Baby, it’s cold outside

There’s nothing like the recent series of afternoon typhoons and thick, humid air to make one realize that the Bora days are over. Summer’s gone, people. Let’s move on. It’s pouring outside! And just to break the camel’s back, the rains seem to take turns with heavy hard-hitting humidity each day. So, it’s wet and you want to cover up and stay dry but the insane amount of perspiration you produce makes you want to undress and take your third shower of the day. To top it all off, you’re likely to spend most of your time indoors where the air conditioner keeps you dry and cool. Problem is, some offices, schools and other establishments think we’re Nordic so they keep the thermostat extra low. It doesn’t help either that the morning weather forecast is hit or miss. Arrggh! Talk about confusion. It is THE gray area of all gray areas. Who can blame us for being a little befuddled and frustrated? But since self-preservation and a stylish manner of dress are top priorities in my book, I had no choice but to make some sense of it all – at least in the wardrobe department. What to wear, what not to wear in the habagat season? Here are a few tips to get you by:

1) Stash away the flipflops for now, unless you want to get your toes soaked and muddy. Opt for a more elevating alternative: wood sandals or clogs or sneakers, or boots if you’re anti-gutter-splatter.

2) Keep your suede shoes stored for a while. Even the suede footbeds of Birkenstocks will get grimy and damp. You should also keep a close eye on your stored shoes because they may develop some mildew. Should that happen, wipe off mildew with a damp sponge and give it a good sun-bake. I also like to spray Lysol or any aerosol disinfectant to kill the germs.

3) Pass on the mini skirts and shorts for now so you won’t give those damn skeeters and kati-kati more reason to bite you. Boohoohoohoo! This is a major sacrifice for me, but after a few attempts and only ending up with red patches all over my limbs, I chose to abide by this rule. Off will do little to help, so don’t even stretch it. Them bugs are at their most aggressive this time of year.

4) Avoid anything floor-sweeping – even jeans. As long as they’re long, they will for sure scrape some of the post-downpour grime off the street curbs. Keep your trousers or dresses at least an inch and half above ground to avoid this. Or you can wear high heels or boots to give ample space between your hem and the ground.

5) It’s a good time to layer your tops. Wear a tube under a sheer top, a tank under a cardigan or light sweater, a T-shirt under a jacket. You get the idea. Basically, you want ultra-versatility in this kind of weather. You can remove the top layer when it gets too hot or if you wet it in the rain.

6) Bring a coat, jacket, vest or shawl along with you in case you encounter freezing temperatures indoors. If you must choose one, go for something that’s easy to pair with different colors. I like ivory, denim, khaki or gray. Or better yet, you can just jump the gun and use something really extraordinary – like a wildly-printed trenchcoat. Nothing says belat to the lousy weather more than being well-prepped and looking fabulous simultaneously.

7) Last but not least, bring along a cute umbrella you can stash away in your bag or car. Make sure you don’t skimp on this one or you’ll end up with those umbrellas that turn upside down with every gust of wind. Another alternative is a plastic-coated hat. No, I don’t mean those shower caps the cops wear to cover their hats. I mean those fisherman-type bucket hats that come in cute colorful prints, and then are wax-coated or plastic coated. These are had to find though and when you do, they usually look too boxy.

In this light, YStyle asked four of today’s forward-thinking designers from the Young Designers Guild (YDG) to create their version of cool rainwear. YStyle columnists and staffers DJ Montano, Bea Ledesma, Celine Lopez and yours truly reviewed and critiqued the designs of Reian Mata, Ciara Marasigan, Louis Claparols and Mitzi Quilendrino. Our highest criterion was that the designs be bagyo-friendly; second, the level of ingenuity or creativity imparted in their work; and the third criterion was the quality of their workmanship.

Although everyone’s designs were exciting, we chose to put Mitzi’s on the front cover of this story because we felt she bagged the highest score. Her ‘60s-inspired single-breasted coat was made from a layer of cotton topped with clear plastic. She stamped her own signature print to the underside of the plastic so that it seemed that the cloth was the one that was printed. It was obvious she put a lot of careful thought to her design and never lost sight of its functionality. Her coat is the perfect chic alternative to those heavy-duty yellow mackintoshes. I wouldn’t wear it indoors because it’d be too hot, but I would definitely keep it handy when I have to scuttle around outdoors. She paired her coat with "modern Cinderella" heels in clear plastic with a rhinestone bow to boot. Talk about waterproof!

Louis Claparols, well known for his intricate beadwork and embellishment, opted for one of his many Imelda-inspired tops, made from pinstripe suiting fabric with puffy fairytale sleeves, an overlapped neckline and a silkscreen print of his grand dame on the bodice. Imagine something Snow White would wear if she were a fan of Imelda’s – you know, like when you wear your typical Che or Blondie or Ramones shirt, except this one belongs to a dreamed up Disney maiden gushing over our expiring yet never-forgotten glamour queen. Louis certainly harvests his ideas from the inner tunnels of his mind and that’s why we love him, but we couldn’t quite figure out how to assimilate it into our rain theme. Owe it to Xander Angeles, rock star photographer, to conjure a fantasy from nothing. As you will see in these photos, he played with the idea of being trapped indoors by the horrid weather outside. She’s all dressed up with nowhere to go…

With Reian Mata’s design, you get contradictory feelings. On one hand, it makes you want to go out there, play fast and hard, get drenched and dirty. On the other, it gives off a precious quality that urges you to hang it on a wall to be admired rather than risk getting it dirty. Reian took an old blue children’s raincoat (Sanrio, I think) and dolled it up with patches of red chessboard patterned faux fur, hung a few strands of pastel pearls and hemmed it with black lace. By adding these high-luxe elements that utter "I’ll have some champagne, s’il vous plaît," she took flimsy plastic kiddie outerwear into another dimension altogether. Very cool.

Ciara (pronounced kee-yara) Sevilla, the accessory designer who sells her Ciara Creates line at Souk, Rustan’s and Kish, was hesitant to take on the project at first. How can an accessory designer create something for rainy weather? But instead of copping out, Ciara gamely took on the challenge. The result was a sparkling ensemble: a traditional kimono in checkered Jim Thompson silk with reversible sides that transformed into solid-color taupe with a black obi corset while her 14-karat gold brooches shimmered in the rain like underwater corals. It was immediately clear that Ciara never compromises on quality – from her choice of fabric to the Swarovksi crystals she used on her brooches. Her workmanship was the best among the entries. It must be all that handiwork she does for her jewelry line that makes it effortless for her.

So here you go: form, function and fun to get you by the year’s most maniacal season. We should have little reason to whine about it now.

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Contact the designers at the following numbers: Mitzi Quillendrino at 0917-8996437, Reian Mata at 0917-3844461, Louis Claparols at 0915-5417837, and Ciara Marasigan at 0918-9220795.