Statements Part 1 Photoshoot

Styling and Wardrobe – Ethel Manalo (me)
Photographer – Raelene Baget
Make-up artist – Shelia Tsakalidis
Model – Cam Tu Nguyen

I’m fortunate enough to have so many talented people in my life. Among them, is my roommate and one of my best friends, Raelene Baget. She has the ability to capture candid portrait shots, reflecting a person’s personality after just meeting them for the first time.

Since starting my blog, I’ve been dying to collaborate with Raelene and thankfully she was able to squeeze me into her busy schedule.

We came up with a concept straight away. We wanted to do a fashion shoot showcasing statement pieces.

To model these pieces, we were lucky to work with a gorgeous model, Cam Tu Nguyen. Raelene has worked with her previously and after seeing their pervious work, I fell in love! She was perfect for the shoot.

Raelene and I both wanted to move in a more artistic direction for the shoot. For each shot, we wanted to capture one or two statement pieces with minimal clothing.

To reflect my crazy and quirky style, I decided to use make-up and face paint. I couldn’t think of a better make-up artist to work with then Sheila Tsakalidis. She was the talent behind the 60s photoshoot and has also worked with face paint before. Not to mention she’s one of my favourite make-up artists.

With these three looks, I wanted the photos to be happy, bright, colourful, crazy and fun. Just like the statement pieces.

On Monday I’ll be posting part 2, the photos are in complete contrast to part 1. They’re stronger and more intense, so don’t forget to check it out.

Enjoy, have a good weekend! 🙂

Bangs in Floral Print

Dress – BooHoo  |  Belt – Miss Shop  |  Socks – Sportsgirl  |  Heels – Wittner  |  Earings – Diva

The weekend before the last, Chin and I finally got our haircuts.

Years ago when we first met, I had crazy hair; blonde, shaved, boy cut, asymmetrical, you name it. I went through this phase where I changed my hair as often as I changed my clothes hehehe :).

Despite my crazy antics, early last year I decided I would grow my locks and back then, it was crazy short. Now, my hair is finally at a length that is easier to style. However, the months leading up to the cut, sucked! My hair was dry, crazy and unmanageable!

Naturally I have curly hair and before you say “Curly hair is so pretty”, trust me, you have not seen me in the morning. I literally look like I stuck my finger in a PowerPoint and if you don’t believe me, ask my roommates.

After many months of contemplating, constantly asking “how do I change my hair without loosing length?” I thought I would take it back to basics and rock the bangs.

I know I look like I’m 10 and getting this haircut will make me look leven younger.  But, lets face it; no matter how hard I try, I will not look a day over 16 (first world problems).

On the day, it was super sunny, I just couldn’t resist. I had to wear something as fun and bright. So, to rock the new do, I decided to flaunt my new floral print dress from BooHoo. To make the colours of the dress pop, I wore the same coloured accessories.

This outfit probably doesn’t help that fact that I look like a child but I’ve done my time trying to look older and it still doesn’t make much of a difference. In all honestly, I love bright colours, floral prints and cute looking outfits, that’s just me :).

Before I go, I thought I’d share a funny encounter Chin and I experienced when these shots were taken.

We were setting up for the shoot and some random guy comes up to us and says, “You guys doing a photoshoot?” I awkwardly responded with a “Yes?” and Chin cleverly replied, “ Nah man, we’re just hanging out”. Then the guy stood right next to Chin and when I say right next to him, I mean literally side by side. He then randomly starts posing, almost like he’s inviting us to take snaps of him.

Chin and I awkwardly try to move away but the guy just follows us and creepily watched us at a close distance………………..I MEAN, WHO DOES THAT?!

Taking photos for the blog is not easy, it can make you feel really uncomfortable and this is a prime example why HAHAHA!

For all the bloggers out there, has anything like this ever happen to you taking your photos?

70s Bohemian Chic

Dress – Forever New  |  Faux Fur Vest – All About Eve  |  Tribal Stockings – Sportsgirl   |  Ankle Boots – ZU  |  Tote Bag – Michael Kors

For anyone who knows me well, they know that I have so many clothes! The name of my blog speaks for its self; I literally have a fashion addiction.

To manage my addiction, I have my own system in place to prevent myself from drowning in my mountains of clothes.

Two times a year, I pack last seasons clothes away and I bring out the current seasons clothes. This year was no different; I packed away my summer outfits and brought out the coats, long sleeves, patterned stockings and boots. To keep my wardrobe fresh and minimal, anything I haven’t worn in a year gets sent to the Philippines.

But the best thing about bringing out my old clothes from last season is the fact that I fall in love with my old clothes all over again. All of a sudden, everything old feels new and it literally feels like I have a brand new wardrobe.

With what feels like a new wardrobe, I thought it was also time to change my hairstyle.

Still getting use to the new do, I couldn’t wait to wear my 5 year old Forever new dress. What better way to match this 70s style dress, than to wear it with my new All about Ever faux fur vest. I wanted to mix the old with the new, whilst keeping in touch with my bohemian side. To keep the style modern and trendy I accessorised with tribal tights and vintage style sunnies.

Tomorrow I’m styling a photo shoot based on statement pieces. I am so super excited because I’m going to be working with my roommate, who is an amazing photographer -Raelene Baget. We have a gorgeous model on board – Cam Tu. The make up will be done, by one of my favourite make up artists – Sheila Tsakalidis. For those of you who have followed me from the start, she was the talent who did the make up for the 60’s inspired shoot. I can’t wait!!!

I’ll be posting the photos from the shoot in a week or two, so keep an eye out and don’t miss out!

Don’t forget to like Fashiondiction on Facebook for some sneak peaks on new blog posts and up coming events – http://www.facebook.com/My.Fashiondiction

I’ll see you guys on Monday with a brand new outfit 🙂

HAVE A GOOD WEEKEND!

WhatIWear.com Event

Floral Shirt – ASOS  |  Dress – Cotton on  |  Socks – Sportsgirl  |  Bowler Hat – Tempt  |  Tote Bag – Michael Kors

Last Saturday I was invited to attend an event held by WhatIWear.com.

The event was for selected Sydney fashion bloggers to get to know each other and meet the people behind the site. The main aspect of the event was to communicate the type of community WhatIWear.com are aiming to portray through their new website. It was an opportunity for fashion bloggers to come together to share their insights and knowledge about all things fashion related.

In light of the event, they had given us colours to dress for the occasion; orange, black and white. Orange is not a colour I wear often, it was once a colour I hated, but has since grown on me.

It was truly refreshing walking into Guylian’s Café in Darling harbour (where the event was held) and seeing all these intimidatingly beautiful bloggers painted in the themed colours. Knowing that I’d be meeting other fashion bloggers, I have to admit, before the event I spent quite some time thinking about what to wear (hehehe).

But after meeting everyone, the nerves had settled and I realised that it was refreshing to converse with other fashion bloggers who shared the same interests. Being new to the blogging scene, I sometimes question if I’m doing it right or if I should be doing things differently. However, after speaking with the more experienced bloggers (some with three years under their belt), it was reassuring to know that after all their years of experience, they too have their doubts.

On the day, I wanted to showcase an outfit that was my usual quirky and fun style. I wore a simple black dress over a long sleeve floral top with a black contrast peter pan collar. To make the colour of the top pop, I teamed the outfit with orange socks and cream brogues. To top it off, I accessorised with a black bowler hat.

I was so lucky to meet all these new fashion bloggers based in Sydney, and it was great to know that we could still stay in touch through different types of social media.

This experience, meeting fashion bloggers, sharing common interests and finding people alike who love fashion is the type of community you’ll find on WhantIWear.com

Did you want to be apart of a community who shares the same passion for fashion as you? Check out the website yourself and sign up at http://www.whatiwear.com/

Here are photos from the event courtesy of my photographer/partner YUNN CHIN :).

Check out the amazing bloggers I met on Saturday –

 

Representative from WhatIWear.com – Valencia Gunawan

“Mind Body Shop” Jessica Tuong – http://www.mindbodyshop.blogspot.com (This tall gorgeous blogger had to crouch because I’m freakishly small)

 

“Frilly Skirts” Camille Sioco – http://camillesioco.tumblr.com/

“Me and Sunny” Karen Okuda (she is so adorable!) – http://www.meandsunny.blogspot.com

“The Hidden Thimble” Duo Bloggers Talyssa and Siree – http://www.thehiddenthimble.com

“Rachel Bambi” Rachel Bambi – http://www.rachelbambi.com

“Ceememore” Cassie Lam – http://www.ceememore.blogspot.com

“La petite mademoiselle” Margaret Ye – http://www.lapetitemademoiselle.com.au/

“Bright Green Laces” Pixel Hazard – http://www.brightgreenlaces.com

Leather, Snake Skin and Panther Print

Dress – Jorge  |  Leather Jacket –  Revival  |  Clutch – Forever New  |  Knee High Black Socks – Sportsgirl  |  Leather Ankle Boots – ZU  |  Necklace – Forever 21 |  Earrings – Diva

On the 13^th of April, I attended my very first label launch for Tokyo Twerk. The launch was amazing along with the new collection released by Jenny and Christine Le.

For the event I wanted to wear something a little more edgy than my usual default cutesy style. I decided to pull out my classic leather jacket from hiding and teamed it up with a colourful printed dress. I went with my purple panther printed dress from Jorge.

Knowing I’d be getting my dance on, I wore THE most comfortable ankle boots from ZU (my new fave autumn staple). The weather was a little chilly that night, so I wore my black knee high socks with my ankle boots. To give the outfit more depth and texture I wore black and gold accessories. The earrings are made out of wood and I teamed the outfit with a statement faux snakeskin textured clutch.

Tokyo Twerk will be releasing their website soon, so I’ll keep you guys posted.

This Wednesday Ill be posting more on the event I attended on Saturday “WhatIWear – Fashion Gathering” so stay tuned!!!

If you haven’t hit the follow button – Please do!

Don’t forget to like Fashiondiction on Facebook!!!

 

Kicking back in denim and chucks

Shorts – LuLu and Rose  |  Top – Supre  |  Jacket – Cotton On  |  Fluro Green Bra – Victoria Secret  |  Shoes – Converse  |  Hat – Stussy

It’s the weekend!!! It’s time to leave the button up shirts and pencil skirts at home and get into some comfortable Chucks.

For me, this weekend is all about chilling out, laying back and having fun. So what better way to start it then with the clothes that I’m wearing.

Looking back on my high school days, reminiscing on my past outfits, I realized how desperate I was to look older than my age (typical teenager). I couldn’t wait to rock the secretary look, well pretty much anything that wasn’t my uniform.  But now, working in an office with so many restrictions on what to wear, all I can think about wearing on the weekend is something comfortable and relaxed.

So keeping it simple and channelling my old hip-hop dancing days, I chucked on my Stussy hat, stone washed denim jacket and my red Converse chucks. It’s my perfect chilled back weekend outfit.

What’s your kick back weekend outfit?

Later this afternoon I’m going to an event called “ WhatIwear – fashion gathering” where you meet other fashion bloggers in Sydney and all lovers of fashion-http://www.facebook.com/events/483776591689569/

I can’t wait!!! Stay tuned this week for more details on the event 🙂

On Monday I’ll be posting more photos of the outfit I wore to the Tokyo Twerk launch so watch out for my post – Enjoy your weekend!!!

Tokyo Twerk Label Launch

Last Saturday, I was invited to a label launch for a new up coming brand, Tokyo Twerk. I was fortunate enough to meet the talented designers behind it all, sisters Jenny and Christine Le.

It was refreshing to see a new, unique brand filled with fun and crazy designs inspired by Tokyo.

I also had the chance to speak to the creative director Lin Canh, who had organised the event and the decorations for it.

Just like the label, the launch was raw, youthful, fun and absolutely crazy (you know me the crazier the better). It was held in an intimate venue called the Back Room, with a live performance from Fingertips.

I can’t wait till their website is up and running, so I can get my own shirt!!!

I’ll be posting up more photos of the outfit I wore that night, so keep a look out for this weekends post.

Here are some photos from the event . . . ENJOY!

Like Tokyo Twerk on Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/TokyoTwerk

Glamping in primary colours

Dress – Lispy  |  Belt – Miss Shop  |  Heels – Verali

Last week I was lucky enough to go on a camping trip with a group of my friends.  Initially reluctant, but in the end a lot of memories were made and friendships were strengthened. So good in fact that we are planning our next trip in June and I CAN’T WAIT!!!

Before the camping trip, I always envisioned the camping experience to be something thing like the show “Man versus Wild”.  One thing I forgot to consider was the fact that I was camping with a Filipino family and being a filo myself, we pack our whole kitchen. Even though we slept in tents around a campfire, we still cooked our food as per normal and still had the luxury of a toilet and shower. I guess it was more “Glamping” rather than “ Camping”. One thing I do have to add was the food was amazing!!!

Also referencing another show, in the days of “ Mad Men” where the men would go to work and the women would stay home and look after the household. This was very much like our camping trip. However, in this version the men would do the hard labor and the women would stay on the campsite to cook and clean. Now usually, I’m all for getting my hands dirty and I’m happy to get out there to explore. But this time, I really couldn’t help even if I wanted to. The things they had to carry and do were really physically demanding. I realized that I would be more in the way rather than helping them. I just cooked cleaned and chilled… IT WAS AWESOME!

As promised, this is the other outfit I wore on the camping trip. The dress featured is by a clothing label that I adore, LIPSY! Their collections are amazing, so girly and so chic. If you look back to the 60’s inspired blog I released a couple of weeks ago, most of the clothes the models wore are from Lispy.

With this look I wanted more of a classic look. I wanted to present an Americana feel because when I think of a country girl, I think of the America country. To present this I wore the primary colours of red, white, blue and yellow. To make the outfit pop I used print on print; red and white stripes and white and blue polka dots.

Check out more of the Lipsy collection at – http://www.lipsy.co.uk/

Big shout out to the make up artist Lyn Da who is responsible for the make up. You can see more of her on Facebook – www.facebook.com/dollfacebylynda.

During the week I’ll be posting about a label launch that I attended for the label Tokyo Twerk, so stay tuned 🙂

HAVE A GOOD WEEKEND GUYS!

Floral and polka dot prints in the country

Dress – Hipster  | Heels – Siren  | Hat – Jays Jays

Over the long Easter holiday some friends and I drove four and a half hours past Cowra (country town in NSW Australia) for a camping trip. We camped on my friend’s uncle’s 100-acre farm.

I’ve always thought of my self as a city girl, loving the concrete jungle that is Sydney CBD. So you can imagine, going all the way to a farm for camping was not my ideal way to spend my Easter break. However, I’m always up for a challenge and I can never say no to new experiences (since I’ve never actually gone camping).

From the on set of the trip, Chin (my boyfriend\my photographer) and I thought it would be a good idea to take advantage of the scenery out in the country. I imagined it to be like the scenes you see in films, with the dirt track road and some red soil like you see in the outback. This just shows how much I know about the Australian outback and the countryside (face palm). So, when we arrived at the farm it was completely different to what I had imagined. The scenery was so much more beautiful and no amount of photos we took would do the place justice. After an eventful 3 days and 2 nights with some amazing people, I’m already planning our next camping trip.

To suit the scene, I chose an outfit that reflected my portrayal of a country girl. I could have gone all the way with the boots and all but it just wouldn’t be my style without cute polka dots. I decided to keep the outfit simple wearing a floral print strapless dress and teaming it up with red polka dot heels. To add more of a country flare to it I topped the outfit off with a simple straw hat.

Over the coming weekend I’ll be posting more about my first camping adventures and you’ll get to see what other outfits I wore during the trip.

I was lucky enough to meet a make up artist during the camping trip, if your wondering who did my make up it was Lyn da. You can visit her on Facebook at – www.facebook.com/dollfacebylynda.

What did you get up to over the Easter break?

Shopping under a $100

Skirt – Alive Girl  |  Top – Supre  |  Shoes – Court Couture  |  Belt – Miss Shop  |  Earrings – Louisa

Hello everyone! Hope you guys enjoyed your Easter break. For the past 2 weeks I haven’t been posting as much since I’ve had a number of things to organise before the Easter break. The good news is, all the organising and preparation will be for the up-coming posts, which is going to be featured this week and next. So be sure to watch this space to see what I got up to over the Easter long weekend.

On a different note, for this post I wanted to feature an outfit that was under $100. Living out of home and studying kind of puts a strain on your savings and makes it difficult to treat yourself to a fresh new outfit. Luckily I picked up a few tips here and there when it comes to finding bargains with some quality items. With this outfit I spent a total of $70! Here’s the breakdown:

Skirt = $15 found at a small clothing store just outside of Chastwood station.

Top = $12 Supre. I’m not usually a fan of this store but they are the best place to get funky basics.

Shoes = $28 DSW (Direct Shoe Warehouse). This is also located at Chatswood, at the time they were having a sale; buy 2 and get one free.

Belt = $12 Myers. I waited till the Christmas sales and ended up getting 10% off this baby! It’s not much, but it’s better than nothing 🙂

Earrings = $3 Louisa. This store usually sporadically drop their prices, so I always keep an eye out for their sales.

So for those of you currently tight on money, you can still find some pretty decent bargains out there without spending a fortune. As Tammy Bakker always says “Shopping is cheaper than a psychiatrist.”

Do you know any great places to find a bargin?