Resort forever

So summer is gone, and who in her right mind could be inspired to dress for the rainy season? The temperatures are staying the same for now, so we can still get away with dressing like we’re on holiday, but for year-round. Resort wear, for those of us who dream about a life of leisure, are all about a uniform of billowy dresses and flat sandals, preferably with a day that ends in cocktails. It’s the boho glam fantasy brought to life by paparazzi shots of Mary-Kate Olsen and although we’re so-over-her, Sienna Miller. When it comes to real life, however, I am too impatient and with my working girl mentality, cannot muster the sense to trek High Street or do my groceries in a flowy floor-length kaftan that totally gets in the way. For Manila, my outfit of choice would be say, a loose shirtdress and ballet flats, worn all day, from meetings to evenings.

I’m not just obsessed with the idea of wearing resort, but also living in one (hey, I’d work from there via e-mail). Blame it on images of Talitha Getty on Marrakesh rooftops or the eccentric Peggy Guggenheim living in art and luxury in her Venetian palazzo. This year I finally stopped attempting heels for day (even for nights, if I can get away with it), and began favoring thin T-shirts, well-fitting stretchy cotton pants, and lightweight cloth totes. My footwear of choice if I needed some lift, became the reliable wedges — the antithesis of sexy shoes, to be sure. I loathe that I cannot look effortlessly cool in Toms (which I am dying to wear), but the super soft ballet flats at Yosi Samra and Repetto are looking like my kind of shoe, especially since Nicolas Ghesquiere for Balenciaga’s Resort 2013 collection is touting the artsy ballerina-inspired wardrobe.

Scouring the recent Resort collections has been inspiring, as it offers looks that could be centerpieces of my quest to build the perfect tropical wardrobe (the spring/summer collection being too much about shorts and swim, and fall/winter, well, made just for our trips abroad). There are colors, patterns, a playfulness and yet a functional side. You may not actually be at Discovery Shores, or Palm Beach, but you can still dress to evoke it, while managing to look professional. Resort places a focus on fabric, a mix of hard and soft looks, pieces that are easy to pack, lightweight and breathable, but made to work in the city.

On the runways, designers like Tory Burch and Michael Kors have mastered this aesthetic. This season, celeb favorite Prabal Gurung showed art-inspired graphic touches, while Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen’s Elizabeth and James showed silk pencil skirts and effortless shirtdresses, matched with pointy-toe mule slippers.

This J. Crew-inspired city slicker meets the California yogini wannabe in me these days actually finds salvation in the Adidas store, where they not just have the sleek stylings of Stella McCartney’s line for leisure to workout wear, but also offer stuff like cool yoga pants that you can wear beyond the studio. Boutiques like Moana, Swim, Aura Athletica, Rip Curl (which just opened its first freestanding store in Alabang Town Center) and Itsie Bitsie offer choices in this surf/summer/resort/lifestyle-clothing arena, from thin cardigans, drawstring pants, to soft jeans.