All I want to say is I thrive in colder weather 🥹 Also with clothing, I enjoy layering than wearing less articles of clothing that's why I will still prefer vacationing during colder seasons. Anyhooooo I wanna share some of my fits during that glorious winter trip (in no particular order lol).
1.
🧥: Coat from Stradivarius
🎩: Hat from some store in Vietnam lol
👕: Sweater from Calypso, and another cardigan from Balmain (thrifted ofc!)
👖: Trousers from Forever21
🧣: Scarf from grandma lol
💍: Earrings from Class Act Ph (lol ofc)
👢: Boots from Forever21 (not photographed here)
This was during our first night right after we arrived, and the very first time I got to experience how unforgiving winters tend to be. At that time Ken was already freezing at 10° Celsius while I, on the other hand, the first thing I grabbed from the conbini was a mochi ice cream. Yes, Elsa is not the only unbothered queen in this house.
Also, I remember only wearing this hat one time throughout the trip and I don't know why it wasn't utilized as much 🤔
2.
🧥: Coat from Stradivarius
👕: Sweater from H&M
👖: Jeans from Divisoria
💍: Earrings from Class Act Ph (lol ofc)
👢: Sneakers from Adidas
👜: Bag from Ferragamo (thank you mama hahaha!)
I remember when packing for clothes for this trip I didn't really create like a Lookbook to check which will go with which, and instead I just threw in articles of clothing in neutral colors (and some very few reds and oranges) and call it a day 🤣 As a result, I think I managed to look... decent 🤔🥴
Also, looking back my Class Act Ph earrings pop! I think I need to revive my business for this holiday 🤔🫰
3.
🧥: Coat from Ukay-Ukay (no brand)
👕: Sweater from Lowry's Farm
👗: Skirt from Charles Jourdan
💍: Necklace from ClassActPh
👢: Boots from Forever21
👜: Bag from Ferragamo
An outfit that I can never wear in the Philippines! Aside from this is too acclimated to cold weather, I can just imagine the judgy eyes of people around me if I wear this in Manila hahaha! This is during our first full day and by the looks of it I did put effort especially with make-up and hair. As day goes by I spent less time on my make-up and reverting to basic eyebrow, cat-eyeliner, cream blush, and liptint haha!
4. 
🧥: Coat from Stradivarius
🧥: Cardigan from Balmain
👗: Dress from Forever21
👢: Boots from Forever21
🧣: Scarf pilfered from my sister's closet haha!
👜: Bag from Anello
The dress I was wearing here was bought in Japan several months before this trip. At that time Forever21 in Japan was closing its doors hence they were clearing out their inventory with crazy sales and that's why at that period in my life my closet is brimmed with Forever21 clothing 😂. Back then there were several Forever21 stores in Shibuya and Shinjuku alone, but they bid goodbye in 2019-2020 right before the Pandemic.
Anyway, I'm glad that my outfit color scheme matched the Sepia-tone Studio Ghibli museum and it's nearby Inokashira Park 👌I wasn't wearing any thermals underneath but the cardigan I was wearing was made of wool and I think it really helped in warming me up- So is the ferret-looking scarf I was sporting which fortunately is made of synthetic fur instead of animal. Overall, I really feel looooong in this outfit, my legs look terrific here! Hahahaha!
5.
🧥: Coat from Ukay-Ukay
👕: Sweater from H&M
👔: Shirt from H&M
👖: Jeans from Forever21
👢: Sneakers from Adidas
👜: Bag from Ferragamo (thank you mama hahaha!)
This is what I wore during our trip to the Teamlabs in Tokyo back when it was still in Odaiba. Back then I remember reading in an article that it's advisable to wear white because there were some spots in the museum where effects would pop out more in white, hence this sweater 👌 Also good call from my end to wear this since there were also interactive slides and activities inside which I wouldn't have enjoyed if I were in a dress or skirt.
There's also a cute story behind the sweater I was wearing. Several years prior to this trip I bought this sweater for Php 499 with the mindset, "I'll wear this in Japan someday", and at the time I have only been to Hong Kong and since my salary was relatively small an unplanned PHP 499 purchase was quite a dent to my finances. Lo and behold, after a couple of years I am able to go to Japan many times 🫰 I do my manifesting with clothes and a destination in mind 👌
6.
🧥: Coat from Ukay-Ukay
👗: Dress from Zara
👢: Boots from Forever21
🧣: Scarf also pilfered from my sister's closet hahaha!
👜: Bag from Ferragamo
Kyoto was colder than Tokyo, so when I wore this outfit during our trip to Arashiyama Bamboo forest and Fushimi Inari I was freezing!!! That sliver of exposed thigh skin were in constant state of goosebumps because it was just so cold 🥹😂 I think it's because it's breezier being inside a location full of trees.
I also put a little bit of effort to curl my hair, but eventually I tied it up lol 😂 But hey, it does look nice being tied up 🫰 Lastly this was the only time I wore the dress, I don't know why I didn't wear it earlier in the trip since it's such a pretty dress- I still wear it to work nowadays 🖐️
7. 
🧥: Coat from Ukay-Ukay
👕: Sweater from H&M
👖: Trousers from Forever21
👢: Sneakers from Adidas
Now this one is something I should have worn in another day, preferably one where I get to take photos in sights and pretty locations, and not when I go for a quick grocery run 🥹🤔 This was worn during our rest day in Kyoto when Ken's gout acted out that he can't walk around 🥴 Oh well, hope to get this a repeat performance in a future trip *fingers crossed it'll be this February*
8.
🧥: Coat from Ukay-Ukay
👕: Sweater from H&M
👖: Thermal tights from Uniqlo
👗: Skirt from Charles Jourdan
👢: Boots from Forever21
👜: Bag from Anello
I really have no idea why I didn't wear tights during the first half of this trip 🥹😂 but hey, at least I did wear it this time because it was freezing as well in Osaka.
I no longer added some outfits like the one I wore in Universal Studios Japan nor what I wore on our last day given that I didn't take a photo of myself at that time. Similar to an older post I did about a run down of all my outfits in a past trip, here are some of my learnings when it comes to dressing up:
🫰 Invest in good coats - Don't be overwhelmed by the word ~investment~ and think that your coat must be expensive and must be bought from a swanky shop because you can buy really good ones online, in malls, and yes, in Ukay-Ukay! in Ukay-Ukay usually they are sold for Php 150-400 and usually some stores sell ones that are actually branded! But if you are not yet sure about shopping in Ukay-Ukay you can also check out sales preferably during off-season in Uniqlo, Stradivarius, and Zara, but for that you better anticipate shelling out at least PHP 2,000 👌
🫰 2 pairs of shoes will go a looooong way! - You don't need to bring a lot of shoes, and I would suggest you not to bring more than 2 to accommodate more luggage space for shopping 👏 Just make sure to bring comfortable shoes that will enable you to have 19,000+ steps in a day without killing your feet.
🫰 Heat tech is your best friend - If you don't like to feel like Michellin man, stock up on heat teach undergarments. Also Heat tech is actually a patented material from Uniqlo, but thermal wear can be purchased from different stores like ski innerwear from Decathlon where the sell them for way less than in Uniqlo. But if you are adamant in getting it in Uniqlo, buy it off-season like during summer.
🫰 Dress for comfort, but don't look lazy either - This is an advice that I should really be imbibing since I often look like trash when flying to the destination and during flat going home hahaha! Usually I wear everything that I deem heavy so it won't add more grams to my luggage hahaha! You can just imagine how much I look like a walking coat hanger 🥴
That's it, and that's how I cap off the Japan 2020 trip, and now I'm off to start with Japan 2023 🫸🫷
Love Always,
Nicole
