Purple Haze

She’s young, she’s not shy about wearing bold colors, she’s stylish, and she lives by the maxim “fashion over function.” This is Hazel Dy, designer and proprietor of the new boutique Haze located at the new Eastwood City Mall in Libis, Quezon City. It is also an apt description of the Haze woman the store caters to: polished, confident, on-trend, and between 20 and 40 years old.

Hazel herself is a little shy when you meet her first — but her colors are most certainly not. They are rich, bright, and opulent, even though the fabrics are light, and the silhouettes modern. 

Even from outside the brightly lit store, you know that Haze has something new to offer. Rather, the racks are filled with bursts of plum, purple, red, blue, coral, yellow, and green.

Black is classic and sophisticated, yes, but Hazel wants to show women that there are so many other color choices that will look good on them.

“The store and clothes are a reflection of my personal taste,” Hazel says. “I’m not a ‘black’ person when it comes to fashion; I like colors.”

Ironically, she used to hate the color purple, but one day she just began wearing more and more of it and began liking it. Now she’s partial to a deeper plum, which would be the new black if she had her way. “I get inspiration from people I see, from the palettes of the runway shows, from the Internet and magazines. There’s so much happening in fashion now, it’s an exciting place to be.”

The boutique is located in an exciting new place as well: the newly opened Eastwood City Mall, a four-floor mall in Eastwood City that has the feel of a swanky shopping center inside and a laid-back strip mall outside. Kevin Tan, Megaworld retail property division head for commercial operations, says the mall carries favorite foreign brand names and introduces new names to cater to a young, diverse market.

Haze, which opened in November last year, caters to that market looking for fresh ideas. The boutique was created to fill what Hazel felt was a void in fashion retail — party and cocktail dresses. While a lot of boutiques cater to office women, Haze carries the dressier types of clothing at very affordable prices. The dresses range from P1,000 to P2,500.  

Because the pieces are limited per size (from small to XL) and per design, the dresses are snapped up right away and fresh new ones are on the racks the following week.  

“Customers always ask us if the clothes are made abroad, or if we simply import them and slap on our brand name,” she says candidly. “And we tell them, no, these are our own designs, they are unique to the store Haze.”

Hazel says the trends for 2009 should be enough to motivate women to hit the gym more regularly because sexy is back, shapeless dresses and blouses are out. The silhouette is much more feminine, more defining, more polished.

“I think the biggest mistake that women make is that they stick to one style for their body type,” she says. “Whether they’re thin or big, women should experiment more, both in color and style. I like that even pear-shaped women now are wearing sleeveless and tube dresses. It’s summer and now is the time to try new things.”

Speaking of summer, Haze also carries a line of two-piece bikinis in bold, solid colors. Hazel says that while the past years may have seen a lot of tankinis and boyshorts on the shores, the trend now is low-rise and high-cut string bikinis. “The skimpier, the better. And not so much on printed bikinis, because the women we talk to say that when you ‘repeat’ a bikini on the beach, people notice. A solid color bikini can stay with you for years.”

Apart from apparel, Haze also has a line of party bags, like clutches and wrist bags, and high-heeled shoes to match the dresses. I found a wonderful pair of gladiator platforms in black that are just so comfortable and cheap (on sale at P825!) and, most importantly, in my size (I have small feet and often have difficulty finding my size). I know, gladiators are seeing the last of their days, but these aren’t flat sandals, they’re not the usual “full” gladiators you’re used to.

Stilettos are from P1,650 to P2,500. They’re designed by Hazel and made in Marikina, which means they’re of good quality and craftsmanship, and the store carries only two pieces per size. 

As for the bags, from P795 to P1,295, Hazel designs them specifically to go with the dresses. The ones in the current collection are made of faux snakeskin, which she personally chose from abroad, avoiding the mass manufacturers so the bags will be different as well. The inside of the clutches are lined in satin, also in rich, matching color. For pieces that can be used for years, there are the classic purses and wrist bags in black, silver and gold.

That’s another thing with party dressing: If you’re not really the partying type and can afford only two pieces per season, what colors should you get?

Hazel says get one black dress, which is a classic, and one fuchsia dress, which shows your fun, daring side. Then a pair of black heels and a purse to match.

“The keyword is polished,” she emphasizes. 

What else is coming up from this Haze? The store will offer more choices, like separates, and more unique designs. But for now, if you need a pretty dress so you can stand out in a sea of black, Haze has its colorful palette ready for you.

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Haze boutique is located on the second floor of the new Eastwood City Mall. For inquiries, call 408-8029.