Thursday, August 12, 2004 Magsaysay: The dress-er and the dress-ee celebrate By Jo Magsaysay Whatever
No, she never sends out invitations nor does she make any calls to invite them. She is just there.
At home. And if they are her friends, they remember…they never forget (or else?) and they come flocking to greet her on her birthday.
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Call her the Czarina. The Doyenne in the Hall of Fashion Fame. I’d much prefer to call her, simply, Vering Romoff, my friend and everyone’s friend who has ever been touched by her encompassing warmth and generosity. As usual, her birthday...is it 82nd? 83rd? (so who’s counting?)…was a dawn to dusk affair starting with a mańanita by her prayer group ending with a lechonada with her barangay and, in between, happiness with the girls and laughter with her Wednesday mahjong circle feasting on the goodies that her friends have bought in. Friends, now a precious few, a good number having gone to the Great Beyond and to other climes, reminisce about the old days, a time for remembering the mountain of fruits that Elena Unchuan crated from the plantation in Mindanao, the countless lechon and cakes, flowers and telegrams, the merry dancing till dawn. Those were the days, my friends…
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Yes! A resounding approval by the fashionistas of the pink terno worn by Gwen Garcia to the Governor’s cocktail reception celebrating the provincial charter day. Her tiny waist, flat tummy, womanly curves measures up to a model’s figure that Philip Rodriguez should have no problem styling her new wardrobe ,including a barong dress like that sleek one sported by Amparito Lhuillier (incidentally a vintage Philip from eight years ago kept impeccably by the wearer in plastic garment bags-ed.) during the event. Me? I rather like Gwen in jeans, the “catwoman” crouching on the dome of the capitol, a photo shoot more effective than GMA as the “woman in black”. Meow!
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Luminaries from the private sector delighted Gwen with their presence, Amparito of course, a champion of many causes hoping to get a gubernatorial nod for the aid of children…Marissa Fernan, now officially appointed consultant for culture and events, passing on the info that Senator-elect Mar Roxas is coming to Cebu to thank his voters (particularly his number-one fan and leader). Marissa is throwing a big bash in his honor. Tata Jugador Mempin, Marissa’s girl friday and STAA corporate secretary, cool and calm as usual, taking mental notes of the happenings, as were other former classmates of Gwen: Alice Ynclinco-Atega who’s into pasta making and Tonette Hife-Balbuena, into collecting antiques, sharing more fashion talk with Annie Chen, so captivated by the beige outfit by Arcy Gayatin modeled during the mini-fashion show she wanted to buy it on the spot! Quite a fashionista herself, Annie Chen, whose property development in Tabogan, a Carribean enclave of sorts that is creating quite a stir in real estate was a stunning sensation at a recent social wearing a black and emerald green gown by the Japanese designer Issey Miyake that perfectly complemented the sterling silver, onyx and emerald jewelry of her own design.
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Down in the dumps over my own stupidity and senility, which I prefer not to dwell upon, I was hugely cheered by a message sent by Carmen Martinez who took pains to take down in her own handwriting a text message she received about the definition of globalization. To quote:
Princess Diana, English Princess with an Egyptian boyfriend crashes in a French tunnel riding a German car with a Dutch engine driven by a Belgian drunk on Scottish whisky followed closely by Italian paparazzi on Japanese motorcycles, treated by an American doctor using Brazilian medicines. This message was created by an Indian on a Chinese phone smuggled by Pakistani and circulated by Pinoys. Globalization…at its best!
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