In Search of Filipiniana

Well, the Shrine's inauguration is tomorrow. And I have NOTHING to wear. As usual, hehehe. Since I am going to be reader for the Second Reading, I HAVE to wear Filipiniana, i.e., some Filipino costume --- which, by the way, ranges from totally casual to frumpy to totally formal. Sigh!

I start the day going to La Vista to try on Mom's old Filipiniana dresses. Uhm....definitely NO cigar. First, her style encompasses bling galore all over the entire outfit. Second, her custom-made clothes (c/o Nora, usually) do NOT fit my extremely large frame. I may be smaller in the waist, but my shoulders are 5 inches wider than Mom's, not to mention the chest, the arms, the hips. If the clothes had been bought in the States, I'd have a chance of squeezing into it. But customized? Uh-uh. No way.

So off I go to Robinson's Metro East in search of a kimona (not Japanese, Filipino!) or a terno of some sort that would fit me. Fat chance, really, since it is next to impossible for me to find something that I can wear off-the-rack here. But I gave it a shot.

These were some examples of kimonas I could find. And of course, NONE fit me. I was hoping that I would find something, since I could easily pair any of these with a pair of black pants or a black skirt. I did find a couple where I still had to make some minor adjustments, but I figured I was paying some good money, I might as well get something that fit.

So I go to Sta Lucia, another mall nearby. The concessionaire was the same as in Robinson's, but they did have a slightly larger selection. Finally, I find something like this:

Pretty nice, huh? The only difference, was that what I found didn't have beads all over. It was simply made; just a touch of beads by the collarbone, and a spray of small beaded flowers from the left shoulder down. Just my style. Flowing, soft material (no idea what material, though). The major drawback? It was PINK!!!! Not fuschia, or hot pink, but a BABY pink. Ugh! The WORSE color for me!!! This is SO not my fave color at all!

But it was the only color in my size. So I didn't exactly have a choice, now, did I? The good thing was that it cost a fraction of the cost for a full kimona or terno. So I looked for a pair of bakya, local slippers made out of wood. You would think they'd be totally uncomfortable and killer on the feet, but I was pleasantly surprised :)

This was the only photo I could find online. The ones I got had a black background and colorful flowers on them. And yes, they were beaded. So they were sort of formal. Sort of. And check out those heels....they are carved bahay kubos, or native nipa huts :) Hehehehe.

So with purchases in tow, I rush home to La Vista to snag something of Mom's for the bottom. As luck would have it, she had a basic black skirt that came down to just above the ankle. It had a beaded spray of PINK flowers on it as well! A perfect match! :)

Now off to get my little toesies painted if I'm going to show off my bakya! Hehehe.

TTFN!