I mentioned two years ago that I have already abandoned a DIY project. I still wasn’t able to find any acid dye here in Metro Manila to refurbish a tessuto robot tote from 2009. However, this unexpectedly turned up and it was whole again! That is exactly what I hate the most with these bags because they are made with separate components and you risk the chance of losing any parts when it gets snagged onto clothing or other things.
Two Tessuto Robot 6 tote bags
Say hello to a new day! I have brought along almost all shortsleeves polo with me but I don’t remember wearing one since bringing them. As it is almost raining the whole week, the prospect of sweating profusely has significantly reduced. Another colorblind moment, though, as I thought this was a white polo with gray stripes, but apparently, it was pink in some other color. Oh well. I would never know about it not until I commented that Mon and I were both wearing white polos and looked like high school students. I was evidently wrong.
On Fridays, we are allowed to wear jeans but I still opted to wear black pants because my beloved pair of jeans is still yet to be laundered. However, I was more keen to use this printed shirt with the robot bag because they both have the capacity to make me look, errrr, younger. LOL
I’ve been using a lot of canvas and nylon bags lately, and even if I hate to admit it, I’m also kind of getting over my love of heavy leather bags. Under the summer heat, I prefer not to lug around a heavy luggage and anything non-leather makes my life easier. But in a month or so, summer will be up soon, and rainy season won’t be too kind as well. I have been looking at a functional bag on Ebay, from a brand I have never owned before. And that was when I saw this Porter by Yoshida Freestyle 2 Way briefcase bag.
(Photo from the Ebay seller)
Technically, I’ve been seeing this bag listed on Ebay since last year, and I kept on having tentative decisions whether I should just go for it or not. The first thing that put me off was the color. It it were on a happier color (i.e. red or even blue) or anything neutral other than black (preferably camel), I would have definitely gotten it in a snap. But as I already have a lot of black bags, common sense tells me that I don’t need another bag in black. Frankly, I’ve been trying to get rid of some of my bags by selling them online, but things are not going as fast as I’ve originally hoped. I’m really determined to downsize my stuff this year, given that I will be working in another sector where I need more discreet and less recognizable items to use. This Porter by Yoshida bag perfectly fits the bill. Discreet – check, functional – check, weatherproof – check; so what am I waiting for? The seller.
I’m still waiting for the seller’s reply. I remember haggling for the price way back in February but I have completely forgotten about asking. And then I thought of checking if the bag is still available, and saw that the seller had actually answered my request. It has been almost three months since that reply, and I’m still hoping that the offer still stands. I think i’m getting an extremely good deal over it at Php 1,500 total, especially the same bag is sold for US$ 500 on BLACKBIRD, and for US$ 603.25 of Ebay.com! The item looks leather-y but it is actually polyurethane-coated canvas, making it really durable against the elements. Of course, I’m just justifying this purchase again with all my reasoning might. =D
Just as I have suspected, the seller did not turn the fish-eye effect off! Now that I have received this Tessuto Robot 2, it was evident that the robot did not have a bloated body, unlike the original auction photos. It was exactly as I expected and a little bit more. I thought that it only had one key hand, but it actually has both keys still intact. I immediately looked inside the zipped pocket, hoping to see the removed heatstamped mouth inside, but it was just wishful thinking. =D
But what I was most happy about was this Prada trick keychain included with the bag! Back in Halloween, when I got the nylon backpack, I contemplated over having one of these quirky tricks/charms to use on the D-ring. I couldn’t believe that it was just given for free! I loved that seller a lot! I was trying to decide what this gingerbread looking man was. A sailor? A nurse? Does it matter?LOL
I immediately recognized this little man because I remember looking at previous collections of Prada before and the Spring/Summer 2005 collection was accessorized with whimsical tricks. I think these were first made as brooches, attached on the lapels and front pockets, then eventually produced as keychains. I also like the airplane one attached on Racquel’s top.
(Photo from stylebistro.com)
I’m really delighted over this trick because it is extremely adorable! I can even attach it to my other bags for that added touch of playfulness in my otherwise stern-looking briefcases and messengers. It is my brightest bag yet and will fit nicely with the upcoming (or should I say, already happening) summer season!
And its first act was also something green. I have lots of empty PET bottles in the office and I don’t throw them out in the bin as much as possible. We also collect these things at home and bring them weekly to an area where they will be recycled. However, I was too lazy to bring them all home and my nephew even criticized me for not doing so. Since I already have a backpack with me, I decided to use the tessuto tote just once as an eco-bag for these PET bottles. =D
I had reservations before in using a tessuto robot tote, but the advent of eco-bag usage in Metro Manila recently will not make my tote look out of place! LOL I’ll just call it my more-flamboyant-than-usual-eco-bag
“Never say never“, that’s all I could think of when I contacted the seller of one of the bags I’ve been waiting for on Ebay. Just as I gave myself a lovely pat on the back before Valentine’s Day on how I managed not to buy a bag for myself in 2013, along came this tessuto robot tote!
(Photos from the seller)
I couldn’t believe the thumbnail that I saw when I was just lazily scrolling on a seller’s items. Again, due to limitations imposed by Ebay on sellers, the one selling this was restricted to include designer names/brands in her auction titles. But I knew right away what this bag was and it was ONE of the tessuto robot designs I’ve been looking for a long time (i.e. a Tessuto Robot 2 tote bag)! I previously posted about the other Tessuto Robot I have, which was a casualty in an unfortunate event. It was admittedly a botched DIY project and I dared not use the fabric dye, out of fear of utterly ruining it. So just imagine how happy I was upon seeing this green wonder!
(Photos from Rakuten)
There were few missing parts, though, particularly one of the keys in the left arm and the mouth of the robot itself. The other tessuto tote I have suffered from the same fate as well, with the robot’s right foot lost for quite some time already. But I was not surprised to see the mouth missing because unlike the other tessuto robot designs, this fellow had the sewn-in, rubber-y, heatstamped material, rather than a triangular and/or rectangular plaque present on the others. That, of course, is easily lost.
But there was something else odd with the seller’s photos: they looked quite weird and distorted. I checked her other auctions and noticed that all of the recently uploaded pictures were bulging in the middle. I was definitely sure that she had forgotten to turn the fish-eye effect off! LOL Nevertheless, I saw no red flags as the details, albeit quite distorted, match perfectly with the other one I already have (which was checked by the helpful Gwen from the PurseWatch two years ago). I can’t wait for it to arrive because I have waited a long time for another tessuto tote! =D
Monday means back to work but I was more excited to wear the pair of khaki pants I have picked up yesterday! And because of the Chinese New Year, I decided to wear my Chinese collar polo — stupid excuse, I know. LOL
Everything was normal, a usual day in the office when I suddenly got a text message from a friend of ours. Monette was in the area and told us she’d drop by the office and we were extremely happy to see her. She was in overdrive, though, and we can tell that she was extremely happy to see us. Ho ho ho. Monette, I know you are reading this and we were so delighted to see you! ^_^
I was reading yesterday about D&G and its eventual discontinuation when Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana decided to stop the production of their diffusion line, with the S/S 2012 collection as their last runway show. Anyway, I was browsing their previous collections on Style.com and stopped at the F/W 2008 to look at the array of plaid, and tartan prints, in varying sizes displayed in every garment.
And a year before that in February 2007, Jean Paul Gaultier sent out models dressed in the same type of prints for his F/W 2007 show, which was famously opened by the dancing Coco.
So for today, I decided to take this shirt out of the closet and use it for work. Since buying it in November, I have only worn it once on a casual day (to The Mind Museum) and never thought of using it in the office because I personally think it was too ‘loud’. Perhaps due to the color, as the most color I usually wear in the office was blue, and as I tend to wear Doc Martens everyday, it might be overkill for 90s grunge look but I did not feel like giving a damn today, so I just let it go. They will have to deal with it.
And for the first time ever, I have used Salonpas beacuse I have a persistent lower back pain since Saturday. It was especially painful in the morning after waking up and I had to wait for about an hour before I can normally walk and stand. I already have a slight idea over the reason why this is happening. LOL Mon was kind enough to buy me a pack of 10 plasters for less than Php 50 and it feels more menthol-y than my favorite efficascent oil.
Two weeks ago, I started preparing for the requirements of our visa application for South Korea, but slowly psyched myself out until last night — what if I get denied. O_O
I arrived in the office very eager to leave and immediately go to McKinley Hill.
I was very anxious because Raisa has still not replied whether she had already obtained my visa from the consular services. When she informed me that Mon was granted one last Monday, she was very quick to let me know.
My paranoia kicked in and I called her just to clear things up. Turned out, something was just wrong with the network and Mon’s cellphone even has no signal.
Not so sure if taking of photos was allowed
We arrived in the embassy and went immediately by the lobby of Chancery, where we waited for Raisa. The receptionist was already waiting for us and handed out our passports back to us. My first action was to shake the passport for signs of that dreaded white slip/paper, then search for my visa inside.