Fight night!

When I was in seventh grade I discovered Haight Street. The epicenter of northern Californian hippies that served as the holy land for peace, love and lots of weed. I stumbled inside a little shop with pails filled with garments, from velvet gowns to tulle skirts to ratty jeans to shirts that emblazoned the TAB soda label. At first glance, it looked like a sorry mess, but as I had enough time in my hands to burn that day, I scrounged around and quickly discovered that it was fashion paradise. I remember what I bought that day: a pink leather jacket for $15. From that time on, I was hooked and my secondhand wardrobe was greeted by befuddled stares from my parents.

Today, I worship places like Resurrection (its the secondhand store version of Barney’s with Yves Saint Laurent, Leonard, Balenciaga originals), American Rag (for that Royal Tenenbaum look!), Wasteland, Rainbow secondhand store in Makati, Segunda Mano and flea markets around the world. Some vintage finds are chillingly cheap while some command prices that are likely to make your head spin.

Vintage couture is also inspiring. Though the fashion landscape has introduced new silhouttes and innovative fabrics, the frocks of yore possess a charm and cleverness that is inimitable. Preview hosted a special gala event to celebrate the launch of its special collectors edition that featured the 25 best-dressed chicks in the city. A signature of Preview events is, of course, the witty dress codes that are sure to produce equally jocose results. For this year, it was "nuvo vintage" as Preview’s reigning queen Pauline Suaco-Juan explains, "It’s about something old and something new ."

It’s always interesting to see how the vainglorious public chooses to interpret a dress code that reads more like a riddle. Pauline Suaco-Juan who wore an LZ Punzalan ’40s inspired piece fashioned from some vintage fabric she found in her grandmother’s chest. The Preview fight crew accoutered in varying shades of vintage chic all garnered scandalicious accolades.

As it was, fabness was littered all over the room like a fame factory of outfits that meant serious business. Uber-sexy Cecile Ysmael wore a top from her mother-in-law, the legendary and original fight icon Chona Kasten. I touched it like it was the shroud of Turin. Tina Tinio with her marvelous collection of vintage wares care of the ageless and forever enchanting Mary Ann Tinio. She spun Alizes around in her Azabache dress from the ’80s and shone in vintage Bulgari. She topped off the look with Chanel gloves and her very own leopard stilettos which was perhaps the neo part. Her partner in crime, Shu Uemura head makeup artist and fashion sage Xeng Zulueta, wore a vintage Paganne top that she scored in e-bay adding to her already impressive collection and a polka-dot mini skirt from Arden B, finished off with vintage felt earrings and leg warmers. So very Jenny (Beals) from the Block.

Many gems were scoured from Bang Bang, Baguio and other cheap steal temples. However, the best place to look, of course, is always in the closet of the woman who carried you for nine months in her womb. Rissa Samson wore her mother’s sculptural black-and-white wonder-number from the ’80s (seems like a fave decade for the set considering how everyone bashes it). Some came in deceptive brand new frocks that was "made" to look vintage – like distressed jeans and Marc Jacob’s grunge phase with Perry Ellis.

All in all, it was a treat for all people watchers. It was a night that was fight all the way!