Budget holiday style: Celebrity stylist Pam Quiñones gives 'inflation-proof' tips
MANILA, Philippines — Planning a grand entrance in your upcoming Christmas party or reunion but you’re belt-tightening due to inflation?
Celebrity stylist Pam Quinones, who was behind some of the trending looks of today’s hottest stars, including Kris Aquino, Marian Rivera and Judy Ann Santos, to name a few, recently gave some inflation- and season-proof dressing hacks at her talk for the launch of Levi’s Philippines’ “Buy Better, Wear Longer” campaign in Makati City.
“The thing about fashion, it’s all about trends and the sense of ownership of pieces that you’ve got to own something so that others might see and have it, and the idea is ‘more is more.’ It has been like that for the longest time,” said Pam.
But lately, there has been a paradigm shift: “There was a change I would say, at least in the way we see fashion in the last six or seven years. And I think the driving force behind that was really institutions (that promote sustainability), connecting clothing, fashion and the effects of that toward a bigger ecosystem, which is human resources, meaning, the people who make our clothes.”
Now, fashion has changed into something more personal, tangible, and sustainable, she said.
“In the last three years, especially at the height of the pandemic, a lot of issues were brought into the light, and among them, the damaging effects of the fashion industry to humanity and natural resources.”
Since fashion is one of the world’s biggest pollutants, as consumers, everyone is partly responsible for its impact on the planet, said Pam.
As such, Pam called a halt on “mindless consumption” and shared some “small steps” anyone can do not only to save money, but also to impact change:
Don’t always follow trends
“Fashion really is like a redux. Fashion is like history, it repeats itself… So we should be thinking of the things that we dispose of,” Pam reminded. “Don’t see clothes (as disposable or) as something you just buy and throw when no longer trendy.”
Your fashion, she said, should reflect not just the trends but your personal style and stance — and just inject the trends into your style.
“Fashion is really just a tool. What you make out of it is personal style. And personal style is really coming from your own interests and passions. And the key is expressing all of those in the way you wear your clothes.”
Personal style is what makes you individual and unique. “Don’t allow other people to tell you otherwise that it’s not cool, not trendy, it doesn’t matter. Trend is quite a fickle word.”
As such, she recommended to start curating your closet not based on trends, but about defining your personal style — your version of you.
“Less is more because the more you know about yourself, the less need you have to buy new clothing,” she guaranteed.
“I’m also not big about rules because fashion rules, I find that people break them all the time… I’ve come to the conclusion that the only rules that matter are the ones that you make for yourself and the ones that actually work for your body shape — and a mastery of that no matter what the trend is.”
Practice mindful consumption
“Before buying something, you have to think first if it’s something you’d wear forever. If you’re gonna wear it forever, then it should wear longer. So you buy smarter pieces that you can wear all the time.”
Pam’s tip is go for hardworking essential pieces. Likewise, before buying something, she answers these questions:
- Is it not the same as the ones I already have?
- Is it designed well and with good quality?
- Does it flatter my body shape?
- Does it reflect my lifestyle and the climate?
- Does it support the local industry?
- Can I commit to wear and re-wear this item for the next 10 years?
Mindful consumption, she explained, goes beyond just fashion, but also about giving emphasis on the value of space in your closet and your house.
“When we buy something and practice mindful consumption… there is an idea that this piece is going to park itself into your valuable closet real estate… For it to belong in your closet, it must deserve to be there… Treat it like a private club, wherein an entry requires membership. For a piece of clothing to enter, it has to serve a purpose.”
One in, one out
“Let go of one piece every time you’d add another,” she suggested.
If you still want to keep your clothes but you’re not using them, you can lend them or have others rent them. You can also sell them via online portals, give them away or donate.
“Make as a ‘pamana’ for someone in my family or friend who would probably want it… But I should have the thinking that this piece is going somewhere where it will have another life.”
Borrow even from the opposite sex
Instead of buying new clothes, you can just borrow. At the event, for example, Pam shared that she was wearing a black suit, which has been with her husband for over a decade.
Re-wear, restyle
Style your clothes so they would seem different each time.
“Be your own personal stylist. We have so much information out there how to re-style and re-wear certain pieces. Practice them with your own wardrobe.”
Here are some of Pam’s examples on how to re-style common bottoms silhouettes to make them look more modern:
- Skinny jeans – “If you feel good in skinny jeans and people say it’s not trendy, so what?” noted Pam, suggesting to update it with a blazer, an oversized sweater and cool sneakers, because in terms of silhouette, it looks like another leggings.
- Baggy jeans – You can go for an overall baggy look, go streamlined with a blazer, or look taller by doing denim on denim.
- Mom jeans – “A lot of people love it because it’s comfortable,” Pam said, vouching to wear it as high-waist or cinched as high as you can with a shirt, or not very tight like Victoria Beckham – you can also go two sizes bigger for a cool baggy vibe.
- Flared jeans – which supermodels love, can be worn low or high-waist for ‘70s vibe or streamlined from day-to-night with a blazer.
Personalize
“I really love fashion and I don’t just love fashion, but I love clothes! And loving clothes means it’s not enough to love the piece that everyone is wearing or is trendy, but actually caring, having this personal care, the conscious effort to want to care for your clothing. If something is broken, just have it fixed,” Pam advocated.
“Circular, for me, is something I can keep wearing and re-wearing until it can no longer be. So, if it’s tattered, maybe someone else wants it. If you feel connected and attached to this piece, you can have it upcycled and put together into something else.”
Caring for clothes extends to care for those who made them, she said, especially since some clothes were even made in poor working environments and amid indecent wages.
“The clothes I wear are made by a person. It’s not made by a robot. So that’s already a personal connection to the person, actually.”
Hence, instead of being quick to dispose old clothes, she prescribed personalizing it to make it desirable again – give it more meaning by adding more details. New rips and washes, for example, can give old jeans a skater look. Ripped jeans can also played with heels or fishnet stockings.
Levi’s Philippines aims to make re-wearing and repurposing its denim easy and accessible via Tailor Shops set up in chosen Levi’s stores all over the metro, where customers can have of the following services: alterations, embroidery, and customizations such as paneling, stenciling, sewing of patches, studs and collectable pins. These shops are available in the following malls: SM Mall of Asia, Robinsons Place Manila, Ayala Manila Bay, The SM Store SM Makati, SM Cebu and Robinsons Place Iloilo.
The brand’s “Buy Better, Wear Longer” campaign builds on the label’s long-term commitment to making fashion more sustainable and prolonging the lifespan of its products, with a mission to help consumers love their jeans for decades, not seasons.
To support this effort, the brand created a cinematic short film from the perspective of a pair of Levi’s that tells a multigenerational story: the film takes us through the life of the brand’s most iconic design, the 501. Transformed through the decades with each owner, adapting to the style of the times, the 501 is just as relevant, and wearable today as it was in the 1960s.
“The ‘Buy Better, Wear Longer’ campaign is both a plea and a promise. It’s a plea for consumers to be more intentional about their purchasing decisions and to look for ways to re-wear, repurpose, and hold on to their clothes as long as possible, before passing them down to future generations. And it’s a commitment from the brand to continue its work on numerous fronts to be responsible stewards of the natural resources we use, to innovate across its design and manufacturing platforms to become more sustainable, and to move towards more circular products and practices across the board,” stated Karen Riley-Grant, Global Chief Marketing Officer.
To support this vision, the brand shared its other sustainable initiatives such as investment in materials such as Organic Cotton and Performance Eco Cool with recycled Polyester, which reduce water consumption; pioneering WaterLess manufacturing in denim; and working alongside partners and leaders like Fashion for Good and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation to help shift the industry to a more circular model.
“Reconfiguring supply chains takes time but we have found partners that are as concerned about their footprint, and are as excited to experiment as us. These collaborations have allowed us to introduce more circularity in how we make our products,” said Paul Dillinger, Vice President, Head of Global Product Innovation.
More than what brands can do, Pam advised to focus more on what we can do.
“As consumers, we’re a part of the problem. At least, we don’t want to be part of the problem, but slowly, we can become part of the solution,” she assured.
“Fashion should not be disposable… The life of the clothes could also be circular — re-wear, repair, upcycle, rent, resale!”
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