Every 18th of June

The headline is exactly the look that will make your grandma cringe when you step out of the house. Lucky for me, I live alone (away from the judgmental smirks of my conservative folks) so I was able to pull this look out - during broad day light. None of the clothes I'm wearing here are sponsored but I love them so much it should be shared! I got the top (S$9.90)  from MDS Collections, an online and brick-and-mortar store across Singapore. They tend to have very good bargain and deals every so often, so I take advantage of those. I have actually forgotten the last time I paid full price. I got the shorts (S$19.90)  from Temt, an Australian clothing brand, again found in major malls in Singapore. Finally, the heels (S$29.90)  which are super comfortable. I've worn it in the office for 12 straight hours, I climbed the very hilly Lan Kwai Fong area wearing it and have walked through potholes and uneven streets with it - thanks Zalora! Shades are from Celine (FW 2015).

I admit when I'm lazy I just throw on anything black and pray it works - well 99% of the time it does! There are tons of of blog posts and write ups out there listing black must have items and this is my contribution to society.

Dress - Love Bonito, Shoes - H&M, Necklace - Lovisa, Hat - H&M

3. Strappy heels

You will always see me in heels, unless ofcourse you see me in Yoga class where I'm barefoot. Standing at 158 cm, I grew up feeling rather conscious and sad of my height. But I guess it's all depends on your perspective, I have a friend who stands at 179 cm and she hates it.

Strappy sandals makes any outfit feminine, pair it with denims and and a white crisp shirt and voila you can go to a hot date. Even typical errands such as going for your coffee run makes the activity very sexy. I got the pair below from Zara (Manila, Philippines), on sale ofcourse for around S$20. Most of my shoes are actually from Zara like 50% of my shoe collection. They're damn comfy and affordble when you purchase it during sale season.
I lived in Spain for a year and I regretted not hoarding shoes back.



Dress - Love Bonitp, Bag - Chanel, Shades - Rayban

4. Culottes

I must admit, I wasnt a huge fan of culottes when it re-appeared last year which is why you wouldn't see me in culottes ever up until like August this year. As confessed above, I'm very petite and never really though that culottes would look good on me. But, paired with a feminine and sleek shoes like the one below then you're all set. For October alone I think I've bought around 8 pieces of culottes - I wear them to work and it's a cut between pants and skirts. It's so comfy and versatile.



5. Cape

Yah, yah it's warm in Singapore and it doesn't feel quite right to be throwing over a cape. But most of us stay indoors anyway right? I like wearing capes because I can almost where anything underneath and then throw my cape and get on with life. I can wear for example a very short bodycon dress without fearing that the HR might hound on me. Pair it with denim shorts and a white shirt and you're ready for an all-girls' brunch or a movie date with the boyfie.

For those of you who were a tad bit interested or curious about my blog URL, well, every 18^th of June I celebrate my birthday. There are a lot of things I need to be thankful for, apart from my awesome friends, family and fiancé who have supported me in literally anything I’ve decided to do in my life. I’m also thankful for the opportunities I’ve been receiving both in this blog space and in my Instagram account @hannatantoco. What started out as something I decided to do because I was in between jobs and had lots of time on my hands turned out to be something I took seriously – I met new friends in the process and am also very happy to be working with a lot of good brands.

One fashion myth that I would like to bust is the one on wearing print on print. Our moms would say it's tacky, our workplace may say it's informal and our friends would think we just didn't have time to do our laundry! But print on print done well could actually be very classy, and of course it increases the mileage of your printed clothes.

Here are some of my personal tips on how to ace this look:


1. Same colour palette

You may want to contrast floral and striped prints, but both in pink. You might instead opt for your prints to juxtapose animal and checks, but both are brown and black. Get the drift? As long as both are of the same colour palette, go on and pair them!

For example, I combined a black and white vertical stripes top with a houndstooth skirt, and yet it was still very acceptable at work!

Top - Le Chic SG | Bottom - H&M | Shoes - Payless

Another one is my red striped polo on my palm tree red shorts.

Top - H&M | Bottom - Zara | Shoes - Zara | Necklace - Lovisa | Hat - Daiso

2. Use complementary colours

This is a great way to brighten up your wardrobe. Complementary colours go well together, as the name suggests. 

For those who need a quick review, I'm attaching a photo of the wheel. Basically, opposite sides of the wheel complement each other. So whatever print you are wearing, it would certainly look darn good with a complementary colour despite the different print.

Image from Image with Joy

Blazer - c/o Miamore SG | Romper - Zara | Shoes - Charles and Keith

3. Same geometric prints

Formula: Match straight lines with anything linear, match circular lines with curves. That's it! Easy right? Now go raid your wardrobe!

Top - Zara | Skirt - MDS Collections | Shoes - Charles and Keith | Watch - Casio

Bad hair day?

Dress - Topshop | Blazer - c/o Miamore SG | Shoes - Topshop

4. Creative theme

Now here's my favorite, and it requires a bit (a lot) of creativity. You can build a scenario or a story with your clothes, but try not to be so completely abstract that even your best friend wouldn't get what you are trying to say.

In the example below, the trousers are the leopard's body and legs, and my top is the head. I am the leopard. It rests where I sit, goes where I turn and stares where I face.

Top - from a Flea ($33cents!) | Joggers - Zara | Shoes - Charles and Keith

5. Mix different textures

We're not limited to colours or prints, honey. Textures can also be mixed and matched! My favorite of all is leather! Leather can be worn with almost anything! (I dare not say with everything, because I can't imagine leather with silk. At least for me, I don't think I could pull it off.)

Leather roughens up and androgynizes your look. For ladies who think that wearing a girly dress with heels is too, well, girly, you can drape over a leather jacket!

I paired my leather shorts with a soft chiffon top and wore platform oxfords



I paired a denim with leather shoulders with an animal print mesh skirt

Top and Skirt c/o Miamore SG | Necklace - Stylist's own | Shoes - Charles and Keith

Love,
Hanna

Instagram: @hannatantoco
E-mail: hannatantoco@gmail.com

I told my fiancé I'm writing something about Normcore and he said, whuttt? Well, naturally he's a guy and he's kinda clueless fashion-wise and if you are too or if you just want to dabble on some Normcore looks this week then this is the post for you.


Note: This is the writer's own interpretation of Normcore

Normcore came from the words Normal + hardcore. Even when it's broken down, it still actually does not make any sense, haha. So, you basically just wear normal or conventional clothes with the goal of just laying low. Not yet sold with the idea? Here are some positives about it:

1. For the totally lazy, this can be an excuse for you to take your joggers from bed to play and for the fashionista to take a break from loud prints and anything colourful.
2. It's such a time saver since you only need to play within the colour palette of black, grey and white.
3. It's a great pause for us ladies from wearing our ceiling high heels which may not always be comfy
4. We can raid the closets of our dad/brother/boyfriend for pullovers and hoodies and veer away from structured blazers and be cozy all day
5. The beanie - no need to spend hours blow drying or setting your hair in the morning. The beanie will take care of it.

Here's my take:

One piece romper - Zara| Polo used as inner shirt - Mango| Shoes - Charles and Keith | Eyewear - Rayban | Watch - French Connection

The gang's all here