Street chic(ks) in Paris

During my last Sunday in Paris, the temperature soared to 27 degrees Celsius, much to the delight of Parisians. Everyone was outdoors enjoying the sunny day. It was also May 1, their Labor Day and the day when loved ones give each other sprigs of muguets (lily of the valley to us ) to wish each other everlasting happiness.

I ventured to St. Germain with some friends and enjoyed the street scene. The energy was electric and the street fashion was eclectic. We sat in a sidewalk cafe and enjoyed the Parisiennes’ very different fashion sense. Old and new were mixed and the result was refreshing. There is no such thing as "old fashioned" anymore. The new term is "retro chic." I realized that Parisiennes have a knack for putting things together so it looks good on them no matter how ridiculous the concept. Take this lady who put on a black gypsy skirt, different necklaces hung loosely around her neck, a casual T-shirt, a lavender hobo bag for contrast and a glaring peroxide-red head to match. While I would have put on string sandals or espadrilles with such an outfit, she put on black Converse high-cut sneakers! It was a bit shocking at first but after getting used to her "look," I came to admire her unique fashion sense.

I also realized that denim will be around forever, as pants, skirts, jackets, or even formal wear. As an interesting footnote, a saleslady in one of the boutiques told me that denim is French in origin. The material originated from a town in the south of France called Nimes.

As we moved from street to street, we took photos of interesting-looking people. We missed some good ones as they walked too fast, but a few even posed for us.

There is no definite fashion trend nowadays. Everything is just a repetition of what we wore way back when: The ruffled, layered, handkerchief and pouf skirts; the off-the-shoulder gypsy tops, safari pants and jackets, see-through blouses; the mini, midi and maxi lengths; fishnet stockings, empire cuts, bustiers and halters, jeans and capris – we wore all of them decades ago. The good news is, they are all still wearable so here’s hoping you kept some of yours.

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Global warming seems to be the phenomenon that scientists are predicting for the 21st century. The oppressive heat wave of the past few weeks has been breaking all barometric records. I don’t remember May ever getting this hot except in 1987. I will never forget that wedding reception held in the gardens of the Coconut Palace. We were literally bathing in our own sweat. Many of the guests left right after dinner, most of them taking a French leave so the hosts wouldn’t ask them to stay. It was ungracious to do so, but the heat was so unbearable that it seemed excusable. One lady guest fainted from the heat. While they were reviving her, her friends deduced that her tight girdle and other body contraptions had contributed to the fainting spell, so they took her somewhere private and undressed her to aid her circulation. When she came to, however, there was another problem: She couldn’t fit back into the dress without the girdle! In the end, she shimmied back into it and proceeded home without dinner or risk another fainting spell.

One piece of advice to party-givers: During summer, it is best to hold your receptions at some cool venue for the convenience of the guests and for the success of your party. Otherwise, you will find only your family and a few guests staying till the end. Everyone will be scurrying off to some air-conditioned place right after dinner for immediate relief.

In spite of the heat wave, Manila has been nonstop partying. There were 10 functions this week that I had to turn down. I speak for the majority of women and I can rightfully say that it is physically and financially draining to be in too many socials. The effort to get dressed to the nines is enough to tire an athlete. Usually, it includes buying a new outfit, going to the beauty salon, applying all those magic potions to our faces to conceal the wrinkles that can’t be filled up by botox, putting on the body contraptions to minimize the cruel bulges and often, going through expensive diet programs weeks in advance to look good for an important party. Some women even go for wrinkle-filling cosmetic injectables to look good for that special occasion. The pain and expense spent in maintaining one’s looks are just mind-boggling.

Just recently, I bumped into a friend who lost 15 lbs. in a last- ditch effort to look good for her niece’s wedding. She also had her eyebrows "threaded" and tattooed, and natural-looking false eyelashes installed which are supposed to stay on for three months. Her South Beach diet cost P1,000 daily from a caterer, (she did it for 30 days), and the eyebrows and lashes cost P5,000. Total cost: P35,000. Plus a new haute-couture gown, new shoes, matching bag, etc. At the end of my conversation with her, my built-in calculator summed up at least P100,000, if not more, for one occasion! But cost is inconsequential to women who always want to look good and I admire Filipino women for their vanity, one of their many valuable traits.