The look for less at SM

Shopping for clothes as a child meant going to the Manila C.O.D. Department Store in Cubao, and for ever-dependable, durable footwear, there was Gregg Shoes. I had seen the dying days of the once-renowned Aquinaldo’s in the same area, but by the time I was allowed to choose my own clothes, these were the places to go.

As I started outgrowing my kiddie clothes, my parents and I would occasionally go to the newer, smaller SM Shoemart up the street on Aurora Boulevard. I found the clothes in its basement to be more colorful, more unusual, and just more fun.

Upstairs, though, I was fascinated by the sales staff, who would recite over a microphone the codes and sizes of every conceivable shoe style at incomprehensible speed, whereupon an assortment of shoeboxes would mysteriously fall from a hole in the ceiling. Through the years, I was even more fascinated when the boxes made their way down on a then high-tech conveyor belt.

We shopped there for many years but later on we shopped at Ayala Center more frequently where the huge SM Department Store first opened its doors. And years later, when I had a coffee shop in the area, I bought some of my ingredients at its new SM Supermarket for items unavailable at the wet market.

When I used to appear in TV commercials, the staff and I even bought some of my outfits at the SM Boutique Square. One major costume consisted of an off-white blazer that would be fitted with pyrotechnic devices so that the chest area would explode as though I were being shot by a bullet. We ended up buying two large and two medium blazers, being the only sizes in stock. But these were a godsend as ready-to-wear blazers weren’t always available off the rack anywhere else.

I would alternate with the blazers between takes and explosions, while the previous blazer would be quickly repaired, using fabric cut from the backside. I remember after 70 or so takes, nearly all the backs of my blazers had been cut off!

My experience working in my cousin’s Linea Italia retail chain of stores at Megamall exposed me to Italian brands like Messori, Byblos and Versace which, over the years, developed my eye for style, clean lines, classic cuts, and the tastefully trendy.

This proved to be useful in spotting unusual, locally manufactured items at SM Department Store. When I liked an item very much at Megamall, I’d even go as far as SM Manila, Cubao, North Edsa, Centerpoint, Southmall, Fairview, even Marilao and San Fernando to get it in my size, other colors, or in multiple pieces. Definitely “the Look for Less”!

I still own many of these items and still wear them even if some are more than 10 years old! The secret is getting a classic cut and several pieces of it so the items don’t wear out fast.

I also discovered that you can really get unusual pieces at the Young Men’s Department. Not only are the cuts more tapered and body flattering, but also none of my friends are likely to own them! The ultimate compliment, of course, was someone telling me that they bought a shirt after seeing me wearing it during a TV interview!

I’ve even bought belts at the Ladies Department when I discovered that some of them were exactly like the men’s but with more unusual colors. I just made sure I got the bigger sizes and steered clear of the confused salesgirls!

Once, I even bought a size 16 Superman shirt at the Children’s Department. It was tight and the sleeves only reached my elbows. But it really didn’t matter since I wore it under a suit, with my shirt exposed. That won me a cell phone at Studio 23’s launch of the TV show Smallville for best costume as Clark Kent!

SM has come a long, long way since my days of growing up. The more recently remodeled branches, particularly the Makati and the Megamall Department Stores, not only look and feel like an American department store, they also smell like them too, with the main lobby smelling of expensive colognes and perfume. Shopping is not only a pleasure, but finding quality, reasonably priced clothing makes it doubly pleasurable.

I was surprised when, back from a recent US trip, I hadn’t even bought a single piece of clothing in the States. Maybe that’s because most of the clothes I wore on the trip were from SM, no less.

These days, I live by the adage, “It’s not the clothes, it’s how you wear them.” Having recently lost 15 pounds from daily yoga, I can wear even more of my old clothes that not only still look great, but also now fit me even better.

What do I say when I receive compliments? Of course, they’re always shocked when I lean close and proudly whisper, “It’s 200 pesos at SM!”