feels weird doing this because I don't really put pics of myself in a post about clothes. (I'm far more interested in interiors than in fashion.) Plus there's the possible comparison with the incomparable Emmanuelle (a five-foot-three goddess, that one). But whatevs. I was just slightly giddy to find Sloan-esque stuff in my closet!

Now if anyone can tell me what shades she wore in that episode, I would owe you big time!