Back to the’80s

Even though Oprah said 40 is “magical” and my friend Gilda (who is 70-plus) assured me, “Forty is lovely,” I couldn’t help but fret about turning that age.

I am officially over the hill. I am no longer considered young and should just say no to cartoon-character anything. (As if I could really do that. I just bought a Hello Kitty document case.)

So instead of being depressed and to keep my mind off the age issue, I started planning a birthday party.

The last big party I had was when I turned 30 and I still think about it, like a grandma reminiscing about her youth.

We all have a favorite decade in our lives.

I love the ’60s, even though I was barely there. Okay, I think I love it. (Did I?) I miss the cheesy ’70s so much. But the ’80s remain in my heart.

That was the time I discovered fashion and the music was fantabulous. The boys were so cute. If you think all those emo boys are cute now, you had no idea what the boys looked like in the ’80s with the long bangs, colored hair and dangling earrings — when it was all bawal.

I had all these silly crushes. A couple of guys I actually knew, but most of them British and gay.

It was so hard to ask permission to go out and there were actually just three places we went to: Penguin, Rock Ola and Subway.

I swear I had a curfew for 1 a.m., 1:30 at the latest. I’d be at Subway dancing, then my crush would appear on the dance floor at exactly 1 a.m., when I was supposed to be on my way home.

A few times I was late and got scolded. But what was I to do when the party started at 1?

There was also a problem with the clothes. I didn’t want my parents to actually know that I sometimes wore the “lahar” look. Meaning, all black clothes with talcum powder sprayed on my hair. I wanted to simulate John Galliano’s urban-decay collection for his grad show at St. Martin’s.

Or that I wore a nun’s habit with army boots and red lipstick. My parents had to see none of that, so I had to sneak out.

I have to add that unlike now, there were no cool clothing stores in Manila back then. You had to find pieces in Shoppesville (which was the hangout), go abroad, or do it yourself. That’s why some of the people I bumped into at parties back then became designers, like Rafe Totengco, Vic Barba, Michi Calica, and myself.

And so for my 40th birthday I was feeling sentimental and asked my friends to come in ’80s costume. Didn’t matter if they came as Jane Fonda exercise girl, Debbie Gibson or The Cure.

I hired the Premiere Cinema at Shangri-La mall, where we screened an ’80s movie and gave fashion awards.

At the entrance, photographer du jour Mark Nicdao set up a booth and took these great pictures. What you’re seeing here are some of my favorite shots.