I’m wearing: zara dress and tights, topshop blouse, dkny coat, arezzo boots, vintage earrings, chanel sunglasses

There’s a lot more to Chicago living than putting up with deadly wind-sheer and that’s dressing up on regular afternoon without getting judging stares from others. I think most people who live here don’t realize how much freedom they have. There’s not a chance I could go anywhere in Orlando looking like this and not getting confused with the nearest attraction. That’s NOT one of the pluses of residing somewhere close to the sun, where wearing anything other than shorts and flip-flops is a huge fashion statement and people tour for a living. Believe it or not I’m on the edge of excitement while prepping for this winter (although already advised this is just the beginning) and figure: if it gives you an excuse to put more on, how bad can it really be, right? Right?

During my time in Brazil last May I was introduced to My Philosophy, a very urban and relatively new Brazilian designer brand. Very nice to meet you, darling! Clothing makers are always very welcome in my life! The store is literally street fashion on steroids, hung-up on clothing racks. Not exactly Brazilian street fashion per se. It totally ditches the country’s traditional bohemian chic seen everywhere else for crazy prints and lots of lace, which are quite foreign at my native land in a way.

Most clothing pieces reminded me of the fashion you’ll stumble upon on the streets of London: bold, retro, and even a little punk (but again, I’ve never been to London, I’m talking based what I’ve seen from afar and on print). They’re definitely bringing new flavor to the insanely hot city of Rio, where floral and relaxed fitting stand as sure staples all year round

My garimpo, which translates to “my treasure hunt” is what they call a space dedicated to featuring vintage items from all over the world, collected by the owners over countless international trips . Diamond quality vintage pieces, all  in easy reach to lucky My Philosophy customers. If you plan on stopping by Rio sometime soon (cause you know, it’s just around the corner  globe) this store is a must-shop-there deal.

And if you think I left there empty-handed (don’t be silly!) you’re mistaken my friend. Accessories were such an easy target since I had to think ahead in fitting everything back in my suitcase before departure day. This earring, this belt  and this belt all came from a My Philosphy pile and now happily reside in “My Drawer.”

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I live here. That’s right!

Yeah, I got a few stares at H&M

Back when I used to play hopscotch in Florida

You can do the math

… my  ombre lips?

Lulu’s photo studio (flat-iron to “flatten” the clothes)

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I’m wearing: urban outfitters sweater, h&m faux fur scarf and cluth, express belt, topshop skirt and tights, boutique 9 boots

In case I haven’t mentioned yet, I’m this close to loosing it because of a fur vest. All of the sudden, I’m seeing them everywhere but they always so damn expensive. My little pocket can only handle so much spending, even though my unfaithful eyes never agree. Temp solution? H&M makes these great faux fur scarfs that can be thrown over any jacket, sweater, dress for under $20 pesos. I threw it over a dark sweater, twisted both sides near my neck,  wrapped it with a belt and look! I’ve got myself faux vest.

For someone who grew up wearing nothing on my head but hair elastics, maybe a headband when pushing it,  I’m making huge improvements. Never  in my twenty something years (you didn’t think I was going to reveal my actual age here, did you? I’m a type cast) of life did I think I’d be wearing hats, actual hats on my head. Better yet, vintage hats. This is so exciting. I feel British, I feel mad hatter!

At first I was just trying these on, which quickly became choosing one to go home with. Hey, I deserved it! It was a gift for my unbirthday.

Sorry about the whitish stripe running down my face in nearly every click. I blame the mirror keeper at the shop, whoever that may be. Windex, people! Once in a while.

Melissa McCarthy wears Spanx. Shocker! But really guys, I have to address the elephant in the room. Who else wears spanx? I wear them more often than I’d like to but I’ll admit it (If you see me in a t-shirt know I’m wearing spanks. Meaning often.) Now, what exactly can they do for me? I don’t know for you, but for me it does a great deal. Up until about a year ago I didn’t even know what spanx were to be quite honest. Actually, I lie. I knew it was the ugly-nude-one-piece-swim-suit looking thing old people suffocated in wore underneath their clothes to hide, you know, undesirable volume. Or so I thought. Till I found myself on a set for a student film being measured for wardrobe and bluntly hinted at I needed spanx. Sad day. If you know me you’ll know I’m not the type to worry about my weight or being in good shape (except for that one gym-freak year) but that felt like a bullet. Let’s face it, the girl was right. I got over it real quick and went on a search for the perfect pair but confess to still be holding on to some skepticism: Was this really for me? I’m not old, but need spanx? What kind is the best kind? Will it really make a difference? Will I feel hot or suffocated? Here’s what I found out:

•  Sorry to inform (or just reaffirm) but spanx are for you if you classify as a woman. No matter how skinny you are, no one is perfect and there’s always a little bump here and there you can hide.

•  You probably won’t make constant use of them. I usually wear it when sporting a dress, a thin blouse, and ALWAYS do before putting on a t-shirt.

•  I bought three different styles before getting it right (for me. Everyone is different). I tried the shorts which made my butt look fantastic but it felt too hot. So I went on trying the skort (skirt in spanx language). This one didn’t work at all. It didn’t feel tight enough and wouldn’t fit the purpose of wearing skirts and pants. Finally, I settled for the slim cognito shaping suit, which looks just like your grandma’s underwear but even higher up the waist. This style smooths down my belly and keep my legs free to breath. Downfall: My tummy is not the only thing that this shapewear flattens out. My butt looks as flat as a surf board in them. But again, life is about choices, you can’t have everything. I chose to have a slim tummy sometimes and other times I’ll have a round butt. One thing at a time!

•  A picture speaks more than a thousand words. Look for yourself and see what difference this made in my life

Left: sans spanx. Right: with spanx.

Not to justify my visible lack of commitment with the gym, I have a big horizontal scar on my belly due to a bad car crash 21 years ago and that’s the fold you see above the belly button. The folds underneath the belly button and the side bumps are totally on me and take out restaurants.

•  Of course I don’t put this on if it’s 90 degrees out because I’m not insane. But I have felt sick before from eating a humongous meal wearing spanks all at the same time. I just couldn’t help the extra fries. Another time I wore a combination of spanx and high waist leggings at once (suck a kooky). Luckly I started feeling difficulty to breath before leaving the house and had time to remove the suffocation devices before passing out.

To validate my decision of joining the spanx adept anonymous (no one talks about it, but a lot of young ladies wear them) Lauren Conrad made mention to it in the best seller “Style”. If super thin Lauren Conrad wears spanx by choice, it’s definitely not an option for me. It’s mandatory.

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Wearing: topshop blouse, necklace and tights, forever 21 dress, h&m cluth, azezzo orzfords

I have to share a little story about this dress. I got it in 08 during a quick visit to Chicago. That year I took it with me to Brazil as an option to wear for a Christmas dinner party I was hosting. Turns out Betsey Johnson designed a better dress and my best friend got to wear this one for dinner. We took tons of pictures (me wearing Betsey and she wearing 21) and while flipping through them with another friend, I hear: Wow, what an ugly little dress your friend has got herself! I immediately replied: Well, it’s kind of my dress. That day I was in a very good mood and we finished it off with a big laugh. There she was, being so honest about something she probably wouldn’t have said if she knew the dress was mine in first place. But you know what? I appreciated the unintentional honesty (although I clearly didn’t care a bit since here I am wearing it again) This episode makes me think: When is it okay to be completely honest about a friend’s outfit (especially when you know she’s put extra work into it but it still doesn’t look right) Do you not say anything and let her walk out of the house looking weird but happy or do you say something, run the risk of getting a slap in the face or MAYBE a thank you? I don’t know…. I kind of like my face.