While this alone was enough to make me smile and feel a sense of pride, I opened the April issue of In Style and found good reason to smile some more.
Yes, Monique Lhuillier and Rafe Totengco have been gracing the pages of this magazine for decades. Seeing their creations and reading about their accomplishments in In Style is quite normal now. In fact, they once did a full feature on Ms. Lhuillier. But what got my attention in this issue wasn't another feature on her (she has some gowns on the fashion page, though, which is no surprise.) The Philippines had two special mentions in this issue.
First was about some bangles that the Editorial Assistant's mum bought in our country. Judging by her family name, this girl is probably Filipino-American. Knowing that a kababayan works in one of the biggest fashion magazines in the U.S. also goes to show how stylish we can be. (Jenny Syquia used to work for Vogue, so I think she's the pioneer in this front.)
Second mention was in an article about designer Tory Burch. When asked what was the best gift to give, she singled out a Celestina minaudiere made by our very own Tina Maristela-Ocampo. Yes, she from the Sari-Sari, Black Shop and Anonymous fame. (Too bad Anonymous closed down already.) Like Bea Valdez's bags, these minaudieres are available in Manila - although, as Mark would say, they're a social sin. At US$1,290 a piece, it's more of a social mortal sin.
Reading something that puts the country on a positive light is always welcome, especially since the local presses feed on negativity and focus on this more. I'm glad that the foreign presses have something good to write about the Philippines - even if it's about our sense of style. This gives me another reason to have a positive image of Filipinos.
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