the beauty of sloppy and a little bit about cebu fashion week

i decided to stay home today because i was exhausted. this was not exhaustion brought about by heavy manual labor or intense mental exercise, but more like the kind of exhaustion that is a product of make-up application and general beautification. now, don't get me wrong. you don't have to know me well to know that i am v much a girl's girl. i adore clothes, i think putting on make-up is therapeutic, and i get supreme satisfaction from the art of accessorizing, but i think the last 3 nights have finally caught up to me. friday, saturday, and sunday were the closest that cebu had to a fashion week. i was really looking forward to it for several reasons: my mom had developed this new technique of fabrication and this was a venue for her to showcase what she'd been working on; other cebu and manila designers (including favorites like edwin ao and ivarluski aseron) were showing off their stuff, too; it was an opportunity to see and be with people; and finally, it was a chance to dress up. and dress up i did. on day one, i had on my edwin ao dress from our preview photo shoot during his night with the clothes for life foundation. day 2, a dress by my mom, which looked very much like a modern poiret when she was showing with the fashion council of cebu (fcc). and on the third night, which was sposabella, a wedding fashion show with fcc, some manila designers, and monique lhuillier, i wore a dress given to me (well,ok to my mom) by teresin mendezona, which amazingly enough, turned out to be an original pedrito legaspi from way back in the day. my shoes all three nights averaged at 4.5 inches in height. i attempted to take extra care in applying my make-up. i actually wore foundation in addition to powder, blended my eye shadow instead of just smothering it, tried my luck with liquid eyeliner rather than the usual pencil one i wear most days, i even wore lip gloss on top of my preferred burt's bees. there were going to be photographers around. extra effort was required.

getting ready for the shows was just as fun as the shows themselves, but i can't even tell you how much i am relishing being sloppy and grubby at home right now. i am wearing an oversized tshirt that my best friend, jula's mom gave me when we were 10. it is super soft from the 13 year's worth of washing it has been through. i remember it being pink but now it is really more like a grayish white. my curls have somehow positioned themselves horizontally on my scalp, perpendicular to my face and parallel to the floor. and my zit (apparently, not washing off you make-up is bad for the skin) is big, red, and although it is exactly right where cindy crawford has her beauty mark, i don't think this one will catapult me to supermodeldom. i certainly don't feel prettier now than i did the last 3 nights, but there's something to be said for the comfort and freedom grubbiness provides. ask my feet. i'll bet they'd agree.