Head of the class

What's the color for the season again? Plum? No, actually it’s aubergine. Do we go short on the boot-nipping (just at the heel) or aim for a thigh-high tower of leather that embraces your leg till it's blue? Trends are like those annoying telemarketers – they nag you whether you are daydreaming, or on your way to work, or in the middle of spying a new fashion magazine filled with what you need now, or asleep, dreaming as you toss and turn for those ankle-length boots that you must have… wait, was it ankle-length or knee-high? Oh, you’ll know in the morning.

Whatever it may be, trend seers sell. They can sell the most hideous blouse, made of fabric that belongs to some table in a diner, to an otherwise rational soul.

There are the fashion victims who are fun to look at and not so lovely to be. And then there are those who are just chic. And no matter how much you try to copy that cinched belt on her waist over her old T-shirt and roughed-up jeans, it just never works. Women with personal style are a breed all their own. They may have the same hair for decades, or they may be style chameleons going from goth to glam while still owning that visage of priceless grace that is all their own. Their appeal is almost esoteric. You can’t use the same adjective to differentiate one from the other.

They own the look – whether it’s the slicked back glamour of Tina Maristela-Ocampo or the regal elegance of Bea Valdes, they are unimitable and singular. What’s the secret of a maven, you might ask? It’s simple. They know what they want and how they want it. The most stylish women I know are also the hardest to read, simply because of their complex natures. Their fascinations and paradoxical inclinations translate to the clothes they wear. This is what makes them intriguing, compelling – and not even the most talented stylist can duplicate their look, even if they copied it piece by piece. They wear the clothes, the clothes don't wear them.

Joyce Orena can be seen walking around in jeans, a simple T-shirt and a chunky necklace in a mall and turn heads without knowing it. Cindy Yang could be wearing huge pear-shaped diamond earrings during brunch and still seem delicate and laid-back. Wendy Puyat—Hotung can wear brocade day and night and still make it beam endlessly. Hindy Weber-Tantoco can wear the silliest vest with pom-poms and still come off enviably chic.

It’s like making a salad. There are no right or wrong ways to do it. You can put jelly beans in the damn thing if it pleases you. In the end, how you respond to that jelly bean salad will be the grand litmus test of style. It’s the same with dressing up. How silly becomes glamorous. Luxurious becomes laid-back. Classic turns into off-beat and edgy. There are women whose looks remain the same throughout the years and still remain visually arresting every time like a Chiparus statue.

Tina Maristela-Ocampo for example has never moved far off from what she wants. She is distinctive with her glossy black hair, alabaster skin and her taste for off-kilter couture that manages to look right at home in her frame.I remember her telling me once, it's not only in how you dress but how you live. True enough I always welcome an invitation to the Ocampo home, where even the chestnut salad is more fashionable than I am. And there are those who can change their aesthetic like scales of a snake and yet constantly be the same. These are the women who seize our imaginations and don’t scream sex or money. They could make a two-dollar shirt look bespoke and make a mini-skirt that grazes the butt cheeks demure.

Their styles endure – inspiring others to find their own way. Blame it on Chona Kasten or Elvira Manahan who transformed Filipina dressing into architecture with fabric. Our modern style mavericks, whether young or old, inspire a different landscape and a whole new yellow brick road to follow.