sábado, julio 01, 2006

the post i forgot to post (please also read the post before this, though :-) )

i now love clutch bags. the "manly" clutch bags, that is. and the real big brawny macho italian leather types. not the puny mesh-type plastic girbauds.

wednesday night, i was digging up my closet for something to wear to the jaime v. ongpin awards. the dress code's smart casual, meaning something dressy but not too dressy like prom. i was eyeing a blue/gold shimmery balenciaga shirt i just got last week to match my newly-updated levi's 522s. but when i tried it on, i just looked like a yuppie (read: pretentious minimum wager like you and me) with the wrong pants on. so i settled for a black puritan camisa de chino i found in my closet when i was doing my "spring" cleaning three weeks ago. i don't know why i fell in love with it. i guess the idea of a black camisa de chino used as a dressy top is soo new and soo untried that i jumped at it almost immediately.

when i looked at my shoe collection, i thought a little distressed brown leather would complement the blackness of the the entire outfit. so in go my classic cole haan (classic=prissy) brown leather belt, and my ol' guess combination canvas/leather loafers. my outfit's old, i know, but i need to be comfy. (and being a taurus, i hate to do anything too drastic)

the look i was putting together looked smashing enough to boost my confidence, and discreet enough to slip into the awards in case i got in late (i did, fashionably of course). i have my self-made bead bracelets on. i look like a punk with class, but there was a problem: my trusty dirty ol' vomit green jansport trinity isn't just gonna finish my outfit well. i need to get a bag to tie the entire ensemble together, but it had to be something dressy. and not too gay.

so i go to my dad's leather archives, and founf this really manly oleg cassini clutch. all four squares of it are made of brown italian leather. the base and the sides were very rigid and durable, and the leatherness of it (and just because it's from oleg cassini, one of my all-time favorite basics designers) just gives me that dignified and exclusive air. but it was so small i wasn't able to fit all my shit in. but a little creative work (from all the moving i've had to to in my life) made me fit all these. as in ALL:

1 pack dunhill lights.

zippo lighter (silver basic)

5 oz marks and spencer autograph series body spray

nivea creme

my siemens c60 (in a black samsonite stylish horizontal 1 case)

a mead brights fat li'l notebook

keys

flash drive

leather lv coin purse

my iriver ihp800 (it's really small, though, so i ended up pocketing it instead)

small mirror (clinique)

the body shop vitamin e lip balm

1 pack extra joss

lifestyles condoms (you never know)

tempra tablets (2)

eyeglass philips screwdriver (not that i'll need it that often)

parker sonnet pen

a power bar

2 bic skater pens

2 bic power grip highlighters

press id

invitation

sunscreen

(i'm describing the items i brought so you can google everything and see how much shit i was able to put into this really small leather bag)

(probably the only thing i couldn't fit in the bag was my trusty mead bungee 8 1/2 x 11 notebook. then again, i needed its pockets to keep thesis documents,org flyers, booty calling cards and stuff)

it was really small, and i couldn't really carry it any other way than to hold it like you'd hold a manila envelope, or loop the handle around your wrist and let it dangle like a handbag. but when i walked (no, swaggered) my way to aim conference center from greenbelt 4, i couldn't help but notice peopel staring at my leather bag. and then i looked around. swear to god, i'm the only one in my age bracket carrying a P15,000 brown oleg cassini men's clutch. the others were flaunting their cheap P800 mesh canvas girbaud toiletry bags and nike shoe bags (used as clutches).

i really got rave reviews from friends during cocktails, like it's soo not me to bring something like that, of that maybe i'm starting a new trend in "manbags" or something. well, not really. the next day (yesterday) i was back in my old grepa ways, carrying the vomit green jansport and wearing torn fatigues and a trashed-up blue shirt.

but really, it does feel different when you're carrying something like an oleg cassini clutch. it changes the whole look, and it changes your whole demeanor too. not only did i look polished wearing that bag, i also got preferential treatment by the guards that whisk people into the mall. i also got many flyers from outdoor publicity people desperate to sell condos, townhouses and discounted mickey d's food.

maybe i'll use the bag more often. maybe it'll be part of my permanent wardrobe (i can't leave home without at least something to carry my obligatory stuff with). maybe i'll finally go to louis vuitton and get a new one in the same tradition as my oleg cassini. maybe i'll do it sooner than i projected. who knows? i only tried it once in a long time. who knew i'd love it that much?

anyway, i miss my already-graduate friends emman and klara, who i saw at the jvos. and those who weren't there, like anna and arcie. we need a coffee night, i know. one awards cocktails ain't enough. (especially if i had to leave early to catch a margie holmes class) hehehe.

(will upload fotos in a bit. :-) )

xanananananananana