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When I was a little boy, I think I gave off the impression that I was lampayatot. Image lang. I think it’s simply because I was short (always first in line) and I was quiet and shy.

I think I’m about to have a new addiction, thanks to Saladbox Man. Saladbox Man is a subscription/delivery service that provides guys with the best grooming and lifestyle products every month. I got my first ever box a couple of days ago and I was so excited to unbox and see all the good stuff inside. My seven-year old daughter Sadako was with me and she wanted to do it but I had to tell my unboxing monster of a daughter that it’s my turn to do the unboxing this time. But before I go into the contents, let me just say that I love the packaging. It’s simple and it changes every time, but this particular box – the one for May – June 2017 – looks really classy with its navy houndstooth design.  So what’s inside? What instantly caught my attention was this brown square pouch. I was excited to find out what’s inside and I was glad to find out it’s this really good-looking bracelet from En Pierre. I don’t know how much it costs but it sure looks...

Look at all these cool shirts from Linya-Linya, a line of shirts with witty one-liners and cute designs. Linya-Linya was started by Ali Sangalang (she comes up with the one-liners) and Panch Alvarez (who does the artwork), and while they were just a small startup not so long ago, they are now a full-fledged t-shirt business. Not only did musician Jim Bacarro help their Facebook following blow up from 7000 to 247,000, they also now have 10 retail stores. Saab Magalona is their ambassador and they couldn’t have chosen a better one because Saab is known for being opinionated and expressive since she is a blogger, a musician, and an actress – madami siyang feels! Our favorite from the line? The Kalma, May Karma tee. I can already think of a handful of people I can go up to and ask, “Do you like my shirt?” ;) Linya-Linya is available at UP Town Center, Market! Market!, SM Megamall, Gateway Mall, Fifth Rack, Glorietta, Trinoma, Robinsons Galleria, and Ho...

Supertyphoon Lawin may not have gotten us wet here in the metro, but I’m pretty sure we’ll still experience some rainshowers in the next weeks or months.  Good thing my feet are prepared, thanks to Converse.   The brand just launched their Fall/Winter 2016 Converse Counter Climate Footwear Collection and it is composed of shoes that address rainy day problems while remaining to be comfy and stylish.  Materials range from water repellant canvas and leather to rubber and waterproof neoprene while standout features include reflective heel webbing for low light environments, heat-regulating mesh lining, and traction rubber incorporated to the outsole for additional grip.  I love my Converse Chuck Taylor All Star II Shield Canvas (P4550)! I like that it is black and that there are vertical lines on it. And nothing beats how I can confidently step out on a rainy day knowing my feet or my Chucks won’t get wet. Bonus: BTS photo of Sadako ...

I am a big fan of Freeway’s National Artist Collector’s Series. It started out as an experiment in 2009 when the brand released apparel and other products inspired by and using the works of national artists Nick Joaquin (literature) and Ang Kiukok (visual arts). It proved to be successful that it became a biannual tradition honouring other legends such as F. Sionil Jose (literature), Levi Celerio (music), and Juan Luna (visual arts). Last year was pretty special. Living National Artist Ben Cab’s works were immortalized through a gorgeous fashion collection, and the launch took place in CCP. It was so huge he was the only artist featured that year. This year is pretty special, too. The featured National Artist is Abdulmari Imao, who is from Mindanao (just like our next president – mukhang siya na eh, noh?). He is the first and only Moro honoured as National Artist of the Philippines to date; apart from being a sculptor, he was also a painter, ceramist, photographer, fil...

You read that right. Let your little one — girls, to be specific — wear a grown-up’s top. Yours, for example. She’ll rock it, for sure. Just look at Sadako, who’s wearing my light brown Uniqlo roundneck tee here. I wear just black, white, and navy, so I don’t really remember why I bought it. And so I gave it to my daughter. She doesn’t need to wear a pair of shorts or pants since it’s pretty long. She just needs to fold the sleeves so it looks better as a whole. You can pair it with any type of shoes. Look at Sadako rocking the shirt and (British Knight) sneakers combo. I also like styling her hair into a high bun whenever she wears a grown-up’s top, such as this cute green Smurfs tee, which used to be her mom’s, back when she was still a dalaga. It just looks bagay, noh? Do your kids wear your stuff?

Sadako is a bangs baby. She’s always had bangs, and we’ve never grown it past her nose. It’s coz of two reasons: 1. It’s pretty easy to maintain, 2. She looks good with bangs. When it reaches her eyes and it ends up being annoying coz of all the hair-parting and eye-rubbing, we know it’s time for a haircut na. That means Honeybun or me cutting it. We did this for the first two or three years but when her hair grew super long to the point of being unruly and hard to maintain, we had to go to the kids salon where the hairstylist cut her hair, including her bangs. But Sadako rarely goes to the salon coz we’re not so particular with the length of her hair. Just the bangs, really, which we can cut ourselves. Just like most parents, I’ve ruined my kid’s bangs several times. What happens: I cut her bangs. Di pantay so I cut it again. Uka-uka so I cut it again. Next thing I know she has an inch of bangs left. The good thing is that she never seemed...

I don’t know about you but I get a little embarrassed when I step in a store and the mannequin is wearing the exact same top I have on. It’s so much worse when I encounter someone wearing the same piece. If the guy is hot, insecurity can kick in; if the guy is not hot, I feel as if my hotness levels go down, too. HAHAHA. Anyway, Sadako doesn’t care when that happens to her. She is a five-year-old, after all. In fact she likes it when she sees what she’s wearing on someone or something else. When we go to H&M, she looks for the rack where what she’s wearing is in – and asks me for a photo opp. There was also this one time when she was so amazed seeing this other girl wearing the same H&M dress with cat print that she just had to approach her and say hi. Kids and their amazing skills in not giving a fuck. 

Most kids don’t care about clothes and fashion – kids only care about toys, right? – but there are those (girls in particular) who do display an interest in clothes and fashion and shopping and dressing up at a young age. Sadako is kind of like that. She was a big fan of Beyonce and Lady Gaga and Erykah Badu when she was younger so she loved dressing up like them whenever she’d copy their performances. But that was it. Lately, however, she’s started to show a lot of interest in clothes – you know , like dresses. It all started when she visited H&M for the first time and I bought her some dresses. How could I not when they’re so affordable yet so pretty? They have a lot of gorgeous pieces but my favorite is a line of sleeveless printed dresses worth P350 each. I bought Sadako a couple and showed her the girls modelling the same dresses in the H&M website. That led her to asking for an impromptu photo shoot so she cou...