GET CROPPED

Sure they may be short in length but they are never short in style. Cropped jacket/cardigan is a trend that has been around sometime. It can be worn both during summer and winter and flatters almost every shape. A versatile item that can go from casual to formal depending on the fabric.

From layering, cold weather protection and covering unwanted fats in your arms, cropped jacket/cardigan will give you a shorcut way to looking great

Got mine from one of the stores in Jacutinga Minas Gerais, the Tricot Capital of Brasil as seen in the photo above. It is a kind of knitted fabric used in one of my wedding events in winter. Can't get enough of this cropped jacket, am still looking for a pair that I can use for casual daytime affair.

The search is on...

Waka Waka T-Shirts

The true sprit of World Cup involves making a lasting contribution - Shakira

Inspired by World Cup 2010 anthem, MANGO and SHAKIRA launched a solidarity t-shirts for the benefit of elementary education on South Africa. The design of the t-shirts represents the spirit, vitality and of host Continent. The project is also in partnership with UNICEF and Barefoot Foundation.

Barefoot Foundation is a foundation created by Shakira which aims to seek education and nutrition opportunities for vulnerable and displaced children in Colombia and the rest of the world, in order to produce citizens committed to peaceful co-existence.

One of the principal schools to receive the profits, and which has the support of UNICEF, is the South Africa East Observatory School, which cares for children who have been orphaned or displaced by war. The school has around 560 children, 60% of whom are orphans due to civil war, while 20% have lost one of their parents as a result of the AIDS virus. This school offers a combination of a quality education with social support and a daily school nutrition programme, reflecting the commitment of UNICEF and the Barefoot Foundation towards child nutrition and general education programmes. Once this project has been completed, any additional funds from this campaign will be donated to other school projects in South Africa.

A total of four t-shirts, two models for women and two models for men, bearing the printed slogans “Waka Waka” and “This Time for Africa”, have been exclusively designed for the occasion. The t-shirts has been selling in MANGO stores worldwide since June 10.

As we cheer for our favorite FIFA World Cup 2010 team, let us also support its cause and add legacy to this historic moment.

Where is MANGO store in Sao Paulo by the way?

TRENDING: KNOT YOUR BELT

You see this really nice belt at the store then you ask for your size only to know that it is the last stock. Belt is too long? Think twice before giving it up. Trending now is knotting your belt as shown step by step in the photos above.

Oopsss..this can only be applied with thin belts.

TIMELESS PEARLS

If a woman could choose only one accessory, pearls would be my preference.

Pearl is a concrete representation of classic sophistication and timeless elegance. Audrey Hepburn and Princess Diana are style icons who got it right every single time they wear those pearls. Pearls can be natural or cultured. Most of the pearls circulating in the market are cultured while natural are very rare. In roman mythology, it is believed that pearls are tears of Venus, the goddess of love. This explains why some moms don't want their daughter to wear pearls for the belief that they will be in despair in love. If diamond is called King of Gems, Pearl is regarded as the Queenly Gem.

Pearls have always been in fashion and women of all ages can wear it. Depending on the type of pear and color, there are various pearl styles suitable for the very young, those enjoying their golden years, and almost everyone else in the middle may it be brooch, necklace, choker, rings, bracelet and earrings. It goes with a variety of outfit from casual day wear to formal evening wear.

Gracing my neckline on the first photo above are freshwater pearls and my earrings are mikimoto pearls both purchased from the Philippines. Philippines is called the Pearl of the Orient Sea and this could both apply figuratively and literally. The waters around Philippine archipelago is very conducive to pearl culture that is why some southwestern provinces have thriving pearl farms, Palawan having the most number. Freshwater pearl has the property of innate durability, which naturally resists chipping, degeneration, and wear. Mikimoto pearl is cheaper than southsea pearls but cost several fold compared to freshwater pearl. Tourists coming to the Philippines should not miss out buying pearl jewelries as they are really cheap there.

When asked how to check if the jewelry is authentic pearl or plastic, light a matchstick and try to burn the piece. If it smells like plastic or melt, then no doubt, it's not authentic pearl. Real pearls cannot be burned. They might be slightly deformed but the luster remains. Also, you can try rubbing two pearls together. A genuine pearl would turn powdery on the outside but once you rub the powder off, it will return to its lustrous shine. A plastic counterpart would simply rub off its color. Another tip is that the genuine colors of freshwater pearls can only be white, grayish-black, peach, tangerine or lilac. Red, blue, green and other colors are dyed products.

Pearls..I just can't live without them..