Helgaholic: The Quirky One

One of Manila’s "hippest" lifestyle bloggers today is Ms. Helga Weber of helgaholic.com and ditz-revolution.net.

Aside from feature beauty articles, her true-to-self and frank statements on various issues that fancy her way, her passion for ink (tattoos, that is) and hair dying, her devotion to her cat and photography, she paints her blogs with fashion posts that show her creative side. Her followers just love all her pretty quirks.

Helga's latest do. Aquamarine with hints of pink and blue at the ends.

Edgy as he is, she also sported a half-shaved head for some time.

It all started here. (Well, not rilly here, but this is how simple her hair dyeing business started.)

Unlike others who rely on brands to be fashion-forward, she’s one of the bloggers that’s very appealing to the “masa” (relatable to the public) of Manila, as one proud-of-it thrift store shopper aside from being patrons of the truly worth-her-money brands.

She pairs certain pieces for casual wear...

But she can easily glam them up too.

Combining thrifted bargains with branded finds is one of Helga's fortes.

Helga shows that even the average girl can be highly fashionable if she just has the keen eye on using her resources well.

Three Topmost: Glam Edition

Here we go again with our three favorite fashion royalties: Laureen Uy, Kryz Uy and Camille Co. This time, we see how these ladies glam up and grace black tie events in style.

We start today with Laureen’s sexy looks, first in her Aztec print dress.

What make this look stand out is its combination with the blue printed oversized purse, gold pumps and that perfectly-framing dangle earrings.

Next, she wears a simpler yet more elegant nude dress paired with the same gold pumps.

With the nude dress, she finishes with a basic cuff and earrings and a popping ring for a flare.

A red maxi dress with basic gold highlights artfully sown together by Kryz gave a whole mysterious and rather intriguing femme vibe that always keeps heads turning at parties.

To make the look more formal, the look can be tweaked by switching to pumps and keeping the hair nude.

Kryz also shows how to surely be the life of a party (and the one talked about since after) as she wears such a stunner and, in every sense of the word, glam dress.

With the hair up and minimal simple accessories, I’m quite positive she really stood out in that party.

Our favorite in the glam genre would definitely have to be Camille, first in this shimmering top paired with nude layered skirt and heels.

The gold belt did the trick of fusing the two pieces like what she’s wearing is actually a dress.

Lastly, Camille shows how textures and colorful prints can uniquely stand out in a sea of dull formal party dresses.

With the perfect accessories, making this bold statement puts one in the ranks of the epically remembered characters in the party.

This week, we take a look on one of the hottest trends in fashion today: print-on-print. Fashion has surely 360-ed from the formerly oh-so-conventionally minimalist with this one as pairing a couple of printed pieces becomes all the rage. Of course, who does it better than our three favorite bloggers, Camille Co, Kryz Uy and Laureen Uy.

With this look, Camille dazzles with actually two trends: floral designs and print-on-print. How the outfit comes together is a matter of choosing the dominant print colors.

She went for the very feminine pink and powder blue with the third printed piece, the adorable wedges. Very doll-like, isn’t she?

Kryz went for the classic animal and geometrical prints. One rule of thumb in playing with prints is mixing shape-oriented with linear.

The studded cuffs and peep toes go blended well together with the outfit.

The Manila Spectator’s favorite for this week is Laureen in her peach and black combo.

Another tip for the print-on-print trend is mixing and matching light and dark-colored pieces.

Since prints are such bold elements already, sticking with two basic color palettes and maybe little highlights with classic colors like gold (as shown in both Camille and Laureen’s looks) would make the look more fashion-fused.

LookBook.NU’s Dolls: Mayo Wo, Tricia Gosingtian and Anastasia Siantar

This time, The Manila Spectator presents some of its much-“hyped” dolls Mayo Wo, Tricia Gosingtian and Anastasia Siantar. Indeed, they’re the “dolls” of LookBook.NU with their very feminine and cotton candy-like takes on fashion.

Scanning the LookBook pages, Mayo's posts has always been of those that catch the little-girl-at-heart's eyes.

We just love her quirky accessories. They're such precious collections, don't you think? 

Soft and nude tones will always bring out your feminine side.

We just love her purses! They're as candy-sweet as her!

Mayo’s trademark would definitely have to be how she wears her heels.

Although it may have seemed odd for "real, live people" to wear socks under heels a few trends back, she surely shows that it’s a trend worth staying for a long time. It gives her looks their dolly appeal that makes her oh-so-unique. Check out more of her looks here or in her blog, Mellow Mayoness.

Although Tricia is more versatile than the former muse, she has still been always regarded for her doll-like appearance and looks.

In recreating Tricia's looks, mixing light and dark colored feminine pieces are your best bet. And don't forget that adorable accessory!

We love this photo of her in Versailles - like "Tricia and her doll house" Teehee!

What we love about some of her outfits is they're VERY school-friendly. Who says you can't go all preppy in style?

Here, Tricia also looks even fairy-like! Those highlights!

Hype more of this slumberdoll's looks here or browse her blog, Tricia Will Go Places.

Tricia's Japan-inspired dresses and top-and-skirt or short outfits with shoes that always tug every girl’s heartstrings make her one of Manila fashion scene’s most sought-after icons. And we know - we LOOOVE her hair!

Among the three, Jakarta’s Anastasia would have to be TMS's "blogger pick of the week."

From sweet Barbie outfits like this one

To hot trendy looks like this, Anastasia shows her strength as a style icon.

Oh, those shoes.

And oh, that adorable dress and headpiece. Click here or visit her blog, Brown Platform to find out more about Anastasia.

Not only is she highly versatile in terms of style, but she also brings refreshingly adorable, interesting and sometimes even mysterious and intriguing photos look-after-look.

Watch out for more offerings by The Manila Spectator on these lovely ladies soon.

Three Topmost: Casual Edition

Whether it’s a simple day out, a nice little date or just a laid back afternoon with friends, picking out the perfect outfit doesn't have to be so stressful. The best tip is to wear something comfy to make the day easy-breezy. But of course, "fashionable" doesn't have to be sacrificed for the sake of "comfy."

Here are six takes on CASUAL WEAR by our three favorite bloggers.

This would perhaps be Ms. Camille Co's simplest casual look. A nautical striped top paired with peach shorts and matching striped flats - an outfit accessorized with soft gold and white pieces and gave the whole "laid back" appeal.

This next look is a more edgy version of casual wear. The basic pieces are a deep blue top, jeans and leather shorts, some striking wedges, a nude hat and some gold and dark-colored accessories to bring the whole look together. 

Floral prints will always say casual like in Ms. Laureen Uy's crisp top. The plain shorts and belt go perfectly together with this. What makes this look even more special are the accessories - the unique jewelry pieces and the adorable floral wedges.

Laureen goes for the more trendy pieces for this look. A nude-based palette of colors makes the whole outfit look simple yet eye-catching and appealing.

When it comes to the genre of casual wear, the winner would definitely be Ms. Kryz Uy. In this look, she pulled together a floral corset-type top with simple shorts and striped sneakers. To make the look stand out, she added two pieces that surely made it pop - a necklace and a knitted almost floor-length cardigan. 

Here's my favorite. Paring a striped top and a red flowy skirt with teal and gold-themed accessories, Kryz wears a simple pony tail to top the whole outfit off which made the look very feminine, flirty and "easy-breezy."

Co, Uy and Uy: Manila’s Three Topmost* Fashion Bloggers

Style is their main weapon. Inspirational confidence, they exude. The Manila Spectator brings you the three Pinay prides in the realm of fashion: Laureen Uy, Camille Co and Kryz Uy.

The three are actually friends even! (photo from KryzUy.com)

These women have certainly made names for themselves in the Philippine (and even the international) fashion scene. With humble beginnings, they arose and bloomed into the powerhouse fashion icons that they truly are.

Laureen Uy

Camille Co

Kryz Uy

Their common denominators:

1. Lookbook.NU, where you can find and hype the photos of all of their outfits

2. Incredibly large and unwavering groups of audiences always holding their breaths to view, praise (or envy), critique and pine for these icons’ next hot post

3. Their very own brands - Laureen's Break My Style, Camille's Coexist and Kryz's WAGW (featured more later on)

4. Of course, their undeniably striking senses of style that keeps them trendy and hot in the fashion blogosphere

The Manila Spectator shall feature them one-by-one (and together, too) later on, along with other stylish and even the up and coming icons and bloggers. Posts showcasing their takes on different genres shall be labeled Three Topmost.

*Break My Style, Camille Tries to Blog, and KryzUy.com are the top 3 fashion blogs listed by topblogs.ph