Month: August 2011

I’ve always been more fascinated with personal style than with what’s considered “stylish”.  Even as a teenager, I was well aware that there were people who were considered fashionable and stylish, those who wore the hippest brands and who knew the latest styles…and then there were those memorable individuals who just exuded personal style, who broke the mold and made any look all their own. These people weren’t necessarily outlandish dressers, some of them wore clothes that were downright basic.  It’s just that they seemed to have a clear idea of themselves and it showed in the way they carried their clothes, nothing seemed too contrived or tried too hard. The first time I went to Europe on my 12th birthday, I was blown away–everyone on the street had style and no one wore their clothes the same way. Unlike in Manila (back then) where everyone wore the same pastel preppy polo shirts with the ‘long-back’ and fitted jeans with their espadrilles, Topsiders or Bass loafers, in Europe, even jeans and a t-shirt were given an individual stamp. Some wore their jeans loose, cinched tightly at the waist like a paperbag with a tight, long-sleeved, scoop-necked  tee and hoop earrings.  Others wore their jeans capri-style, with ballet flats, a cashmere t-shirt, and pearls.  Some girls wore their hair cropped really short, wore suspenders with their cuffed jeans and fitted...