MY SOCIAL life is back with a vengeance! For the first time in months, my feet are sore, not from hours of running but from hours of wearing five-inch heels.
Sports demand an ?early to bed, early to rise? schedule. This past week, I have shifted to ?never to bed, rise too early.? It seems an active social life in Manila means a case of perennial jet lag.
Chronicler Girlie Rodis is the master of instantly uploading pictures to Facebook. Her beautiful photos are shared immediately after every event. Once she masters the use of a Globe Tattoo, I am sure she will even be uploading during events!
I try and keep the cyberworld updated via my Fanatext mobile blog. It?s almost like Twitter, except instead of having a million followers, I only have my husband Dennis and about a hundred more friends. If you want to be number 101, text Tessa ON to 4627.
Lately my Tweets have been all about book launches, fashion events and art exhibits. In contrast, my summer Tweets were mostly about Timex, Nike and Speedo. My recent Tweets have no doubt affecting my standing on the Philippine Tatler?s Social List, as editor Anton San Diego must surely have noted my absence on the circuit.
Dennis Lustico
October is the month of charity balls and everyone is looking forward to the Tatler Ball. I am excited to get outrageously dressed once again. But before that is the first of October, when ?Lustico: A Fashion Presentation,? will be held.
Kaye Tinga, the super-generous and hardworking First Lady of Taguig City, and I have been working on this charity event all year, which will be über-talented designer Dennis Lustico?s first solo show. Highlighting the event will be an astonishing 40-piece collection with Legionnaire designs inspired by Bonaparte?s chivalry and conquests.
?Lustico: A Fashion Presentation,? October 1, will include a four-course dinner starting at 7 p.m., at the NBC Tent.
PR genius Edd Fuentes is helping us on a pro-bono basis. He helped arrange for both the Philippine Daily Inquirer and the Philippine Star to be media sponsors, and then put together a fab presscon at the Crystal Room at The Establishment.
Rustan?s, the Beauty Source, is our presentor and it will be supplying incredible products like Santa Maria Novella, Murad and Manuel Canovas perfumes to special guests. Co-presenting is Audi Cars, featuring their new ambassador in arrestingly dramatic photos taken by master lensman Raymund Isaac.
Charity is the raison d?etre for all my monumental efforts of late. This year, aside from Philippine National Red Cross and Assumption HS ?81 Foundation, I have added the Tanging Yaman Foundation, which supports scholarly priests.
Thank God for major sponsors including HSBC, DMCI Homes, Megaworld and PLDT. Focus Global and Sony Ericsson are also supporting. The latter also sponsored my fundraiser last year, ?Rajo Red,? and they will again be giving away their incredible mobile phones to lucky winners.
It is timely that Rustan?s and HSBC have an ongoing tie-up. HSBC cardholders who purchase at least P10,000 worth of Rustan?s cosmetics are entitled to a Beauty Box of exclusive brands.
At our contract-signing, Rustan?s patriarch, ambassador Bienvenido Tantoco, told me that we are related, as we are both Rufinos. Hmm. Could this mean that in my future are? potential shopping discounts?
?Lustico? is almost sold out, but we can always squeeze in another table or two. If you wish to support fashion and charity, call Marge Custorio at 8977030 or Maggie Gineta 0917-8325570.
Last week?s social whirl started with art and a pair of book launches. Movement 8?s 10th anniversary exhibit, sponsored by Inquirer Lifestyle and Cocoon Magazine, was launched at the Serendra Pavilion. The exhibit is bursting with creativity, and all that art will be on display until September 28, sponsored by Samsung, HSBC and Ayala Land.
Book events
Eventmeister Tim Yap and I had a full evening, rushing from art to a quick and late dinner at Mamou, and hence to a midnight, mystery-book launch. Dan Brown?s latest page-turner, ?The Lost Symbol,? was launched at the stroke of midnight on September 15.
Tim and I were among the first to get copies at the National Book Store at Glorietta 5, which was packed with Dan Brown aficionados. The doyenne of the book-loving Ramos clan, Nanay Socorro Ramos, was unfazed by the late hour and was on hand to make sure everything went smoothly.
Later that day, Jerry Sibal, an event stylist in New York, launched his own book, ?An Event to Remember,? at the Makati Shangri-La Hotel. ?Event? was quite an event on its own, with detailed table arrangements all in a thematic color scheme.
He is yet another jewel that makes us very proud to be Filipinos. His coffee-table book has beautiful photos of his works in the States, and should be the resource book for all event stylists!
The week was a whirlwind, but the eye of the funnel was focused on Hello Kitty. In a soft opening to outdo all other softs, gracious owner Virgie Ramos launched the soon-to-be-opened Sanrio Luxe Shop in Greenbelt 5 for one night ? just so Kitty and I could jointly celebrate our birthdays.
Kitty turned 35, whilst I am a wee bit older, of course. So we had an ?intimate,? five-course dinner for 35, in a long, elegant table set up by caterer Margarita Fores, and infused with games care of Sea Princess and prizes care of Hello Kitty.
We set up the table right in front of the Sanrio Luxe and Swatch stores, and dined on into the late hours, as the mall guards wondered whether to call in additional security and we wondered what Jaime Zobel de Ayala?s cell phone number was, that we might ask him to turn on the aircon for a wee bit more. Sanrio Luxe officially opens on September 25.
Assumption events
Let me end with Assumption call-outs. The new Assumption Black Box Theater presents ?The Mystery of Irma Vep? featuring Jon Santos and JV Katipunan, 7 p.m., on Sept. 26. Director Ana Valdes-Lim launches her new book, ?Evolutionary Theater,? same day (tel. 0917-8990113).
Lastly, the Assumption Bazaar is on September 27 at the Hotel Intercontinental. It?s time to jumpstart our Christmas shopping!
E-mail the author at seaprincess@inquirer.com.ph.
