I've encountered this cliche many times. But two events stuck to my mind. One was a conversation about fashion with Lia Javier, a highschool buddy of mine whom I've worked with in J&J and who's now in Australia piling on the dough in her bank account; another was in a meeting with my Vicariate bros, all of them men, biologically speaking. It was Kuya Toffee who brought up this idea, which he and his wife applied to their lives. Nung kami ni Lia, inapply namin sa fashion. Nung kay Kuya Toffee, inapply namin sa life.
And I thought to myself that maybe, less IS more, especially in life. You only need one pair of shoes that can probably last a year, not several pairs. You only need a few clothes to dress yourself up properly, not two closets filled with clothing you don't actually wear everyday. You only need a simple watch or simple jewelry, i.e. a nice pair of pearl earrings, and not boxes and boxes of trinkets and accessories. You only need one cellphone that can call and text, not a phone that has everything in it including a TV, music shizz, and games. What's the use of your TV and computer at home? You only need a simple meal, one rice, one viand, and probably vegetables, and not too many food on your plate which you cannot finish at na-"takaw tikim" ka lang. You only need one bag or two to fit in your things, and not several with varying colors, style, and sizes. You only need one jacket to protect yourself against the elements, and not so many that it takes up much space in your closet. You need a material that is inexpensive but functional and can meet your needs, not something that is way expensive because it's branded. You need not go to salons to get a manicure/pedicure/foot-hand spa/wax to feel beautiful; just being happy and content with your life and doing good deeds makes you FEEL beautiful.
Everything that I have now was driven by my WANT and not by my NEED. It was also driven by my "society-conscious" persona (see my Ang PUNYETANG society article in my earlier posts). Bad trip talaga yang society. I've decided to probe deeper into myself and started to evaluate my style and attitude towards material things--- what makes me WANT MORE when I actually NEED LESS. And I found out that:
And I thought to myself that maybe, less IS more, especially in life. You only need one pair of shoes that can probably last a year, not several pairs. You only need a few clothes to dress yourself up properly, not two closets filled with clothing you don't actually wear everyday. You only need a simple watch or simple jewelry, i.e. a nice pair of pearl earrings, and not boxes and boxes of trinkets and accessories. You only need one cellphone that can call and text, not a phone that has everything in it including a TV, music shizz, and games. What's the use of your TV and computer at home? You only need a simple meal, one rice, one viand, and probably vegetables, and not too many food on your plate which you cannot finish at na-"takaw tikim" ka lang. You only need one bag or two to fit in your things, and not several with varying colors, style, and sizes. You only need one jacket to protect yourself against the elements, and not so many that it takes up much space in your closet. You need a material that is inexpensive but functional and can meet your needs, not something that is way expensive because it's branded. You need not go to salons to get a manicure/pedicure/foot-hand spa/wax to feel beautiful; just being happy and content with your life and doing good deeds makes you FEEL beautiful.
Everything that I have now was driven by my WANT and not by my NEED. It was also driven by my "society-conscious" persona (see my Ang PUNYETANG society article in my earlier posts). Bad trip talaga yang society. I've decided to probe deeper into myself and started to evaluate my style and attitude towards material things--- what makes me WANT MORE when I actually NEED LESS. And I found out that:
- I love fashion. I like dressing up. I like expressing myself through clothes. I like wearing accessories, fashionable clothing, stylish yet functional shoes, etc.
- I like branded but exceptionally-crafted goodies. I believe branded goods have a reason why they are more expensive than those that are not. More time at the R&D department, multiple road tests of the product, skillful craftsmen are employed in creating the product. In short, there is a VALID REASON why they are expensive. But then again, there are branded goods that are just awful and would make you wonder why the hell is that thing extremely expensive. Like my friend who bought a Bam Pineda blue poncho worth 1800+ (sale pa 'yun!). What struck me at first glance is the color of the material--- electric blue. And also yung cut and style nung damit, mukhang okay naman, jersey style poncho. Edi okay siya, maganda-ganda naman, but not super wow. Plain lang ito ha, no embellishments at all. I asked my friend where he bought it and he said he bought it from Bam Pineda's atelier. I asked how much and he told me the price and I was like, "What??? Nasa'n na ang 1800 dyan???" I was furious!!! True, it's one of a kind, pero nasan na yung HALAGA ng 1800 doon??? The materials used were hideous! Parang matte jersey cloth na ginagamit sa uniform ng mga atleta!!! Eto pa! The drawstring used for the neckline was like the string found in the drawstring short na mabibili sa BANGKETA! Nasaan ang 1800 dun?!?!?!
The problem with some Filipino designers is that they invest sooo much on the mentality na "one-of-a-kind" lang yung produkto nilang ginagawa when the QUALITY of their clothes suffer!
... I've written this blog entry since August 2010 and it will be August 2011 soon and haven't finished it yet! Haha! Might as well post it anyway. I bet I can think of other entries related to this. I'll just write a new one for that. For now, I'll publish this na! :D
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