Making wishes come true

Shortly apres their grand Manille launch, dahlings, Josie Natori’s sumptuous, beautifully embroidered, oh-so-precious bags briskly sold out at that elegant shop where wishes do come true, Wish.

No, Winona Ryder–recently convicted for shoplifting in Hollywood’s upscale shop, part of her loot included a Natori bag–didn’t show up at the tres chi-chi opening, but some of Cosmo Manille’s most stylish women sure did.

Was it Winona’s influence, or was it Manhattan "it" girl Renee Rockefeller turning up in Vogue with a Natori clutch in hand?

Josie Natori herself jetted in from her New York headquarters to help launch the Fall/Winter 2002 collection of her bags at Wish, the exclusive distributor in Manille. During the launch, the pencil-thin fashion giant wore Yves Saint Laurent and killer Manolo Blahniks. She played the salesperson to the hilt, accommodating everyone checking out her bags. She explained what each piece was all about, where best to use it, and with what outfit. She did all that with a glass of champagne in her hand!

As impressive as Josie Natori, palanggas, were the precious pieces she pitched to Manille’s stylish pack. She literally left no semi-precious stone unturned to come up with an excellent collection of drawstrings, hobos, satchels and totes using only the finest leathers, skins and suede perfect for day and evening. Other materials used range from alligator, strakan and nappa, to pig skin, satin and the distinctive Natori Obi. The collection also features rich details–embroideries, fringes, signature handle shapes, mink trims, jade and amethyst accents, and incredible beadwork, all Josie Natori hallmarks. No wonder the fashionable ones snapped up her bags quicker than they could bat an eyelash.

After all, those top-of-the-line bags deserve only the creamiest of the cream owners, palanggas. Hence, the evening’s invitees included some of our town’s hotshots like Lizzie Zobel; Margarita Fores; Virgie Ramos; Lin Illusorio Bildner and her daughter Angela; Tonette Martel; Lulu Tan Gan; Josephine Knox; Fe Rodriguez; Josie’s parents Felipe Cruz Sr. and Angelita Cruz; Citibank’s Catherine Weir; Dr. Vicky Belo; Jacqueline Rohrbach; Sigalit Djemal; Daniel and Ising Vasquez; Irene Martel-Francisco; plus so many others like them whose wishes for glam bags did come true.

Moi also zoomed in on Inno Sotto; Greg Sison and his sons Paolo and Enrico; Paco Magsaysay; Shangri-La Makati’s Richard Riley and Wolfgang Frueger; Mel Meer; and Junie Rodriguez who all enjoyed themselves with the cocktails and great food from Cibo and Inagiku while sipping the smooth Dom Perignon

The eye-catching flower arrangements were from Mabolo’s Antonio Garcia.

No wonder that the event’s super hosts, Wish owners, classy lady Angeli Sison and gent of all seasons Anthony Meer wore such bright smiles throughout the affair. But then, could you blame them? It was a sold-out event with a long wait list, palanggas.

Check the gorgeous Josie Natori line of bags exclusively at Wish at the ground floor of the Makati Shangri-La Shopping Arcade in front Ayala Avenue, Makati.

A boogie-filled night

More and more of the town’s hottest parties are being held at Dish, dahlings, including a recent get-together of famous faces and their pals. "Dish is so accessible here and there are varied food outlets to choose from which is musch more convenient for preparing a menu," one of the invitees told moi as we listened to the fabi bands of the night.

It was not even 9 p.m. but the partying pack of familiar and not-so-familiar faces had already seated themselves in places around Dish, steadily filling the place with such high energy that rocked the venue that night.

Breezing around, moi zoomed in on famous faces like adorable power couple, brilliant Perry Pe and his witty, witty vivacious wife, Robina Gokongwei-Pe of Robinson, who by the by, was Jewelmer’s choice as the "Pearl of the Night"; the alluring Carmina Sanchez, that Supermodel of the World Philippines’ new project director who made heads turn with her classic beauty; beauty and brains and always fashionable Ces Drilon with her hubby, renowned artist Rock Drilon rocking to beat with pals; brilliant Fortune gal, Tessie Sy Coson; super nice couple, dashing Hans Sy of Shoemart and feminine beauty Carol Sy; the gracious Best World Beverage Brands, Inc. president and GM Edna Diaz; Deanne Montoya, young achiever and part owner of Hoshi, one of Dish’s five food outlets; gorgeous model Girlie Benitez; and boyish good-looking Michael Litton, having a blast with his partying pals, the Litton way, palanggas.

Naturellement, the night would not have been complete without the support of Dish’s loyal sponsors Smart Zed, which as usual prepared an exciting game for the guests that night; Jewelmer which raffled off a pearl pendant; Rayban which gave away "his" and "hers" Killer Loop sunglasses; Caltex Star Card which prepared fun-filled activities and gave out surprise prizes to the partying set; plus Absolut Mandarin and Jack Daniels which definitely quenched the party people’s thirst as they rocked to the beat of the band.

It was indeed a boogie-filled night for everyone at Dish, and why not, palanggas? After all, with the fabi Side A and L.O.C. (League of Cayuca), dishing out their best, one could expect the best show ever!

Also seen were popular couple Rikki and Beng Dee of Krokodile and Kitchen who chatted with fashionable STAR Lifestyle editor Millet Mananquil; civic-oriented Mons Tantoco of Macau Pigeon House; lawyer S.P. Sumulong; Ideal Minds’ Chris Tan; Jewelmer’s Angela Poblador; eligible bachelor Mike Huang of Store Specialist, Inc.; and Philip Pastoral of the much needed, Make-A-Wish Foundation.

On other occasions when the sun is up, most of the partying pack seem shy and withdrawn at times. But that night, they sure weren’t. Which just goes to show, palanggas, that all work and no play is definitely boring and bad for the soul.

What a night!

Clothes for a cause

CWC’s final fund-raising event this year 2002 is the tres important Clothes For a Cause to be held at Glorietta’s center court on Nov. 29 and 30 and Dec. 1. The first day, a Friday, dahlings, will coincide with Ayala Mall’s Midnight Madness from 10 a.m. to 12 midnight.

CWC’s much-awaited event is made possible through the generosity of Ayala Land, Inc. and the group’s own member Bea Zobel.

As early as now, about 34 balikbayans boxes of old clothes have already been collected. The steering committee headed by Nikki Valerio and co-chaired by Mimi Valerio and Pilina Rocha led a relentless campaign to ensure that this year’s event will surpass last year’s earnings.

Committee members for this tres worthy cause include Tess Castro, Nene Leonor, Marilen Elizalde, Shirley Uy, Rose Hugo, Carrie Bautista, Carol Yao and Myrna Borromeo.

Since 1996, the CWC ladies will serve as sales ladies during the fund-raiser. This is one event where they set aside their social status in society and be an every day persona, palanggas.

Proceeds will benefit the Elsie Gaches Village. A third pavilion was built by CWC for the profoundly distributed children which will be inaugurated on Dec. 9.

Nami is the name

Arnold San Antonio, moi graphic artist at the Philippine STAR who also lays out, sketches and takes photos for the STAR’s Sunday Allure section, palanggas, just returned from a three-day vacation in fabi Boracay. Arnold, who takes to water like a fish–he swims almost daily in Cosmo Manille, dahlings–excitedly told moi about Boracay’s newest one-of-a-kind attraction, the Nami Private Villas in Diniwid Beach.

"It’s located 20 meters above the beach on a cliffside, Maurice," Arnold related, "but it has–would you believe–an elevator, Boracay’s only scenic elevator!" But that’s not the only feature that sets this private cove apart, dahlings. It is located far from Boracay’s shops, vendors and tourists, giving one many reasons, as Arnold noted, to "get up from bed before dawn. Having an avid interest in photography, art and nature’s beauty, I had a field day with my camera at Nami–even it meant reluctantly leaving the heavenly comfort of my bedroom!"

"My excitement was indescribable," continued Arnold. "I couldn’t get my eyes off the spectacular sights around me from sunrise to sunset. The colors there are vivid. Nami is a place where everything seems fresh. I didn’t waste any minute and took as many shots as I could from different angles."

Cheese Ledesma, director of Nami Private Villas, said that the resort’s name is derived from the Japanese noun meaning "wave" and the Ilonggo adjective meaning "good, pleasant or delicious." How very apt, dahlings!

"I really enjoyed relaxing in the private jacuzzi in my bedroom while savoring a panoramic view of the island," Arnold continued. "And the amenities in the villas made me feel like I wasn’t in a far-away island at all. The modern amenities inside and the gorgeous natural attractions outside were quite a combination."

Nami, the contemporary Filipino-themed villas which consist of three buildings with four rooms each, dahlings, can be reached from Manila as Arnold did, first by plane via Seair and then by speedboat from Caticlan’s station 1.

The resort is owned by the Ledesma family who envisioned a unique sanctuary where one could revel in reflection and rejuvenation in style in each room with a view.

"The service there," Arnold added, "is so personalized. The staff went out of their way to pamper us, their guests, and I felt their sincerity when they did so. The staff always wore a smile and they would even call us on the phone to inform us what would be included in our menu!"

Nami’s special Vacation Menu, dahlings, guarantees guests a customized and personalized dream vacation based on his or her specifications. The menu ranges from helicopter flights to the island to being provided with a violinist to play for you in your own balcony, would you believe?

"Snorkeling at Nami is just as great," Arnold added. "When I was in the snorkeling site, schools of fish of all shapes, colors and sizes would swim beside me and even peck on my goggles in the crystal-clear water."

"On my last day there," Arnold ended, "I only had one thing in mind– ‘I shall return’!"

Check out Nami Private Villas, palanggas. Take it from Arnold–you definitely won’t regret it. Contact Lea Rosales at tel.no. 818-6237 or log on to www. namiboracay.com for more info.

See you, dahlings!