The Right Shoes

Some people don't really care about comfort and choose to wear whatever feels right, whatever piece they look good in (that's me, alright). And yet, we forget that comfortable doesn't mean boring, it doesn't have to associate with looking bad... I think I'm starting to change the way I think and the way I dress because, I'll admit it, I want to feel comfortable from time to time, I want to be able to go out and about and not feel like I'm super exhausted afterwards. 

An easy way to bring a comfortable detail to any outfit is by choosing the right shoes. I'm always up for giving second chances and when Flexi shoes contacted me for a collaboration, I'm not going to lie, I got a bit skeptical because I never imagined myself wearing their shoes. After taking a peek at their new collection, I bit my tongue; some of the models are classic Flexi shoes but so many others are actually kind of really cool (boots, especially)! Wearing the right shoes is essential to feeling great and enduring the day. So, why not try something really comfortable but stylish at the same time? Why not take a risk and get something we wouldn't usually get?

// A algunas personas no les importa mucho la comodidad y eligen usar lo que se sienta bien, las piezas en las que se ven bien (yo soy así). Y aún así, nos olvidamos que cómodo no tiene que significar aburrido, no tiene que asociarse con verse mal... Creo que estoy tratando de cambiar la forma en que pienso y cómo me visto porque, lo admito, a veces quiero sentirme cómodo, quiero poder salir por la vida y no terminar exhausto después.

Una forma fácil de traer un detalle cómodo a cualquier atuendo es eligiendo los zapatos adecuados. Siempre estoy dispuesto a dar segundas oportunidades y cuando zapatos Flexi me contactó para una colaboración, no mentiré, estaba un poco escéptico porque nunca me imaginé usando sus zapatos. Tras ver algo de su nueva colección, me mordí la lengua; algunos de los modelos son clásicos zapatos Flexi pero ¡muchos otros están bastante padres (las botas especialmente)! Usar los zapatos correctos es esencial para sentirse bien y sobrevivir el día a día. Así que, ¿por qué no integrar algo muy cómodo pero con estilo al mismo tiempo? ¿Por qué no tomar un riesgo y usar algo que normalmente no usaríamos?

Love always,

Henry.

Express Road Trip

I'm wearing: 

1. Embroidered sweatshirt in grey, from Okilucky.

2. Super skinny jeans in black, from H&M.

3. Leather lace-up boots in black, from Frank Wright.

4. Rings, from H&M.

Montoro high Derby boots, from WANT LES ESSENTIELS / Solid cotton sweatshirt, from KENZO / Etoile Etudes sweatshirt, from Etudes / Him spray shine coated jeans, from Cheap Monday.

Sometimes, life throws you a curve ball and you have to figure out what to do and how to make the most of it. The other day, I had a photoshoot with an online store called Okilucky and the idea was to go to some cool cabins in the forest and do a Holiday shoot. That didn't quite work out the way we wanted tho, mainly because the cool cabins were unavailable and we ended up shooting outdoors. We had to be resourceful.

Although it was just one outfit to shoot and we were doing blogger team-ups, I invited my friend Luis Galicia (@bigotesdelince on Instagram) to join us and we ended up having a blast and shooting four different outfits, haha. We were true warriors and went uphill on the back of a pickup truck, where we almost died, haha, faced hunger, lack of electricity and a mad dog... We survived and  made the most out of a less than ideal situation.

This outfit is one of the four we shot (you can see a portrait of a different one on my Instagram by clicking here) and I was so happy with the results! It looks like we're on a road trip and just casually got some shots snapped. Luis is a really great photographer, a good friend and I think we see eye-to-eye in lots of things and that chemistry comes across in the photos we shoot together. Our "express road trip" ended up being really fun and we got some great shots out there (:

// A veces la vida te "agarra en curva" y tienes que encontrar una solución y aprender a sacarle todo el provecho posible. El otro día, tuve una sesión de fotos con una tienda online que se llama Okilucky y la idea era ir a unas cabañas padres en el bosque y hacer material navideño. Eso no salió tan cómo lo esperábamos, principalmente porque las cabañas padres no estaban disponibles y terminamos tomando fotos en exteriores. Tuvimos que ser ingeniosos.

Aunque sólo era un atuendo y estábamos haciendo fotos en parejas de bloggers, invité a mi amigo Luis Galicia (@bigotesdelince en Instagram) para acompañarnos y terminamos pasándola muy bien y tomando cuatro looks diferetnes, jaja. Fuimos unos guerreros y subimos la cuesta dle bosque en la parte de atrás de una camioneta pick-up, donde casi morimos, jaja, enfrentamos el hambre, la falta de electricidad y un perro loco... Sobrevivimos y le sacamos el provecho a una situación no ideal.

Este atuendo es uno de los cuatro que tomamos (puden ver un retrato de uno distinto en mi Instagram haciendo click aquí), y ¡estoy muy feliz con los resutlados! Parece que estuvimos en un viaje de carretera y nos detuvimos casualmente a tomar fotos. Luis es un gran fotógrafo, un buen amigo y creo que pensamos igual en muchas cosas de la vida, esa química se transmite en las fotos que tomamos juntos. Nuestro "viaje de carretera express" terminó siendo algo muy divertido y productivo (:

Love always,

Henry.

Photographer: Luis Galicia.

Currently listening: Bridgit Mendler - Snap My Fingers.

Travelling Alone

Life will only give you so many chances to do things. I remember one of the lessons my mom taught me was about being able to do stuff on your own. She said that she wasn't brave enough to travel alone and that was the reason she missed out on many trips she always wanted to do. I decided I wasn't going to be like that, I was going to be okay with travelling alone.

In between being scared, lost, excited, ecstatic and happy, you get to experience a lot of personal growth. Travelling alone has taught me a lot about who I am, what I want and the lengths I'm willing to go to achieve my goals and dreams. This editorial is inspired by several moments and emotions you feel when travelling alone: being happy, bored, lonely, discovering cool spots and growing up.

Photos by: Alex, from MexAlex / Juan, from Dapper Tapper Magazine / Santiago, from Arenovski / Kazuki Yamada / Jeera Mona.

Currently listening: Orsten - Adagio Sostenuto.

Love always,

Henry.

One For The City (in collaboration with H&M for Tokyo Fashion Week)

I'm wearing:

1. Chunky sweater in brown, from H&M.

2. Clear lens glasses, from H&M.

3. Wide brim hat in brown, from Niko And.

4. Super skinny jeans in black, from Dr. Denim.

5. Eddie leather sneakers in white, from Frank Wright.

6. Seven dwarfs ring, thrifted.

Felt zip fedora, from Larose / Cut & Sew gradient wool knit sweater, from Native Youth / Sport cotton chinos, from The Kooples / Low top sneakers, from Wings + Horns. 

For some people, Fashion Week is one of the most important (if not the most) weeks of the year. From New York to Milan, from Paris to Tokyo... It's filled with busy people, camera moments, networking, clothes, fashion, style, flashes... It's really crazy and, I can say this now that I've experienced it, really cool. For the longest time, I've been planning my return to Tokyo and when I finally had everything I needed, I found out that Fashion Week Tokyo would be happening during my time there. I couldn't miss it.

When you're a blogger, the purpose of going to Fashion Week is kind of tricky. I'm not a buyer for a department store, I'm not an editor and I, most definitely, can't afford to buy the pieces I'm seeing on the runway. So, what's the real purpose of the blogger going to Fashion Week? Well, entertainment and networking. You end up meeting tons of people, chatting, planning collaborations. You mingle with photographers, models, designers, editors, bloggers. You meet everyone. 

So far, I can say that Fashion Week Tokyo has been incredibly fun and it gave me the chance to meet new people and make new friends in Japan. I came here not knowing what to expect, just with a suitcase filled with clothes from H&M to wear, and I ended up having really cool opportunities. It's something that I would definitely like to do again. These photos capture some of that and I want to thank the super talented Finnish photographer Janita Autio for creating them. Collaborating with others is the true future of fashion, you'll see that, I promise.

// Para algunas personas, Fashion Week es una de las semanas más importantes (si no es que la más importante) del año. De Nueva York a Milán, de París a Tokyo... Está llena de gente ocupada, momentos de fotografía, relaciones, ropa, moda, estilo, flashes... Es una locura y, puedo decir esto ahora que lo he vivido, es increíble. Por muchísimo tiempo, estuve planeando mi regreso a Tokyo y cuando por fin tuve todo lo que necesitaba, descubrí que Fashion Week Tokyo estaría sucediendo durante mi estancia allá. No me lo podía perder.

Cuando eres blogger, el propósito de ir a Fashion Week es complicado. No soy comprador para una tienda departamental, no soy editor y, definitivamente, no puedo costear las piezas que estoy viendo en la pasarela. Entonces, ¿cuál es el verdadero propósito de un blogger en Fashion Week? Entretenimiento y relaciones, por supuesto. Terminas conociendo muchísima gente, platicando, armando colaboraciones. Te juntas con fotógrafos, modelos, diseñadores, editores, bloggers. Conoces a todo mundo.

Hasta ahora, puedo decir que Fashion Week Tokyo ha sido increíblemente divertido y me ha dado la oportunidad de conocer nuevas personas y hacer nuevos amigos en Japón. Vine aquí sin saber qué esperar, sólo con una maleta llena de ropa de H&M para usar, y terminé teniendo oportunidades padrísimas. Es algo que me encantaría hacer otra vez. Estas fotos capturan algo de eso y quiero agradecerle a Janita Autio, una fotógrafa finlandesa muy talentosa, por crearlas. Colaborar con los demás es el verdadero futuro de la moda, ya lo verán, se los prometo.

Love always,

Henry.

Photographer: Janita, from Janita Autio.

Currently listening: Orsten - Fleur Blanche.

Chats and carousels

When I started this blog, I remember that the very first outfit post I did revolved around a small carnival-isn fair that I came across. Ever since then, I've been wanting to do a photo-shoot with a carousel in the background. You have no idea how badly I looked for one and how difficult it was to get permission to shoot at one.

But here we are, four years later, in a freakin' carousel. It was magical. I fulfilled one of my fashion dreams and, with a little help of my friends Luis Galicia, Aaron Walls and Alex from MexAlex, I was able to snap (and now publish) the photos I only dreamt of doing in the past.

This was a special day because not only was I able to hang around with friends but also Alex did some photos with me. I've always said that meeting people and have them become friends is my favourite part of being a blogger; so this photo-day summed everything I love about blogging and gave me fuel to keep going for more. Here's to us, to new dreams and adventures.

Photographed by Aaron Walls.

Currently listening: CallMeKat - Tiger Head.

Love always,

Henry.

Life Imitates Art feat. Corina Corina

I'm wearing:

1. Oversized blazer in navy blue, Maison Martin Margiela for H&M.

2. T-shirt in off white, from Zara.

3. Leather pants, from Pull & Bear.

4. Eddie sneakers in white leather, from Frank Wright.

5. Rings, from H&M.

Corina's wearing something similar to:

Every now and then I like to get a bit more complex and creative with my shoots. I'm fully aware that I'm not, nor ever I'll become, a model but I think fashion is a really cool and fun road and if there's a chance to transform a regular outfit photo into something a bit more special, then I'll take that chance every single time. And, also, it's not like I wouldn't wear this ensemble on a daily basis, so, everything's fine, fine, fine.

I teamed up with a fellow blogger and friend who you may remember from this collaboration post. Her name is Corina and she's pretty cool; I like that she blogs like no other Mexican girl, I mean, her posts are really cinematographic, she puts a lot of effort into her photos and it's fun to work with someone that is able to see things from a different perspective. That's always refreshing.

We had a pretty good idea of where we wanted to shoot, we decided to go to a baseball stadium at my University but security guards cut us short and told us we needed a special permit to do that. YAWN. After that, we went to an area filled with sculptures and thought it would be a cool spot; but just when we were going to snap photos of the two of us together, security guards rained on our parade again and we weren't able to snap a single shot. Even with that, I think the results are pretty amazing, it was a really nice and different concept to do!

Be sure to show Corina some love: FACEBOOK / TUMBLR / INSTAGRAM

// De vez en cuando me gusta ponerme más complejo y creativo con las sesiones de fotos. Estoy consciente de que no soy, y nunca seré, modelo pero creo que la moda es un camino muy padre y divertido y si hay oportunidad de convertir una foto regular de atuendo en algo más especial, tomaré esa oportunidad siempre. Y, también, no es como que no usaría esta ropa en la vida diaria, así que todo está bien, bien, bien.

Hice equipo con una compañera blogger y amiga que quizá recuerden de este post en colaboración. Su nombre es Corina y es muy padre; me gusta que bloggea como ninguna otra mexicana, me refiero a que sus posts son muy cinematográficos, le pone mucho esfuerzo a sus fotos y es divertido trabajar con alguien que es capaz de ver las cosas desde una perspectiva distinta. Eso siempre es refrescante.

Teníamos una muy buena idea de dónde queríamos tomar fotos, optamos por un estadio de baseball en mi Universidad pero los guardias de seguridad nos vieron y dijeron que necesitábamos un permiso especial para hacerlo. EL HORROR. Tras eso, fuimos a un área llena de esculturas y pensamos que sería un lugar padre; pero justo cuando íbamos a tomar fotos de los dos juntos, los guardias de seguridad atacaron nuevamente y no pudimos tomar ni una foto. Aún con eso, creo que los resultados quedaron asombrosos, ¡fue un concepto diferente y padre para hacer!

Denle amor a Corina en sus redes sociales: FACEBOOK / TUMBLR / INSTAGRAM

Love always,

Henry.

Currently listening: Got7 - Just Right.

Blogger Pals feat. Alex Ivanisevic

I'm wearing:

1. Oversized clubmasters, from Ray Ban.

2. Graphic sweatshirt in beige, David Beckham Bodywear for H&M.

3. White shirt, from Spicy Color Korea.

4. Super skinny jeans in black, from H&M.

5. Leather lace up boots in beige, from Paruno.

6. Rings, from H&M.

Alex is wearing something similar to this:

Thinking back and being completely honest, being a blogger is quite fun. And if I had to choose one thing to be my favourite, it wouldn't be the parties, or the clothes, it would be the people, and by people, I mean the ones who have become my friends over the years. The Mexican fashion industry is a tricky one, there's a lot of negativity and ego floating around, that makes finding friends a little difficult.

Luckily, I've met people like Alex, from MexAlex, my Swedish blogger pal who's way more Mexican than me, haha. It was a year and a half ago (or something like that) when I met this girl and we agreed to do a shoot together. Little did I know that she would become one of my favourite bloggers and a real friend. The last collaboration shoot we did was almost a year ago but that doesn't mean we've stopped seeing each other. We help each other out with photos at least once per month and we hang out and talk about important things like Justin Bieber or açaí bowls.

For these photos, we went to Alex's roof; normally, we think about a theme but this time we were just chilling. Miraculously, we finished shooting in less than 20 minutes (we were a bit limited on time and we had prior engagements) but, if you ask me, I'm pretty pleased with the results. Someone told us recently that I needed to steal some of Alex's enthusiasm, you now, she's bubbly and smiles a lot and I'm way more bitter and never smile, haha. Do you think they're right? You should visit Alex's blog before making any decisions!

Be sure to give some love to Alex on social media: FACEBOOK / TWITTER / INSTAGRAM

// Pensando en el pasado y siendo completamente honesto, ser blogger es algo divertido. Y si tuviera que elegir una cosa que fuera mi favorita, no serían las fiestas, ni la ropa, sería la gente, y por gente, me refiero a aquéllos que se han convertido en mis amigos a través de los años. La industria mexicana de la moda es rara, hay mucha negatividad, envidia y egos flotando por ahí, eso hace que encontrar amigos sea un poquito difícil.

Por suerte, he conocido a gente como Alex, de MexAlex, mi camarada blogger de Suecia que es más mexicana que yo, jaja. Fue hace un año y medio (o algo así) que conocí a esta chavita y accedimos a hacer unas fotos juntos. Nunca me imaginé que ella se convertiría en una de mis bloggers favoritas y una amiga de verdad. La última sesión en colaboración que hicimos fue hace casi un año pero no significa que nos hemos dejado de ver. Nos ayudamos con fotos al menos una vez al mes y convivimos y hablamos de cosas importantes como Justin Bieber o açaí bowls.

Para estas fotos, fuimos al techo de Alex; normalmente pensamos en un tema pero esta vez nada más estábamos conviviendo. Milagrosamente, logramos terminar en menos de 20 minutos (estuvimos un poco limitados en tiempo y teníamos compromisos previos) pero, si me lo preguntan, estoy bastante contento con los resultados. Alguien nos dijo recientemente que  debería robar un poco del entusiasmo de Alex, ya saben, ella es efervescente y sonríe mucho mientras yo soy más amargado y nunca sonrío, jaja. ¿Creen que tenían razón? ¡Deberían visitar el blog de Alex antes de tomar cualquier decisión!

Asegúrense de darle amor a Alex en redes sociales: FACEBOOK / TWITTER / INSTAGRAM

Love always,

Henry.

Currently listening: Mika - Stuck In The Middle.

A community for bloggers: Chictopia & Creator Deck

It's crazy to think how much time has passed since the first time I decided to write a blog post and share it with the world. I was young and had a completely different set of mind and skills. The exact date was February 6th, 2009 and, of course, that blog wasn't this one; it was called Folk & Airhead and I talked about my life to friends and lucky-random visitors. I had something I wanted to share and that was the perfect platform to do it. 

Back in the day, I wrote a bunch of non-sense and was pretty proud about it. One day, a friend told me I had a pretty great sense of style and I started doing outfit photos and posting them on the blog. That evolved thanks to a site called Chictopia. I noticed there was a community for bloggers in which they were able to share their style and give/get feedback from others. I was a big fan of one of the top bloggers over there and that's what inspired me to create this blog.

Years later, Chictopia remains as one of the biggest platforms for fashion and lifestyle bloggers and I'm pretty proud to be involved and working in different projects with them. I love Chictopia and I'll always be a big supporter. They launched a new tool in the shape of a website called Creator Deck (and they also created a blog for it that has a bittersweet sense of nostalgia and old-school blogging) to connect bloggers and brands, to help them monetise their work. Just like me in the past six years, Chictopia has evolved and continues to shape the way for current and future bloggers. Make sure to check out Creator Deck and give them some love over at Instagram. As for me, I'll keep posting as long as I'm happy with what I do. On my book, that's the only way to do it.

// Es extrañísimo pensar en cuánto tiempo ha pasado desde la primera vez que decidí escribir un post de blog y compartirlo con el mundo. Era joven y tenía un set de ideas y habilidades muy diferente. La fecha exacta fue 6 de febrero de 2009 y, por supuesto, ese blog no era éste; se llamaba Folk & Airhead y hablaba de mi vida a mis amigos y visitantes afortunados al azar. Tenía algo qué decir y esa fue la plataforma perfecta para hacerlo. 

Allá en el día, escribía muchas tonterías y me enorgullecía al respecto. Un día, una amiga me dijo que tenía un estilo bastante bueno y que debería empezar a hacer fotos de atuendo y postearlas en mi blog. Eso evolucionó gracias a un sitio llamado Chictopia. Noté que había una comunidad de bloggers en donde podían compartir su estilo y dar/recibir retroalimentación de otros. Era gran fan de uno de los bloggers más famosos ahí y eso fue lo que me inspiró a crear este blog. 

Años después, Chictopia se mantiene como una de las plataformas más grandes para bloggers de moda y estilo de vida y yo me siento bastante orgulloso de estar involucrado y trabajando con ellos en diferentes proyectos. Amo Chictopia y siempre tendrá mi apoyo. Lanzaron una nueva herramienta en forma de un sitio web llamado Creator Deck (y también crearon un blog para esto que tiene un aire agridulce de nostalgia y de blogs de la vieja escuela) para conectar a bloggers y marcas. Así cómo yo en los últimos seis años, Chictopia ha evolucionado y continúa moldeando el camino para bloggers actuales y nuevos. Asegúrense de checar Creator Deck y darles un poco de amor en Instagram. Por mi parte, seguiré posteando hasta el día que ya no me haga feliz hacerlo. En mi mundo, sólo así funciona.

Love always,

Henry.

Time Stood Still

Two souls have met each other, without even direct physical interaction. They've known each other for quite some time. Their paths have crossed, they've been in the same places. He saw her one day, he felt something after being numb for many years; she didn't acknowledge him at first but, after a while, she saw him, really saw him.

When they were together, it was magical, time stood still, everything was eternal. But life doesn't give without taking and through her wild gaze, deep down, he knew that they were meant to be and, at the same time, meant to fall apart. Time stood still for a long period, seasons passed, emotions changed.

 She walked away, he moved on, he survived.

This was a collaboration I did with my newest blogger friend: Sofia, from My Philosophie. It was a blast to shoot and I think we really see eye to eye when it comes to our profession. Also a part of this collaboration, and I love this, are two Instagramers/photographers with huge talent: Aaron Walls and Luis "Bigotes de Lince". Be sure to check all of these new friends, they're amazing people.

Working together, collaborating, that's the future, that will make us eternal.

Currently listening: Girls' Generation - Divine.

Love always,

Henry.