To Chef Tonio: Christmas Gift Suggestions for your GF

Longchamp Le Pliage Tote USD 145

Chef Tonio left a comment in one of my earlier posts. He was asking for possible Christmas gift suggestions for his significant other.

Here are his requirements:

a) Bag must be only between 8-10 thousand.
b) GF is not sporty.
c) She likes brands, she doesn't like big bags.
d) Bag must have a touch of simplicity and class.

Thanks for writing in, Chef Tonio! I have to apologize for the slightly delayed response. My injured ankle has severely hampered extended window-shopping expeditions so I've just started going around lately.

Anyway, here are my initial suggestions. I promise to post some more in the coming weeks. So you have plenty of time to come up with your choice that is guaranteed to make you the "star" BF with the best Christmas gift.

1. Longchamp Le Pliage tote



A French woman staple, the Le Pliage tote made the Longchamp brand recognizable worldwide. It's a versatile tote which folds up for hassle-free storage and keeping. Depending on her needs and taste preferences, you can choose from a wide variety of sizes, colors and even handles.

The bag size featured above is about USD118. In the Philippines, Longchamp is available at Rustan's and at the duty free shop at the airport so get a friend or relative to buy it for you there.

2. Fino Leatherware bags

Go local! I have several Fino office bags and travel totes. The leather is very durable. Their new collection now features crocodile-stamped cow leather in bright colors. I think they make a good addition to any working woman's wardrobe. They have a medium-sized doctor's bag for about PhP7,000 or less. The most expensive bag they have is about Php11,000++. Here's a suggestion - why don't you get a small bag with a matching wallet and other accessories. I think it's a cute idea and the entire set will still be within budget.

Fino has stores in Podium, Shangri-la, Rockwell, Trinoma and several other malls. Try to catch them when they go on sale (about 10- 15% off) during the several upcoming mall-wide sales.

3. Coach totes and bags

If you are not queasy about shopping online, there are several Multiply and Ebay sellers that sell Coach bags. Coach is no longer available locally through Rustan's so your best bet is to buy from reliable online sellers. Hongkong is the nearest place with a Coach store. They even have a huge one at Central.

Check out the Coach bags on sale here:

http://search.ebay.ph/Coach_W0QQdfspZ1QQfromZR40QQfsooZ2QQfsopZ3QQsbrsrtZd

There you go, Chef Tonio! I hope I was able to help even just a little bit. Stay tuned and I will try to feature more bags.

Of course, readers are also welcome to leave your suggestions and comments anytime!

Photos from Longchamp.com

Yes, I Visit the PEP website!

And why not?

Pep.ph is a treasure trove of pictures of bag-loving celebrities. Unfortunately, the site is copyright-protected. So here are the links to my favorite pictures.

KC Concepcion and her Chanel
http://www.pep.ph/photos/1056/Supreme_to_the_Extreme_Awards_rocks%21/num/5

Judy Ann Santos and her LV. Love the red!
http://www.pep.ph/photos/981/Sharon_Cuneta%26%2339%3Bs_%22Megathirty%22_is_a_resounding_success/num/15

Annabelle Rama and her Chanel and bling, bling, bling
http://www.pep.ph/photos/649/Annabelle_Rama_beams_with_pride_at_55

Dr. Pie Calayan and her Chanel
http://www.pep.ph/photos/649/Annabelle_Rama_beams_with_pride_at_55/num/19

Ciara Sotto and her Chanel
http://www.pep.ph/photos/961/Ciara_Sotto%26%2339%3Bs_surprise_birthday_celebration/num/4

Gretchen and her Hermes
http://www.pep.ph/photos/1042/StyleBible.ph_grand_launch/12

Georgina Wilson and her LV
http://www.pep.ph/photos/show/popular/465/Preview_Best_Dressed/num/9

Camille Prats and her Chanel
http://www.pep.ph/photos/1060/GMA_Network_Studios_Inauguration_%28Part_2%29/num/2

And one whole gallery on bags!
http://www.pep.ph/photos/308/Bag_Brands%21

See? Bags, bags, bags. Even in the weirdest places, I will find bags to covet.

Recycle the Red

A girl has to be practical. Especially if you have a day job. There are times you just don't have time to spare, and horrors, have no time to change bags.



As the pictures stylishly show, if you do have to recycle, the best choice is your red Hermes Birkin.

Photo source

Will Spanx Save the Day?

I've procrastinated.

Ratiocinated.

Until finally the day drew near.

My sister is getting married in two weeks. I'm the maid of honor. I didn't diet. Or exercise. Or undergo liposuction. Now, it's nearly too late.

I have a fitting with the designer. He's a genius but he can only do so much.

What to do? What to do?

Help is needed. Time to search the internet for solutions.

SPANX! But where do I get Spanx in the Philippines?!

To be continued...

It's a Classic!

Photo source

Your weight may fluctuate...

Your fashion sense may evolve...

Your hair may go from light to dark...

But a great classic bag, especially if it's a Hermes Birkin, stands the test of time and will keep you company for a long, long time.

Manday Monday: Bally Madan Portfolio Case

Some men are still leery about using a man bag. Who can blame them? In the macho Philippine setting, man bags, especially for more mature men, is still considered taboo. The only exception would be the ubiquitous clutch bag.

However, some men are constantly searching for the middle ground. Profoundly averse to the clutch bag, these man still will not sling a messenger bag across their shoulders.

This leaves the problem unsolved. Where do you put your little comb, Blackberry, PDA, cell phone, wallet, pens and keys, as well as other knicknacks, that have become an essential part of a man's everyday life?

One solution could be a leather portfolio case. With a portfolio case, the essentials are kept secure in one location other than in a man's pockets. The design is very discreet. And since the case is in leather, the portfolio case is very professional looking and can be carried around to meetings and other business gatherings.

On a recent trip to Shangri-la Mall, I happened to see a very spiffy looking portfolio case at Bally. After some research, I discovered that the case in question was the Bally Madan Portfolio Case.



Made from Italian leather, this portfolio case is a perfect way to tote around the professional man's essentials. I like the fact that no one really needs to know that you are actually carrying a man bag with you.

So, Monk, what do you think? Checking the price at the local Bally store and will update.

UPDATE: Yikes! Just called the Bally store in Shangri-la Mall. The portfolio case is PhP42,500. At current exchange rates, that's about USD900. Amazon is only selling the portfolio case for USD525.

Photo courtesy of Amazon.

Newspaper Reading: Why I Should Stop

One lazy evening, Mrs. G. and I were at UCC having coffee and cake. She was reading a housewifely tome while I was busy thumbing through the day's newspapers.

Now, I haven't read newspapers in a long while. I get most of my information from the Internet. It was therefore an interesting time for me to reacquaint myself with the newsprint ink bleeding onto my fingers and the familiar flipping of the huge pages.

This is what greeted me while reading an article:


"Opera is a perfectly legitimate filed."

A typo. A significant one at that as it changed the entire meaning of the sentence. I ignored it.

New newspaper. New article. The article nearly made me fall off my seat. Here's why:

The words "evening" and "the" were misspelled. The word "of" was omitted.

How? How? How? When you get paid to write (which luckily I don't for this blog), it's mandatory to spell check and proofread. Tsk. tsk.

As if that wasn't enough, the next article I read made my blood boil:

"But for me, the biggest reason why we should throw the RH bill out of the halls of Congress comes from the editorials of many local and national newspapers, praising overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) for their role in stabilizing the Philippines in the heat of the Wall Street financial debacle. Now these politicians want to curtail our population growth so that OFWs will soon be a thing of the past. With the way the government is being run (like hell by Filipinos), you can bet that even (God forbid) after the passage of the RH bill, Filipinos would still be poor because it is the unbridled corruption that is the cause of our poverty, not our population growth.

It is a fact that the very countries that controlled their populations in the past 20 years are now suffering severe population decline which they have learned belatedly has become irreversible! These are the countries that have embraced our OFWs who in turn bring back more than $12 billion to our shores and thus have insulated us from the financial crisis. Surely our politicians are not that stupid that they would now support the RH bill that would cause our population to decline to the point that OFWs would no longer be needed. This means, no more $12 billion coming to our shores. So you politicians out there ought to ponder this very thought!"

What the?! I was flabbergasted! Maybe my logic is faulty, but I really failed to get the connection.

On a lighter note, I am loving this new Kashieca ad:

In my opinion, the local Betty La Fea is the prettiest reincarnation.

While a loyal Sharonian, I really can't support this outfit KC is wearing. Pink bra over sheer white shirt?! The outfit is very unflattering. She's a very pretty girl. It takes very little effort to make her stunning. This ensemble should not have even been considered. Tsk. Tsk.

At this point, Mrs. G grabbed all the newspapers within reach and forbade me from reading them anymore.

Maybe until next week.