CROP TOPS AND JUMPSUITS

When it comes to dressing for the hot season, I like to keep it easy and simple. Currently, I am obsessing on two of the hottest runway trends; crop tops and jumpsuits or ‘onesie’. Now these trends hit it big in 2014, and even though it has been a year, crop tops and jumpsuits aren’t going anywhere. In fact, these trends are working their way into the fashion zeitgeist and are sought after by runway and Hollywood personalities like Kendal Jenner, who donned goth-glam inspired crop-top-skirt combo in the recent Cannes Film Festival and Taylor Swift, who rocked white cut-out jumpsuit in 2015 Billboard Music Awards. I don’t know if it is just me but these trends exemplify fashion resilience as they were able to spring back from 80’s and 90’s cult fashion to our contemporary. So without further ado, here are two of must-try fashion trends this summer and why I am digging on it.

♦ CROP TOP ♦

 As far as I could remember, crop tops were popularized by Madonna when she wore a mesh crop top in one of her music video in 1980s. By the mid-1990s, crop top are back in fashion as pop singers like as Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera sport the look in their concerts and every day street style. Today, crop top is making waves again. This trendy style has evolved in a major way from cult fashion to teenybopper style to a chic fashion staple. Though there is this big misconception about crop tops that there is a specific time and place for wearing it because it exposes your midriff; showing too much skin. I am convinced that crop tops could be sophisticated and easy to pull off. It is actually one of the most flattering summer pieces because it draws the eye to the thinnest part of pretty much every woman’s body. Contrary to what many of us think, crop tops could be worn anywhere in any time of the day given the right separates. My favorite way of pulling off this trend is by pairing it with high-waist bottom and overalls. It gives a subtle glimpse of skin without being overly sexy.

♣ JUMPSUIT ♣

I call this functional one-piece garment as my lazy-girl-secret-to-looking-chic-in-a-snap. What I love about this trend is that it comes together so easily especially when you are rushing to throw something on. It is so easy to pull off and offers a surprising marriage of sophistication and ease that you would not expect from dresses or tops and bottoms or any ensemble outfit. This garment of convenience is a perfect choice for that unexpected weekend look by pairing it with sandals or ballet flats. It could also be a versatile modern wardrobe for an evening out by dressing it up with heels and statement accessories. The beauty of this trend is that there is no wrong way to wear it because it is literally just one piece. I guess the only down side of this trend is when you have to use the bathroom because you have to remove the entire garment. But overall, this onesie is absolutely chic.

ARE WE THERE YET?

I am not really fond of kids but my five year old nephew is an exception to the rule. 

His name is Banjoe and we often call him ‘Jab’. He is not an average kid because he has a very beautiful mind. His advanced intellectual prowess, language development, extensive vocabulary, strong memory and unusual reasoning power never fail to amaze me. He can also talk about such complex issues as ethics, morality and religion. 

The other day while we were heading to get to the church, Jab asked about why is there traffic? This question was apparently followed by probably one of the most irritating questions “are we there yet?” Though I am not yet a mom, parents of small children will agree with me that sometimes the incessant ‘why?’ questions kids ask drive us nuts. So I decided to ask him and see what drives Jab to ask these questions time after time when going to the church or somewhere else? 

Me: Jab, why do you keep on asking questions, “why is there traffic” and “are we there yet”?

Jab: Are you angry at me?

Me: No, just asking.

Jab: I asked because … ummm… we are always taking this way. There must be other way around… ummm… I just don’t want to miss my Sunday school because my teacher said that we would have fun today.

Me: so what way are we going to take then?

Jab: The small road near the cemetery. We took that road last Sunday. It is less crowded there. 

Appalled and humbled by his reasoning, his way of thinking, his passion; curiosity and desire to take different route to accomplish something completely blown me away. 

I learned a great deal from this situation. As irritating as it may seem, sometimes we need to ask this question to ourselves every once in a while. The question ‘are we there yet?’ could be a metaphor for evaluating and assessing our progress on the project we wanted to get done or goals we wanted to reach, the passion we wanted to pursue or the dream we wanted to fulfill. We all have desires and dreams but how exactly are we going to get there is the question that you and I need to probe deeper. We need a plan. This may involve getting out our comfort zone, taking a different route or a different approach and making it work with the right choices.  Just like what an old proverb says, ‘A dream without action is just a wish”.

So, are we there yet? 

DEAR FUTURE LOVER

Dear Future Lover,

I hope our love is the kind that I don’t even have to think about. I hope I never have to convince myself to love any certain part of you because I hope it all comes naturally. I hope our love is the kind that is quiet on the outside but loud on the inside. I want to love you like the space between lightning and thunder- electrified and alive but silent and knowing. And I want you to love me like the clouds love the rain. You’re going to have to let me go on my own sometimes, but I will always come back and we will always be two parts of the same thing.

M.P

THAT 10 WEIRD THINGS

While having coffee with a friend yesterday, we came across the subject of creating and developing characters for fictional stories. We all know that creating or developing characters is arguably the single-most important part in writing stories because they are the heart and soul through which the story is told. Well, of course, elements like plot, setting and theme, may play important role but these factors are secondary to the characters that your audience or reader can connect with on an intellectual or emotional level. 

My very good friend Miguel, who is a professor and a writer, gave interesting insights on how to develop characters in the story and how they could come alive for your reader or audience. He said that great characters are built layer by layer through actions and discovery. It is not just about describing their reactions on certain scenarios or their feelings on certain things, but it should expound and rationalize the choices they make based on the cumulative actions and interactions that are of course created by the overriding effect of core desire, ambition, goal or driving need. These overriding elements could be the sum of scars and memories and ruined dreams that have left characters with resentments, fears, habit, weaknesses and inclinations that would perhaps explain their personhood. For instance, you character may want to finish studies despite his disabilities or his being economically disadvantage. The core desire, ambition, goal or driving need will somehow give structure and elicit layers of emotions while justifying their thoughts and every word of dialogue spoken.

He also added that what makes character in the story believable, captivating and unique is their vulnerability, contradicting traits, their secret as well as list of their personality quirks. These elements will keep readers enthralled and contribute to the character’s layers of personality as the story progresses.

Miguel’s trivia on developing and carefully crafting fictional characters was very informative. But what really caught my attention was how secrets as well as the list of the character’s personality quirks make each character real. I believe we would all agree that those dark and deeply hidden secrets make characters compelling. Character’s secrets could also be the main drive as it becomes part of the puzzle of a story that must be unraveled. The same is true with the character’s personality quirks; in my point of view the most compelling characters are those who appear to be internally consistent and yet are capable of surprise. Why it works? Our senses and mind by nature are tuned to focus on irregularities. Things that don’t quite fit or are constantly changing, happen to pique our curiosity.

While the element of surprise or personality quirk is the simplest to write, it is the hardest to develop because we don’t know what makes unique trait any different from the rest. So as an attempt to develop a list of personality quirks or traits that I might find useful in developing my story character, Miguel decided to do a simple exercise by running down 10 things that he find weird in me. These traits according to Miguel make me unique. It also set me apart from the rest of the pack. So here goes my top ten personality quirks based on Miguel’s observation. 

1. My favorite color is BLACK and because I am so loyal to my color of choice I can’t write in blue ball pen.  
2. Comfortable being alone but could not sleep alone in a room.
3. Loves splurging on things but instead of using it I just sort of hang them in my closet or display them in my room like the artifacts you see inside a museum.
4. Certified dessert girl who could go on a full week eating desserts and sweet treats only.
5. Have a massive ticket collection of trains, planes and bus from my various travels as well as restaurant receipts from various coffee shops.
6. When I love a book, I would read it over and over again until I could recite the character’s lines and identify the page that the character’s line may come from.
7. Could be mistaken as the cold one because I love cold weather and rainy season. This also explains why I hate summer and beaches.
8. An ardent feminist and debater who believes in advancing the rights of all women.
9. Changes mind in a blink of an eye, makes multiple plans or takes off suddenly without a moment notice.
10. One thing that makes me really happy is coffee. 

Flabbergasted, Miguel’s list of unique traits came as a huge surprise to me because I didn’t know any of these strange facts did occur in my life but I have to agree that the list defined me as a person. It helped in digging deep and learning who I am.

Because creating characters that leap off the pages, lives and breathes are always the goal of every story writers, this exercise is a fun and creative way of fleshing out people’s personality. It also adds depth and dimension to any characters that you are developing or writing.

So whenever you are developing a character for your story it is best to insert personality quirk because it helps in creating resonance and deeper appreciation of what makes that person who they are.

Also, don’t forget to celebrate your so called weirdness because it makes you a LIMITED EDITION. 

Her Words

Love a girl who writes,

and live her many lives;
you have yet to find her,
beneath her words of guise.

Kiss her blue inked fingers, 

forgive the pens they marked.
The stain of your lips upon her -
the one she can't discard

Forget her tattered memories, 

or the pages others took;
you are her ever after-
the hero of her book.

- Lang Leav -