Happy New Year, and I'm Off!

Friends, I'm sending you my warm New Year's greetings a bit early. In a few hours, I'll be heading to chilly Hong Kong to welcome 2010 while browsing my favorite shops, and hopefully scoring some good finds.

I still haven't really contemplated the past year yet, but I'm thankful I'm still around, and I have friends and family to celebrate and commiserate with, when things are good or bad.

Meanwhile, I look forward to 2010 with promises of hope and change. I wish us all more celebrations, less challenges, and because this space is called 'Life in Receipts,' I have to wish us all more memorable purchases and a beautiful year in style.

Cheers,
Morx

A Topman Blazer

Blue slim-fit Topman blazer with white piping detail. I got it last October with Christmas as pretext. An early present to self, I said. The truth is, RTW jackets never fit me, and this one did.



This is me feeling dandy-ish.

The Festive Feeling

'Tis the season for fun, frivolous purchases. Mine are



A hat



And a plaid (or is it madras?) bow tie.



And this is me with both


Shirt, Ted Baker. Pants, Uniqlo. Shoes, Generic Surplus. Hat and bow tie, Topman.

Worn with the shirt, the tie almost disappears. I liked the effect.



This outfit made me want to go to a party exactly like that in the video of "Dancing in the Moonlight" by Toploader. The song and the super fun video will always be favorites of mine.

Generic Surplus

"Generic" and "surplus" are bad words, as far as I'm concerned. But when put together, it's a truly admirable shoe brand.

The Generic Surplus website says it best: "the foundation of Generic Surplus is proven shapes and clean, simple, refined lines. Creating classic American footwear to complete a look or to be worn everyday as a personal standard."



I got this pair of pointy grey Oxfords at Trilogy a month ago, and I've been wearing them almost every day. They are wonderful to the feet and go with almost everything I wear.

History!

When I watch boxing matches, it is usually with eyes averted, and only Manny's fights. 7 titles in 7 weight divisions = history. Thanks, Manny!

My First Artwork: "Unfinished Business"

This artwork on my desk is my first art purchase ever. Who better to support than a talented artist friend? Her name is Kate Santos and this piece is called "Unfinished Business," part of a series called "Hearsay." And how appropriate. You can get lost in it if you stare long enough at the swirl of quotation marks, much like when you follow a wildly morphing rumor that keeps getting passed on. If I were to speak like an art critic, I'd say: Ms. Santos senses the "method"--hence the orderliness of the prime element--in the seeming madness of rumormongering, and transcribes this with precision in her work. The effect is of encountering a vortex; one is inevitably pulled in.

In other words, it's hypnotic.


Photo by Brendan Goco

Above is Kate continuing the series with a large scale graffiti on a wall outside of a bar called Ludos along Timog Avenue.

Aside from making art, Kate also bakes fantastic cookies, but that's reserved for another post.

+J: The Queue

For this



I would have gone through ten times worse than this



Manila, you desperately need Uniqlo.



And Ms Sander, bravo.

RIP Irving Penn

Goodbye, Mr. Penn. You'll be sorely missed.

The Bright Tie Looks

Wearing a bow tie in this jeans-and-t-shirt city without self-consciousness can be a challenge when strangers don't even bother hiding their "amusement." But I went ahead and bought this bright striped piece anyway in a moment of boldness. Which means I have to summon enough confidence to wear it. To minimize my self-consciousness, I've decided to wear it set against completely spare backdrops. No colors, no frills, completely casual. The bow tie stands out and I still manage to look somehow "normal."

Look 1:


Black pique shirt, black cardigan, dark denims, chunky white shoes

Look 2:


White shirt (sleeves rolled and untucked), dark denims, white hightops

Success!

I proclaim my visit to the Manila International Book Fair at the SMX Convention Center yesterday a smash success. The National Bookstore booth was practically giving away Oxford University Press editions of classics, pricing them at P80 each. Here's my loot: The Bible, Herodotus' Histories, Boswell's Life of Johnson, Pater's Renaissance, Wilde's Major Works, Henry James' Wings of the Dove and Portrait of a Lady and Austen's Emma.

The best things in life can sometimes be almost free.

Girls, "Album"

A week to go before the release of Album, the debut CD of San Francisco-based duo, Girls. I've been a fan since I discovered their music videos on Youtube--surreal vignettes of the careless, reckless life of American youth. Listen, I'm not kidding when I say they're fantastic.

FP Laptop Bag

Planning to replace my old heavy laptop with something lighter, but first I had to find a nice bag to put it in. Now I know. The Fred Perry Twin Tipped Laptop Bag is instant love.

I Gotta Feeling

Awesome.

A.P.C. Sustain

Okay, so $260 for a bottle of perfume is quite much, but there's only 300 bottles of them in this world, and sandalwood and patchouli are wonderful scents. And it's A.P.C. Enough said.

Here's the text from Material Interest:

There's a reason that A.P.C. hasn't offered a scent before now: Owner Jean Touitou found the very idea "vulgar" and "gross." But after meeting a girl in L.A. who blends essential oils, the man found it in his heart to offer up Sustain, a combination of 12 oils in an odd but compelling wooden sculpture surrounding a glass bottle. (Think postmodern pepper mill and you're close.) We got our hands on the only tiny vial of the stuff in the city, and the predominant notes of patchouli and sandalwood seemed to hit the summer-into-fall mood perfectly. We didn't quite catch the smell of a guitar case lined in bright velvet and scattered with rose petals that was the apparent inspiration, but the unisex scent's moniker does pay a nominal tribute to rock—it's named for a guitar-effects pedal. And maybe also for its creator's new fixation: Touitou's former distaste is now an "obsession" bordering on "addiction." You've been warned.

Sango!

I'm not a fan of working lunches, because meals really deserve everyone's full attention. But in the few instances that I had to stay at my workspace for lunch, Sango's yakiniku rice burger has been my foolproof option. Uncomplicated and extremely tasty, it makes you forget about the unpleasant feeling of having to work through lunch. With a glass of Coke, perfect.

Aldo Accessories

Got these bowties from Aldo last weekend. The gray's easy, but I'm still figuring out what I can wear with the striped one... Hmmm...

Golden Silvers

Golden Silvers is the band, and their album, True Romance, is what I've been listening to nonstop for three weeks now. Fantastic. Watch the videos below to find out just how good they sound and how stylish they look.

Today

Tie and polka dot shirt, Giordano Concepts. Cardigan and shorts, Uniqlo. Shoes, Topman. Watch, Lego.

G is for GaGa

I can't believe my luck. Just when I thought I wouldn't be able to see Lady GaGa's concert last night, my boss asked me at the 11th hour to accompany her daughters and their friends to the concert. I readily agreed, of course, and imagine my delight when I found out I'd be seated in the 8th row. Unbelievable.



What can I say? She was outrageous, hilarious and a truckload of fun. She said in one of her spiels that when she was asked if she had a d**k, she said yes and in fact it was bigger than "yours." I'd say she definitely has a pair of 'em balls attached to it as well. This girl defines chutzpah.



I got to "meet" her after the concert, which means she walked into position for a group photo and we were hustled out. (Above is a stolen shot I got as she was entering the room. This lady wears "tanggas" as if they were pajamas, to be sure.) I think she might be sincerely nice; the kids I was with got to hug her and be hugged in return.

All in all, the most fun night I've had all year. Thank you, Mells, for the ticket.

Shoes: Mark Ronson for Gucci

I just nearly had a heart attack. If there's any justice in this world, these shoes will find their way to my shoe closet one day. Can't wait. I really, really want.



Here's the text from Material Interest:

More surprising than a Mark Ronson-designed shoe? The fact that there hasn't been a Mark Ronson-designed shoe before. Gucci has tapped the DJ and producer, one of its most high-profile fans, to collaborate with Frida Giannini on several styles of Gucci Ronsons for the brand's upcoming series of sneakers-only pop-up shops, the first of which comes to NYC this October. The three styles the brand is previewing include a chukka, a deck shoe, and a more traditional sneaker, which, with their bright colorways and preppy styling, call to mind the footwear of another of Ronson's favorite lines, Band of Outsiders. It's a smart move, we'd say, to push limited editions with one of the few guys left with the cred to make them must-have. Avid kick collectors will no doubt want them all—but since a new style will be released at each new pop-up on the tour (currently planned to include London, Berlin, Paris, Hong Kong, and Tokyo), they'd better have a few frequent-flier miles at the ready.

My New Desk

Yesterday, I finally got this longer and more spacious desk in dark wood from Dimensione for my room. My old desk, back from when I was in grade school, was crummy and couldn't accommodate a laptop, an open book and an open notebook placed side by side. But now there's enough space for them plus more; I just have to roll my chair from one to the other. I can envision a lot of engrossed reading and research at my new desk.

On my desk...


An improvised study lamp


Sharp pencils in a champagne flute


A miniature disco ball, souvenir from a company party years ago


A vase from a friend's Boracay wedding reception. It travelled so far, I thought it needed a place of honor, although it hasn't contained flowers since.


My trusty dictionaries, without which my desk is not complete


Old and yellowing speakers, salvaged from the PC years. I really need to get an iPod dock.


This inexplicable book, which I've never really read, but which I keep in hand because I might just want to become a genius one day.

Manila Design Week 2009

My good friend Nico at Team Manila is inviting everyone to participate in Manila Design Week beginning this Saturday.

According to the event's website, Manila Design Week 2009 gathers all graphic designers – local and international, established and up and coming – to celebrate the emerging graphic design scene in the country today. The first of its kind in the Philippines, it aims to bring Philippine Graphic Design into the mainstream. More than that, Manila Design Week 2009 aims to establish the Philippines as a major hub of Graphic Design and creativity in the region, if not the world.

I'm looking forward to the Public Art Project in Bonifacio High Street, the Design Dialogue in Greenbelt MyCinema and The Cubao Experience in Cubao X.

Visit their website for the complete schedule of events. See you all!

New Shoes!

New shoes are always a happy thing.


These Fred Perrys were a planned purchase during my HK trip. Love love love the turquoise accents. I know I'll be wearing them to death.


While this red pair with wingtip details from 101 New York called to me while strolling at the mall. The price was apt for an impulse buy. Sure to punch up a monochrome outfit.

Usefully Muji

Sleek pen,
unfussy pen case,
unlined
recycled-paper notebook,
and

a seriously adorable polka
dot umbrella.

The Should-Haves

Ties at A.P.C.



Short-sleeved jacket in a shop at Park Lane

Should have gone for it and got them. Now there's just regret.