MANILA, Philippines - Criselda Lontok, society women?s favorite ready-to-wear designer, marked her birthday and 34th year with Rustan?s this week with a fashion show for a cause, attended by her longtime high-society clients.

The event was also the reopening of her renovated space in the Makati store.

?Oh, I started very young,? she said in an interview two days before the show, ?so my age is a secret.? She did say her children were ?old enough? when she expressed her desire to work at Rustan?s in 1974?to her then husband?s disapproval.

?It wasn?t as easy as it is now for women to work in my time,? she said. Her father-in-law, a Supreme Court justice, told Lontok, ?People might think we can?t support you.? Her own husband threatened he wouldn?t drive her to work, which she shrugged off but silently distressed over.

?I got by,? she said in retrospect, smiling dryly. ?I learned how to drive. But our office then was in Cubao, eh manual [transmission]. I would take the side streets! That was scary! Susan Reyes and I learned to drive together.?

Lontok, whose father comes from Lipa, Batangas, and a former suitor of the late Rustan?s founder and fellow Lipeño Gliceria Rustica Tantoco, started modeling for top designers?Pitoy Moreno, Ben Farrales, Aureo Alonzo?at age 14. She attended Maryknoll and St. Theresa?s, graduating with a degree in Foreign Service.

At Rustan?s, she was hired as merchandising manager. ?I didn?t like Math and I was afraid because we had to do math for the sales!? But Tantoco proved to be more than just a boss; she would also become Lontok?s mentor and foremost supporter.

?She knew me since I was a child,? the designer recalled. ?She treated me like a daughter. She would take me to Malacañang, to the concerts of Van Cliburn... I really miss her.? Like Lontok?s own mother, Tantoco was struck with colon cancer and died in 1994.

?Sometimes she?d get angry when something wrong happened, but when she?d talk to me, she?d soften up and lower her voice, and that amazed everyone,? Lontok recalled. On buying trips in New York, the older woman would give her shopping money from her own pocket. ?People thought she was hard because of her strong character, but she had a soft heart.?

Good taste

Lontok started as merchandise manager for ladies? and teens? wear. ?I wasn?t an international buyer right away. GRT (Tantoco?s initials) had to check you first if you had good taste and if she could trust you.?

The older woman did note her fine taste in fashion, and she asked Lontok to design blouses for the in-house group called Mod International. Larrie Silva and Vicky Lopez were her co-designers in the team.

?Then it soared!? she said. ?GRT said, ?It?s about time we put your name.?? Criselda the brand was born in 1983. Lontok is the only one left of the original Mod International troika.

For over 25 years, Lontok has been dressing women aged 35-80. And not just any clients, but prominent women?Chloe Romulo, Elenita Binay, Minerva Tanseco, Menchu Concepcion, Lorna Laurel, Lulu Castañeda, Ophie Recto, Remy Arguelles, Lucita Lesaca, Bibay Nolasco?some of whom were present at her show on Thursday. Recently, Imelda Cojuangco was also added in her clients? list.

?It?s harder to maintain a brand than to start one,? she said. ?The secret, I guess, is that I adapt styles to my clientele because they can?t really wear miniskirts. The fabrics don?t wrinkle, wash-and-wear, so they really like that. I see to it that I wear my clothes whenever I go out. Some clothes don?t have hanger appeal, but the moment you see it on someone, it?s different. I listen to their requests?they like longer tops to conceal their mid-torsos and clothes with longer sleeves. If it has spaghetti straps, I make sure it comes with a shawl. They like to wear more pants now, because they don?t want to wear stockings.?

Her business is not immune to the volatile economy, but she enjoys such a big and largely financially secure base that Lontok is hardly ruffled. ?When the gas price is up, they lie low. When they get used to the price, they buy again. But these women want value for money, clothes that last and classic styles.?

Bright colors

Hardly can a customer find a Criselda piece in a drab color. She?s all about brights. A solid gray garment won?t find a place on her racks.

?Filipinas are now more open to moda,? she said. Save for a few women ?in the know,? however, she thinks her clients ?don?t want to be ahead. They have to see it on someone else first... You see, I?m not just after style; I?m also after sales. I was a merchandiser so practicality always comes in.?

Before this interview, a group of her sukis was browsing through her racks in the Makati store, where Lontok can be found four times a week ?to get feedback and chat with friends??a tradition she has kept since Tantoco?s time because it brought in sales.

?Some of these ladies, they proudly tell others they?re wearing Criselda. But others don?t want to be copied so they don?t say it,? Lontok said.

She dresses women from size 8 to 22. A believer in cosmetic surgery though ?nervous? about going through it herself, she advises her clients to ?dress one?s age? and size.

Wearing minis when one reaches a certain age is a no-no, and if one should have to wear a corset, ?get your size and not something that?s too tight! Flesh goes up and gathers in the armhole, ang pangit! Or wear a shawl. You must know your limit.?

Aging gracefully, she said, is having the proper attitude toward aging. ?Accept that you?ll have wrinkles here and there. Age is just a number.?

Not anymore

Separated from her husband long before she was widowed, Lontok never considered finding solace in another man?s arms.

?Not anymore!? she said emphatically. ?Please! I?m used to my liberty. To adjust again?terrible! I got used to being alone. I?m neat so I don?t like makalat.?

With three grownup children and eight grandkids who call her Mamita, Lontok these days spends leisure time with her longtime amigas?Mary Prieto, Chari Bagatsing, Josie Lichauco, among others.

?We?re all single again. We watch a movie?recently ?Mamma Mia??have dinner and are home by 9:30.?

Lontok added, ?Yes, a woman can be happy on her own. You don?t need a man.?

With this, she let out a laugh. ?I have my grandchildren. Of course, there are women who can?t live without a man. I can. It?s a matter of adjusting to different circumstances. Attitude is No. 1, and spirituality.?