Project Runway Finale

Everybody line up The show is about to start Everybody line up The show is about to start Places The show is about to start You have to show a look, have a look or give a look Faces Beautiful No one ugly allowed

Are you ready Here we go Philip Tampus' doily inspired collection. The last model looked like Matahari.

Veejay went the safe and clean route. It looked like a mix of Joey Samson and Ivar. Aries Lagat wowed the crowd with this three in one number. I think he's getting into the economic crunch vibe. Wasn't too fond of the colour palette he used. photos by Tammy David

The models all looked scary. I wondered where the more pleasant faces were. Then I figured they were in the other side of town at the Ferragamo 80th Anniversary show.

The gab

I was having a facial when I got a text from Jerome asking if I was interested in writing for Metro Him. Is the sky blue? Does that Gossip Girl knock off in TV5 suck? Isn't Bessie horizontally challenged? He asked me to write an article about blogs that focus on men's fashion, grooming, etc - what's in it and why you should log in. My hearing and thinking was obviously whacked that afternoon because I ended up writing a 4,000 word article. I later discovered that he was asking for a much shorter piece of 4,000 characters. There's a big difference between words and characters. Minus points for not listening and following instructions! So anyway, the article came out in this month's issue of Metro Him, the one with Mark Anthony Fernandez on the cover. The guys at Metro Him have another great issue that features interesting stories that include a man's P45,000, 9 country, 3 month trip, travel skincare essentials, Ces Drilon's kidnap episode, and local pinoy retail brands. Thats aside from the usual dose of literary fun, men's fashion, and stylish flair that you get in each issue.

Garage

There's a new kid in the magazine block and from the looks of it, it's here to stay. Garage is the new "ultimate style guide for guys" of Sesame Seed Publishing, the magazine arm of the Manila Bulletin. I've been searching for a copy for days after Rey announced it in his blog and I finally found one at the Mag:net kiosk in Paseo Center yesterday. The way I gauge if a magazine is interesting enough is when I flip through it and see many things I like. In the 10 seconds I did, I closed it, not wanting to see more because I hurriedly wanted to go home, park myself on a comfy spot, and read it from cover to cover, which I did 5 minutes after opening it. At P200 a pop, it's totally worth it because it's filled with loads - and I mean loads - of style news and features for guys. My favourite sections are Manual (where they show all sorts of realistic and affordable clothes, shoes, accessories), Grooming (tips on facial care and body cleansing), Online (because I love peering into other people's blogs), and Home (it's nice to see how to spruce up a room). There are also other sections that talk about music, literary reviews, culture, career, travel, arts, film, and food. Basically, all the stuff you need for a healthy sense of style. I also like that it's thick so you get the feeling that it's money well spent on credible style juice. I've always admired Rey's sense, knowledge, and taste in style so I'm glad he's able to exercise all that in his new magazine. At least I won't have to bug him anymore if I need to know about where to get this or that because I have the magazine (and his Wednesday features in i) for that If your fashion sense does not improve a notch after reading this, then there must be something wrong with you. Find out where to get your copy of Garage here.

Aspirer

So last night was the first show of Randy Ortiz in 12 years and it was well worth the wait because the clothes were fantastic (the suits were gasp!). Al in all, it was a fun show. Fun because Happy, her cousin, and I got pretty good seats (even we were at the back but at least it was elevated) so we got to see everything. And by seeing everything, I mean EVERYTHING. We saw models slip, slide, and almost trip. Even when Suyen Sia fell. She didn't do a Miss Universe (fall then get up immediately) or a Naomi Campbell (wobble, fall, laugh about it, then sashay). When she fell, she posed and stayed that way for a good 5 seconds until a kind soul stood from his seat and helped her get up. Her fall, of course, got a standing ovation and cheers from the crowd. You couldn't blame them for slipping though. According to Kat, she said the runway was made out of l-i-n-o-l-e-u-m. Anyway, the most surprising "model" that emerged was (this white cow) Bessie who came on stage wearing a really pretty dress. "What's an animal doing here?" I asked myself. Oh wait, it wasn't (a cow) Bessie. It was Bea Alonso...

Her waist was wider than an Interstate Highway

... who also fell at the end of the show. I think her right leg must have gotten in the way of her left leg when she attempted to graze down the catwalk. I have a feeling the linoleum didn't have anything to do with it. But unlike the supahmodel before her, I don't think she got a standing ovation, only gasps. And a chuckle from me. I think that's sad.

The long & short of it

I've got skinny legs. I don't know which side I got it from because both sides have serious hip and thigh enlargement tendencies that sometimes, even Belo can't fix. That's why I'm very particular when I buy pants. It always has to be custom made because if I get off the rack, the waist may be okay but the leg part will make me look like a malnourished MC Hammer. And I don't want that. Long before I discovered the wonders of custom made pants, I didn't have a choice but to buy off the rack. Back then, all what mattered was for the pants to make it appear I have a behind. They did the trick but there was always something uncomfortable with the fit. If it bulged in the wrong places, it was too wrinkle friendly or too hot to wear. Don't even bother asking why I even bought them. Anyway, I came across the comedy issue of Details magazine two weeks ago and it had this DIY section on how to turn pants into shorts. Luckily, I was really intending to buy a new pair of shorts because my favourite pair of khaki shorts isn't anywhere near the shade of what it used to be. When I got home and with very sharp shears in hand, I followed the instructions in the magazine and snipped away. Now I have two perfectly good pairs of shorts - for free! I'm still deciding if I should cuff `em or not. What do you think? Can't touch this.

Project Run(a)way

I almost forgot to watch the local version of Project Runway last night. If it wasn't for Happy's text 30 minutes after 10pm, I would have gone straight to la la land and missed the show altogether. It was an entertaining pilot episode, but I wondered about a few things: 1) Why did the 51 year-old old lady bother joining when she knew it wasn't going to be just a walk in Rizal Park? The dress she made looked like something a girl from the province would wear if she came to Manila and wanted to "impress" the city's denizens. 2) Why did they cast designers who have been featured already in magazines? 3) Why did they cast Teresa Herrera to be the host? Couldn't they just have made Apples Aberin the host and got somebody else to be the Nina Garcia? 4) Why Jojie Lloren as the (ter)mentor? How does he feel that he doesn't get to judge while Rajo does? Why not cast Michael Salientes instead? 5) Why isn't the place of the designers as nice as the one in the US Project Runway? 6) Why didn't they cushion the runway? Every footstep could be heard. 7) Isn't there a better way of saying goodbye the way Heidi does? Teresa just said, "ingat!" And it even didn't sound heartfelt. 8) Why did Frederick Peralta wear his sunnies the entire time? 9) The challenge was to use every single piece of fabric and to not leave any leftovers (at least that's what Teresa said). One guy hoarded everything but only made a tiny dress. Where did he stuff the rest of his fabric? 10) Will they have a terno challenge and invite Imelda to judge?

Denim

I love The Sartorialist. When I'm in doubt on what to wear, I check it and get ideas on how to wear which and with what. It's a good thing it's warmer in Europe now or else having to look at winter frock will just be useless. I was browsing his blog earlier and this pair of pants caught my eye. I think I'll head to Defacto next week to have them make me a pair like it. No, not the white one. And not the dark blue one. There you go. The eye popping blue pair. I actually have a pair in baby blue but it's been tricky wearing it lately because the fit has turned R-rated. Anyway, I love Defacto jeans. They're comfy, they get the size right, and it's just in Mile Long. No need to trod on over after Rockwell to get a decent pair of denims made. I first read about them in Gino de la Paz's column in Supreme. I was meaning to visit the store (they only open at 3pm!) for the longest time but finally managed to after a couple of months. I now have 7 pairs: 3 dark denims, 1 red, 1 white, 1 grey, and 1 baby blue. In other denim news, Bryanboy blogged about Cecile and Ino collaborating for Viktor Jeans. That should be a fun and interesting collection. I've always thought Cecile has great taste when it comes to style. Apparently, the collection is no more. Hmph. Interesting concept though.

You la la!

Now I know how Bryanboy feels when he gets featured in a magazine or newspaper. This blog was included in the list of other online pages in the maiden issue of YOU, Hinge Inquirer's latest teen bible of fashion and music. It's chock full of style spreads, interesting stories about well, interesting people, and a whole lot more. The articles are easy to understand and the photos are fun to look at. It's laid out real well, too. It's a worth it read - and great to keep as your style reference. Great work Jayjay and Stef!