Four Inches Taller is Just One Slip Away

Admit it. You've always wanted to be at least four inches taller. When I was a kid, I always tiptoed (either for additional height, imitation of Kate Winslet's tiptoe dare in Titanic, or to practice my feet for ballet.) That natural tendency to tiptoe came handy when I was surrounded by towering models last week.

While waiting for Jovic's Laser Tag treat in Greenhills, I went to the Shoe Center to just aimlessly browse. Lo and behold, I saw this add:

5'3" always wanted to be 5'7" ?

5'5" always wanted to be 5'9" ?

5'7" always wanted to be 5'11" ?

Now You Can Be

Get 4" taller instantly! With Bradford Shoes

I always wanted to be a six-footer, but 5'11" ain't bad. I'm really considering purchasing these Bradford shoes - although they're a bit pricey (3 to 4k)

The downside: there are few designs, but the designs are good enough for basic shoes.

Bradford AddHeight Tech is an innovation developed for men who wanted the business and social advantages that being taller provided. Now it is possible to make shoes that look and feel like regular shoes while at the same time providing INSTANT extra height. These shoes will make you 3-4inches taller instantly (depending on the style) yet look no different from regular shoes. No one will know that you are wearing AddHeight - even when the shoes are taken off! They will think you are naturally very tall.

For more info:

BRADFORD SHOES

Visit their stores at:

Main Showroom

Bradford Shoe Co. #93 Manunggal St., Tatalon, Quezon City, Metro Manila Philippines

Festival Supermall

SM Mall of Asia

The Block

Shoe Center, Greenhills Shopping Center

Shoe Center, Ali Mall

Landmark, Trinoma Mall

Of Colors, Drapes and Some Theatric Modeling

Four shows, thirty seven designers, Wilma Doesnt on a Sisa-inspired modeling act, Lady Gagita + Haronce and Manila's own version of the triumvirate (Akihiro, Daniel and Fabio). Day 2 of fashion week was more intense - as intense as Adre Chang's attire.

Arnold Galang's collection was a mix of eclectic prints and drapes - something that I'm looking for in a Holiday Collection for a tropical country. Simply beautiful!

It kinda reminds me of more refined dresses from the late Alexander McQueen. And the choice of colors were very tasteful!

This mini dress by John Paras was well crafted and that belt added sophistication for an overall work of beauty. I just wonder how many peacocks were plucked to have that dress made! Haha!

This Pablo Cabahug's blue dress on Wilma Doesnt was phenomenal - a fresh break from his neutral dresses. It kinda reminds me of an ancient princess or a Helen of Troy with a personality fit for a warrior.

Another one of those beautifully draped pieces.

If you'd notice my style, I opt for pieces with movement and Simon Ariel Vasquez brings to the table these unconventional silhouettes for guys who like movement and volume.

I'd totally buy this piece! I'm not sure if you can see it in the picture but although there was draping, I still find it manly. Haha!

Another collection that I enjoyed was Ziggy Savella's probably for its uniqueness. I'm not sure though. His colors were subtle and the fabric he looks very organic and breezy.

This piece by Ulysses King is just stunning - very detailed patterns hug the body in the right places, and he couldn't have picked a better color! The outfit can stand alone without the parachute-umbrella accessory.

If I were to go to a formal event, I'd go to Ulysses King for this piece! Very fine tailoring and cut.

Bang Pineda channeled James Bond for his creation. Here he is with his muse Rayver Cruz.

The Triumvirate:

Daniel Matsunaga

Akihiro Sato

Fabio Ide

I love this piece by Tina Daniac! Very sultry and the color against the lace has a very "spicy" flavor. Fierce!

Tina Daniac's second part of the show was very theatrical. And this won't work without the Sisa performance of the amazing Wilma Doesnt. Superb!

A modern and harassed version of Maria Clara.

The effect of overlapping sheer cloths create this cloudy volume and surprisingly, it still looks sexy.

I just noticed that Ria Bolivar's face is very prominent in this post. By the way, before I forget, Lady Gagita and Haronce were there!

Awesome thursday night!

-photos by Oyen Rodriguez, Karl Leuterio and Style Bible

Feast For Your Ears

In celebration of the 64th Italian National Day, the Italian embassy is presenting international violinist UTO UGHI at the CCP on June 2, 8pm.

I always grab any opportunity to celebrate beauty, the arts and life.

The last time I watched something similar was when Libera Choir came to the Philippines. They're British and listening this time to an Italian performer would be refreshing.

Uto Ughi, Violin

Allesandro Speechi, Piano

2nd June 2010, 8:00pm

Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo

Cultural Center of the Philippines, Main Theater

Roxas Boulevard, Pasay City

Reservations Required

Please Call

Susan Ortiz

Tel. 02 832 1125 loc 1800 to 1808 (Marketing Dept.)

Visions and Trends + Junjun Cambe

First of all, I'd like to thank designers Don Protasio and Enrico Carado for this season's show invites. I'd also like to thank Claudine Aquino for getting us in to every show last Thursday, and Sassy Lim for inviting us to dress and style the models of SoFA.

Here's some interesting collections during the fashion show Day 1:

“My Holiday 2010 collection is an ode to the great Alexander McQueen and to the iconic pieces of his different collections.” - Aries Lagat

I really love his finale piece - from the color to the cut. And the tailoring is exceptional.

“This collections’ mood is anchored on the ideas of reworking classic men’s clothing, with inspiration from cult classic manga, Naruto and the music of Floating Stone. The trench coats, waistcoat, biker jacket, button down shirt, and T-shirts are reconstructed and deconstructed via a play of reduction and layering using fabrics such as dense, loosely woven cotton, polycotton blend and jersey.” - Don Protasio

The intensity of his collection is palpable! Fierce!

I love the striking colors and interesting silhouettes.

"Ancient warlords and warriors melded with a modern futuristic twist provide inspiration for the key looks of my Holiday 2010 collection. Neo-Tribalism creates a wider and fiercer reinterpretation of tribal fashion with pieces that reference ancient cultures but incorporate futuristic elements via sculpted fabric details, armor-like embellishments, and gold metal studs on clean lines and silhouettes." - Enrico Carado.

He used very rich colors to highlight the intricate details. And by the way, Enrico Carado was my school mate before.

"My collection is inspired by Amelia Earhart and her 'can do' attitude. The pieces are feminine yet edgy and are made from a variety of materials such as lace, brocade, chiffon, gazar, shantung and tulle." -Happy Andrada

Her collection is very feminine and inspires flight!

"It's a homage to the showbiz and political icons of the Philippines! The entire collection is a play of textures and fabrics [such as] jersey, wool, Lycra, chiffon, silk and cotton. Presenting a mix of tailored and fluid lines, the pieces come in black, gray, ivory, beige and white with a splash of pop art featuring the most famous faces of the times." - Harley Ruedas

I find it very playful and it made me smile seeing Jejomar Binay and Imelda Marcos in a bag.

"A somber commingling of Middle Eastern decadence and Latin American romanticism marked Jun Jun Cambe's solo collection for Philippine Fashion Week Holiday 2010." - stylebible.ph

Using strong featured models for striking pieces and bold prints was a key element in his collection.

- photos courtesy of Stylebible.ph and Oyen Rodriguez

Unexpected Twists

Who knew that Lady Gagita and Haronce would be in the Bang Pineda and Tina Daniac fashion show? From my seat, I saw the weirdest bright blue headpiece on top of those golden hair. I can't believe it! Why were they here? For publicity?

I even thought they're going to steal the show! Thank heavens they remained in their seats. If you don't know them, they're the dynamic duo who parodied the Te-te-te-telephone video.

But they were really funny! Especially Haronce who looked kinda lost all the time:D Kudos to them since those two have the balls to put up a costume like that!;)

I was seated at the second row trying to preserve my most stoic face (with a slight pout) when a small gasped escaped me. There on the runway was my high school batch mate modeling for Arnold Galang!

He used to be fat and short during our elementary days so I certainly did not expecting him to be a runway model. More importantly, he's the only male model in the whole Premier A collection, although he could still use a walking coach since he's a bit stiff down the runway.

Speaking of former acquaintances, we were about to leave SMX last night when I saw thin pale skinny guy with this fierce maong vest and heavy eyeliner smoking heavily at the exit. I realized it's one of my closest friends during elementary - Karl Samia.

You may call us "partners in crime," but a lot of things happened - he transfered to another school and we kinda lost connection. He gave me a friendly hug, I gave him my cell number and that was it.

Just a suggestion Karl: A lot of people drink then drive, what you should avoid is drinking vodka straight from the bottle while driving! Baka matapunan ang shinny blazer mo, sayang. Haha! Till we meet again:D

Starvation Nation

I don't know how they do it, but a doughnut cannot sustain a living creature from 1pm until 9am the next day. I was forbidden to eat from 4pm to around 11pm last night because we were watching collections from the fashion week and my brother said that fashion people don't eat.

Fine, I won't eat then. I wish I was like Cole Mohr, effortlessly fierce and thin.

After the shows around 11pm, we just went to Krispy Kreme, grabbed a doughnut and Gatorade, then went home straight to bed.

This morning, I woke up with a serious migraine because I hadn't survived that long without food. (A doughnut is calories disguised as food.)

We weren't able to take some pictures during Day 2 because the camera went dead after the Bang Pineda and Tina Daniac show.

These were pictures from Day 1:

with my brother

with Anne

with Sassy

The collection this year, based from the first 2 days, were better compared to last year. Will write about outstanding collections later.

I still have a lot of stuff to do before this week ends. Tomorrow, I'll attend two birthday parties, and on Sunday, I'll be dressing and styling models at 10am for SoFA, then we'll be watching the shows again from 1pm until the end on Michael Cinco's collection (around 10:30pm).

I'm a bit sick today so I might take a day off.

No One Ugly Allowed

It’s that time of the year again when sartorial virtuosity is accumulated in five days. When the kingdom of appearances is celebrated by a court of fashion industry people. And the sea of silhouettes are patterned by geometric planes and fluid waves — made bouyant by architectural severity on feet.

Excuse me while I spout excessive adjectives in poetry, I can’t help it. It’s Fashion Week. Yay!

- Daryl Chang

Things to be excited about:

An intern from the School of Fashion and Arts invited me and my brother to dress and style the models for their SoFA collection. Isn't that awesome!? We'll be ustusan and alila for a day! Haha! Can't wait!

There's also this meet up from young stylists / chitopians around the Metro (originally around the country but those from Davao, Pampanga... can't make it)

I'm really interested in meeting these people because I'm sure they emit this radiance of chicness and creativity and I'm a sucker for artsy people.

One last thing: my diet. I'm stuck with a melon-lettuce-skyflakes-soup diet for the rest of the week. I cannot afford to gain any weight because i won't fit in my navy blue velvet coat.

This will be an awesome week! Now I have to check if those harem pants I ordered were layered enough.

P.S. Thanks to our awesome sponsors: Enrico Carado, Don Protasio and School of Fashion and the Arts.