My Neighbor Angelo

In which I document my outfit under the rain.

The title is a reference to My Neighbor Totoro, if you didn't pick it up. This was something I wore some time in August, and this post is a semi-tribute to my cousin who is now in Australia. We held a despedida for him that day, and by despedida, it obviously meant lots of alcohol because said cousin is the king of drinking in the family. His younger sister was actually the one who got me drinking waaay back, and I always joked that if my liver ever fails me it would be her fault HAHA. (Except my liver's been so clean now so we coo we coo.)

From Hong Kong top, Basic House shorts

Ay caramba this top is so cool man. It's a button-up but the only button you find is at the collar, which is perf for me because there is just something about buttoning a blouse all the way to the top that makes SUCH a difference versus leaving the first button open. That said, I didn't have an appropriate bra for it, so I wore a lace top (it was a gift from my cousins) under it instead. Also, this top reminded me of Ana when I first got it.

Custom-made (by Alex for her thesis!) + Artwork pins, from HK necklace

GUYS JUST LET ME FREAK OUT OVER MY NECKLACE BECAUSE I REALLY WANTED A TEEF NECKLACE IN GOLD AND THIS WAS JUST SO, SO PERFECT??? Alice: Madness Returns vibes pls.

These shorts were actually a gift from my aunt (the mom of the very cousin whose despedida happened) and I thought it would be fitting to wear them since the despedida was also a joint celebration for my aunt's birthday. I love how these shorts have pleats on the front, making it look like a skirt. And the print! The print! So lovely. IT'S MEGA SHORT THOUGH LOL

There is just something about posing with an umbrella that compels you to take a jump shot.

Ugg shoes

From HK hat

I think my hat has some sort of semblance to Totoro, don't you think?

J&C Online Boutique bracelet, Forever 21 knot ring, Vintage heart ring

DO YOU SEE HOW PRETTY THIS BRACELET IS??? It's so perfectly minimal and clean and I think the silver bar looks SO GOOD with the white. Like I said in some other post, I may like obnoxious and flashy things, but there are days when I just want simplistic things, and this bracelet is like... minimalism on your wrist. Perfection.

From HK bag

This was one of the bags I mentioned in this post. I'm not even gonna re-fangirl about this. Just know that all is well.

"My Neighbor Angelo," because we live right next door to my cousin and his family. Said cousin, whom I refer to as 'Kuya Gi,' is the eldest cousin on my mom's side of the family. To be honest, we're not particularly close -- I suppose our big age gap (about 13-15 years, I think?) plays a role in this -- so his leaving didn't hit me too hard. But it still feels a little odd to not have him around; I always referred to him as the God of Liver because he was always the last man standing during our family drinking escapades.

The gravity of his leaving didn't really hit me until I saw an Instagram post of his younger sister: it was a photo of them hugging, and she was teary-eyed. I maybesortakinda choked up a bit when I saw the picture because I very rarely see these two get all sentimental with each other, so the picture of them with all these feels just struck a chord.

Clearly I'm not directly affected by his leaving; despite being relatives who are neighbors, we don't actually see each other very often, so his absence is nothing I can't handle. In fact, when I got back from Hong Kong in May, we didn't even see each other until two weeks after I had landed.

It's just that... knowing that he is on another continent now... somehow that makes all the difference.