Friday, July 25

My Life in Men’s Health

Well, I guess it’s already as official as can be: I’m no longer with Men’s Health Philippines. It was a fun, sometimes frustrating, sometimes infuriating, sometimes extremely rewarding ride. In short, my life in Men’s Health is everything I look for in a job.

To put closure in my tenure in the magazine (maybe in the future I’ll come back, but let’s leave that thought for now), I decided to condense my life in appreciable chunks so anyone who didn’t know what I do can sort of understand what I did while in the magazine.

Ready? Here we go...

Years in MH: Exactly 3 years (March 2005 – March 2008)

Number of editors I was under: 2 (Jeryc Garcia and Agu Paiso)

Number of colleagues (not including interns and contributors): 9–Jeryc and Agu, Carol Pajaron, Jomike del Rosario, Omar Glenn Belo, Mike Diez, Jad Melegrito, Raymond Abrenica, and Glen Concio (Glen’s the only remaining “original 3”)

Number of titles I held: 2 (Editorial Assistant and Assistant Section Editor)

Number of pages in the magazine I edited monthly: All of them, minus the ads

“Pet” section: MH Style. (The fashion and grooming pages were always mine to put together, edit, and style.)

Number of provinces—not counting Metro Manila, of course—I’ve been to for photoshoots: 7 (Subic, Bulacan, Batangas, Tagaytay, Boracay, Baguio, and Cebu)

Of those 7, number that was my first time: 1 (Cebu was the only place I haven’t been to prior)

Favorite cover: Jake Cuenca, followed by Dingdong Dantes, and then Dennis Trillo

Favorite foreign cover: Paul Walker

Favorite celeb editorial: Richard Gutierrez (Richard Gutierrez had a cover, but it’s for the Guide to Style special, so I don’t count that as a “cover” cover)

Favorite fashion editorial: Coat of Charms (August 2007), Tall Order (February 2007), and Fresh Perspectives (May 2008)

Favorite MH guys: Brent Javier, Luke Jickain, Gabb Drilon, Jon Mullally (now Avila) and Alfred Vargas

Favorite MH woman: Joyce Jimenez, hands down

Favorite MH story: Simplify your life

Favorite local MH story: Exit Strategies (MH Philippines November 2007, written by Ben Hernandez)

Favorite MH event: MH Urbanathlon

Favorite MH story that I wrote: The Spa Excursion (August 2006), The MH Grooming Awards (September 2007), 85 Best Foods for Men (May 2007), and Ahead of the Game (November 2007)

Least favorite fashion editorial: Merrier Than Thou (won’t say which month—but the title of the story kinda would tip you off, no?)

Longest-to-shoot fashion editorial: The MH Style Essentials (September 2005), 10AM – 9PM, and there were only 8 looks!

Favorite place to pull clothes for fashion eds: Glorietta and Greenbelt, although I started enjoying TriNoma several months before I left the magazine. Power Plant Mall only for Zara.

Priciest label I’ve pulled clothes from: Louis Vuitton

Favorite brands / labels to pull clothes from: Debenhams, Zara, Chivalry is Dead, Dean & Trent, Traffic, Springfield, and Celio

Fastest fashion editorial: April 2008 (2 hours)

Favorite item of clothing shown in my fashion editorials: Jackets and any form of outerwear—I know, I know, mainit. Whatever.

I’ll add some more soon!

By the way, I'm featured in Dean & Trent's profiles for this week. Thanks, Timmy, for the opportunity. I enjoyed answering your questions a lot!

Tuesday, July 15

Dude, the Bargain Shopper: Christian Bale


Christian Bale is best known for his fantastic portrayal of Bruce Wayne in Batman Begins, and next week's The Dark Knight. I think he's the only actor able to capture Mr. Wayne's dark, brooding demeanor perfectly.

Dude, the Bargain Shopper recommends:
Suit jacket from Topman (GBP 80, about $160) – I made the suit more gray than blue; if I didn't, there'll be waaay too much blue that it might look like a leisure suit when paired with the denim shirt.

Dress trousers from Topman (GBP 40, about $75)


Denim shirt from Land's End ($29.50)


Shoes from Aldo ($74.98)

Christian Bale's photograph courtesy of fanpix.net.

P.S. Think I'm featuring too easy styles? Leave a comment containing a link of a photo of the celeb you want featured at Dude, the Bargain Shopper. I'll accommodate as much submissions as I can.

Friday, July 11

The Road to (Project) Runway

As much of urbanized America readies itself for Project Runway Season 5 (the Bravo TV show has been doing very well in the ratings game), let my review of one PR episode tide you over (haha). No, I like the show, but I can’t really relate to 90 percent of its content, as they all make womenswear. But Episode 3 of Season 4 brought about the first ever menswear challenge for all the designers, and it turned out to be an interesting show. And I mean this positively and negatively.

Recap: The designers—and there were still plenty of them—were tasked to make an outfit for Tiki Barber, an NFL player and Today Show host. Like many football players, he’s top heavy and—according to him—owner of some serious derriere. Many of the designers haven’t made men’s clothing all their designing careers, and have, not surprisingly, found it difficult to accomplish this challenge.

Now, as much as I loved the idea—menswear is my forte, and it’s nice all of the contestants send down men’s clothes down at PR—there’s one thing that doesn’t work well here. And that one thing is so pivotal that it ruins the intention of the show.

That one thing, ladies and gents, is Mr. Tiki Barber himself.

Don’t get me wrong, nothing is wrong with the guy (and his wife, man, was smoking hot!) but he was a really bad choice for a Project Runway client, because he doesn’t fit into the show’s scope and milieu. Sure PR has done unconventional—at least in the fashion sense—episodes in the past, calling to mind having their moms model for them, women who’ve lost weight, teenagers headed for their prom, but to do something as radical as having the designers do menswear, they should’ve at least stuck into the fashion spectrum. Go have Tiki guest in the next installment of the menswear challenge.

Heidi said it herself, commenting on Kevin’s outfit: “David Beckham would wear that, but not Tiki.” Exactly why I think this episode blows. Tiki was all about what’s prim and proper (and quite frankly, boring, but that’s Mr. Barber for you) and you can absolutely see this on the winner. Give the designers someone like David Beckham, Jake Gyllenhaal, Kanye West, heck, anyone who has shown that they’re into fashion one way or another!

With this in mind, I’m reviewing the clothes without the pretext of having to design for Tiki Barber, because a lot of them sent down some pretty interesting—and editorial-worthy—pieces.

If I may quote from Heidi once more, Let’s start the show!


Carmen: She lost this challenge I think only because she didn’t finish. The styling was particularly interesting as it showed a very bohemian, artsy man, and there’s an audience for these types of dressers. The crotch was way too low as pointed by Michael Kors, but the jacket seems fine had Carmen finished it, and the shirt fabric she just draped gave the illusion of a nice scarf, and it’s a good accessory right there.

If I may betray what I said about not referencing Tiki, it’s funny how they bashed Carmen on the fact that the jacket’s short, exposing Mr. Barber’s ass for everyone to see. Uh, don’t women like to see that?


Chris: Yes, it’s boring, but he designed for the client. But since I’m not critiquing with the client in mind, I can say this: It’s boring. Black on black on black is always a safe option, and safe options are never cool for me.

It did have one saving grace, though. When the model walked down the runway with those awesome sunglasses, man, I though he was in a Parisian fashion show. Chris made very good styling choices—slick-back hair, aviator style shades, narrow-toe loafers—that complemented the outfit.


Christian: One of the strongest looks. Christian’s obviously talented, I just didn’t expect him to do very well in this challenge. The lapel of the blazer might be too high, ergo, wrongly made, but it still is a wearable blazer—I would not be surprised if SoHo types would wear this. The undershirt also is made well even though it’s only a cotton T-shirt, and the pants draped well.


Elisa: Well done and styled, but again, it’s not for Tiki. I particularly like the vest and its un-even bottom. The pants are a little too baggy though, and it doesn’t sync with the shirt and vest, but nonetheless, executed nicely.


Jack: Striped shirt and striped pants. That’s about everything that’s going on in Jack’s creation. Don’t get me wrong, it’s nice, but I could hear Nina Garcia muttering behind Tiki’s back: “I can’t believe I let this bitch talk me into making this boring outfit win.”

Now, this is exactly what menswear should be, which explains the win: It’s tailored, it fits real well, and it addresses the concerns of the 5’9” footballer. But since when was fashion ever stuck in stone when it comes to rules?


Jillian: Could some please tell me why this didn’t win, apart from the godawful shoes? (Jillian, you’re extremely talented, but I wonder why you would ruin a perfectly awesome outfit with the worst possible choice of footwear.) Oh yeah, it’s because it’s for the Today Show, and not Bryant Park. Sigh. Did anybody notice that she put the most effort out of all the designers this episode for the simple fact that she made 4 pieces? That’s 4 things she made a pattern of, sewed together with precision only an experienced designer could do (as Michael would say, it’s impeccable), and fits her model so perfectly.

But I'm beginning to dislike the collar. Put the damn things inside the jacket for god's sake.

This outfit, out of all of Jillian’s work, is my favorite. Biased, fine, but just look at it. It has Jillian stamped all over it: She makes preppy clothes with just the right dose of hip. Even though she didn’t win PR, it wouldn’t surprise me if she’d go places.


Kevin: He should’ve tucked the shirt. That’s all I can say. Another strong contender for the win, the shirt color is amazing, despite what Heidi said, the texture on the vest and the trousers are phenomenal, and it’s very edgy. I’d wear this in a heartbeat. But I’d tuck the shirt.


Kit: This is what suburban dads would look like if they dress up, or are in church. Minus the cliché look of the entire thing, you can totally take everything and wear them individually. Michael Kors was right to compliment her on choosing fleece as the fabric for the blazer, a cotton jacket would immediately register as “ho-hum.” Kit’s a stylist, and she knows her shit dressing up people for TV, and here’s a great example of it.


Rami: I like this very much, but I wouldn’t wear it. It has a bit of a Macy’s or JC Penny catalog written all over it. It’s not a bad thing per se, but I personally despise catalog looks. It would totally appeal to the 30-somethings looking for something to wear for a weekend expedition where T-shirt and jeans would not cut it.

Oh, and on the snide remark to Jack that he made his pants without the help of a pattern? Who’s laughing now? Next time, STFU, dumbass.


Ricky: Bleh. Between Carmen and this hideous piece of shit, I’d take the former any day. Ricky won by a technicality: That Carmen sent cloth, not clothing.


Steven: Excellent output. Crotch is too low, but minus that, a strong showing. The model even looked like this was what he was wearing coming in to Parson’s. (I don’t know, he looked pretty British to me.) I’m a big fan of well-thought-out layering, and Steven definitely showed how to pile on the clothes without looking frumpy or suman-esque. (Non-Filipinos, suman is a sticky rice snack shaped like pop-tarts. They’re usually eaten by themselves or with a generous sprinkling of sugar.)


Sweet P: Hate this. The pants ride him too high, the shirt’s a mess, and the tie wasn’t even tied properly. If Sweet P fixed the model’s tie, the judges might not have paid too much attention to the fact that the collar’s unfinished. But she instead sent a freaking long tie and cared nothing for the world if they made every menswear stylist cry.

Oh, and the shirt and trousers intersected so obviously that the model looks like he has a beer belly while having a 29-inch waist. That's not even freaking possible, man.


Victorya: The second one, next to Kevin, that I would wear in a heartbeat. I particularly like the white jacket. (I’m not sure if it was done blazer- or blouson-style. Maybe it was a hybrid.) I didn’t get Victorya when she said she didn’t like what she did, but she might’ve won this challenge had she presented this look for someone else.

This demonstrates one of the most fundamental rules of fashion: To always add something interesting.

Images: BravoTV.com

Saturday, July 5

Dude, The Bargain Shopper: Ed Westwick

I've always wanted to do something like this. Hopefully, I'll be able to sustain it. Dude, The Bargain Shopper is exactly what it says it is: A shopping guide for guys out there who—whether they want to admit it or not—look at what celebs put on to look fly and reproduce it with the stuff from their own repertoire.

Each Dude, The Bargain Shopper post works this way: a photograph of a celeb, then a similar outfit suggestion pulled from various online stores (US only, or has the option to ship in the US). Seventy-five percent of the clothing suggestions will be cheap (thus the name Bargain Shopper), and the remaining 25 splurge purchases.

However, note that I don't take responsibility for any damages that might've incurred through your transaction.

Ready? The first Dude, The Bargain Shopper post looks at a photo of Ed Westwick, an English actor in The CW's hit show Gossip Girl. Very summer-appropriate outfit and looks great on most guys.



Dude, The Bargain Shopper recommends:


Straw fedora from Village Hat Shop


Shirt from Gap (there's another shirt at the site in the same color as Mr. Westwick's, but this one comes closer in terms of pattern)


Sunglasses from Aeropostale


Shorts from Old Navy. I didn't go too crazy on the pattern for the shorts, as pattern-on-pattern is something not a lot of guys could pull off.


And our splurge: flipflops from Paul Smith.



Ed Westwick's photograph courtesy of edwestwick.org

Thursday, July 3

Disney's Hollywood Studios

First on our stop was the park formerly known as MGM Studios. (I have no idea why they dropped MGM and took on Hollywood instead.) This was supposed to compete against Universal Studios Florida in terms of having a park that has dozens of tie-ins with films and movies from their movie production outfits. It’s a rather small park, and you can accomplish everything you need to do here in a day.

Here’s the breakdown of the attractions the park has on offer. If there’s not much (or at all) that can be said about the park (not a bad thing sometimes), I’ll just jump right ahead to the next one.

Rock’n’Roller Coaster with Aerosmith – This is the first inverted roller coaster in the entire Disneyworld chain of parks, I think. This ride casts you as an Aerosmith Groupie that will follow the band on a wild nighttime ride around Sunset Boulevard—complete with neon signs and freeway speed notices (like rockstars heed speed limits anyway, heh). What I like about the preride entertainment is how well-done the scene is. It’s not boring, unlike Epcot’s Honey I Shrunk the Audience show—will expand on this when I get to Epcot. You really feel like you’re in the Groupies booth, waiting for whatever awesomeness the band has in store.

On to the ride proper. Man oh man was it fun. And I mean FUN. Once the countdown ends, your car goes from zero to 60mph in 2-something seconds (pose for the camera on the upper right hand side a second after the ride starts!) and you get plunged in total darkness for the duration of the ride. Well, save for the abovementioned neon signs and freeway notices, which momentarily illuminates the tracks, but for the most part, you’ve no clue where you’re going. I don’t know how many doughnuts and corkscrews there were (I just scream and scream it’s not even funny anymore) but I’m pretty sure I felt at least one each. Fastpass enabled, and I recommend you get one as early as you can. 9/10

Tower of Terror – I chickened out of this ride when I was a kid. Now, I was the first to fall in line (for Fastpasses: We got them at 10am and it was already for the 4pm return). Pretty straightforward ride. You ride an elevator to a condemned hotel, see the guests running around back when the hotel was still in its glorious days, then a sequence begins that you’re being transported to the 5th dimension—the Twilight Zone. After a few moments of darkness, the ride then proceeds to drop you at random intervals. The camera on the upper left side takes your photograph on the second and third drops, I think. Your cue that your photo’s being taken is if the door opens up and you see a view of the park (or the sky, whichever the case may be)—and this is also the time you fall. Tip: Don’t bother holding on something. Your butt will leave your seat several times and there’s nothing you can do about it. Thrilling ride and worth the wait. The cast members are pretty into the freaky hotel employees bit, too, which adds to the great ambience. 9/10

Beauty and Beast Live on Stage – I didn’t get the chance to catch the Broadway run of my all-time favorite Disney toon (boo for Little Mermaid), thus there was no way I’d pass this up. It’s a 20-minute condensed presentation of the musicale, and tells the tale pretty thoroughly even for those who haven’t seen the film. Great costumes and superb acting, worth the wait. Be sure to check out the show times, as there are certain days when there are only three performances. 10/10

The Great Movie Ride – A slow-moving ride that goes through unforgettable scenes from movies past, like Casablanca, Fastest Gun on the West,even Aliens. Ends with a montage of classic films and the actors and actresses that remains memorable up to this day. Some scenes are pretty dragging, but nevertheless a good in-between ride. It’s even totally indoors, to stave you from the scorching sun. 7/10

Star Tours – This one is beginning to show its age, unfortunately. I rode this simulator last 1995, and 13 years later nothing has changed. A little disappointing that it hasn’t caught up with the times. 5/10

Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular – Don’t bother getting Fastpasses for this one. The auditorium seats a ginormous amount of people. This exhibition shows audiences what goes on behind the scenes of action movies, from carefully coordinated stunts and choreographed pyrotechnics, to synchronized sound effects and the right camera angles. Very entertaining, although it could use less of the chit-chat before and after each scene. They get 10 or so volunteers from the audience, so be sure to raise your hand! 8/10

Jim Henson’s Muppet Vision 3D – An immersive show feature Kermit and the gang. Nice breather and is worth a laugh or two. 8/10

Light, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show – A 30-minute show involving stunt cars and even more stunt cars. Like Indiana Jones, Light, Motors, Action gives the audience a look at what goes on in the making of a car chase sequence. You’ll find out how much different stunt cars are from regular ones, how they choreograph the braking and accelerating of each vehicle, and more. If you’re a fan of fast cars, you’ll feel the adrenaline rush here. Otherwise, it’s a highly entertaining, gets-you-at-the-edge-of-your-seat show. Come in early for seats nearest the stage, although you’ll still see well even though you’re at the farthest benches. There are usually only two performances each day. 9/10

Studio Backlot Tour – It’s a pity they severely shortened this ride to make way for Light, Motors. Now it’s merely a filler for when you’re waiting for your Fastpass return time. For the most part, it’s a tram ride where you see Disney employees at work, where costumes are made, and you see memorable props from Disney films. Still, it has its redeeming qualities: You a get a walking tour of the props and costumes used in Narnia, a nice “catastrophic” sequence in Catastrophe Canyon, and Harbor Attack where the actors are volunteers from your group. (Volunteer when a cast member asks your group! It’s gonna be fun, I promise.) 7/10

Voyage of the Little Mermaid – Crap. Only the first scene is worth watching. 5/10

Fantasmic – A nighttime show where Sorcerer Mickey must battle with a group of Disney bad guys and girls. Lots of amazing light and water effects, culminating with a parade of popular characters. Worth the wait, as the perfect ending to your day at Hollywood Studios. 10/10

Part 3 coming soon!