Humor and Wits among the Youth

Here is the modern generation: with earphones plugged in their ears, with eyes glued on netbook, if not on the floor while walking, with fingers almost collapsing due to long-hour typing, with bangs covering their pretty faces, and with bloodshot eyes due to nocturnal schedule. So, is this the generation that will take on the task of governing the world? It is true that when one is young, a person tends to be self-centered (nobody's listening to me!), moody (both crying and laughing within a short span of time), gloomy ("It's the end of the world!"), and locked up in her ivory tower ("I am afraid to get out of my comfort zone."). She could be so melodramatic to the extent of affecting her entire circle of friends. At the end of the day, panning style seems to be in vogue; the focal point is the trivial issues in her life. However, this phenomenon could always not be the case. The young person has always a chest of treasures to share to the whole of mankind. We just have to push her a bit (a friendly jolt) so as to help her not to get sidetracked with petty things.

One of the characteristics that can be highlighted is good humor and wits. Be reminded that it is not just the act of laughing. It puts the person on a level that is divine: the person learns how to transcend beyond immediate things, and flows into the core of the matter. One gets to see things in a different perspective. She knows that life is serious and tough, but it does not rob her of the things that make life pleasant, bearable, and, ultimately, fun. In other words, she knows the right place of everything and everyone, and thus, she gets to understand the deeper meaning of things. Just like in fashion, a girl can always be inventive, innovative, wacky and/or witty when it comes to the choice and combination of her clothes and accessories, but at the same time she knows ultimately that there is a person behind those things. Juggling fashion rules and personality, she gets to obtain her prize. With this, at the onset of the year, GUTSY wants to remind you that with humor and wits one yields fruits of positive outlook, cheerfulness, and sanity.

Leveling the Field

Written by a GUTSY correspondent

I’m not an avid reader of women’s magazines whose main focus is how women can please men. I mean, I think to myself, why is it that a magazine supposedly targeted to me be all about him? What is this, sort of a guy manual?

For the longest time, it has been women who have been objectified through billboards, magazines and other forms of media that show unrealistic standards of beauty. The MTRCB would ban shows that show half-naked women dancing around, and feminist groups would react to billboards that showcase women being ‘too sexy’. It was only recently that men were subject to censorship (remember the huge billboards of the Philippine Volcanoes along Guadalupe?). These billboards were a wakeup call that even billboards showing male models/celebrity endorsers needed regulation.

I am writing this article based on personal experience. Just a few days ago, I currently had an argument with this guy I’m currently dating. I am dating a male model for about half a year already. And no, by doing so, I am not being superficial. He is a good conversationalist, with excellent PR skills and possibly the most consistent guy I’ve ever dated. Never a day goes by that he doesn’t call and text, and is very patient considering that I can be too frank and almost tactless. As a model, he is a high-fashion model who usually participates in couture shows. Check his folio and you won’t see topless vanity pictures. In other words he is very conscious that he projects the right image. And oh, he is also an engineer. In short, not an airhead. I could go on and on and on about the good qualities.

So anyway, last week, he kept on insisting that he wasn’t part of this event for a women’s magazine which showcases the 69 sexiest men every year. Until, come the day itself, he tells me that he came across some of my friends and had their picture taken with him. He goes:

Him: “Nakita ko si *****, Ang hirap ng job ko today 6 hours ako nakatopless and ang lamig lamig pa.”

Me: “Kala ko ba wala ka diyan, bakit ilang beses mo sinabi na wala ka diyan pero andiyan ka pala. Ba’t di ka honest?”

Him: E kasi nahihiya ako sa job assignment ko. Sorry if you think I’m stupid” He replied. “Magpapagupit nalang ako so the next time we might see your friends, di nila ako mamumukhaan.”

Anyway, point is, it’s not only women who feel exploited with these types of shows/magazines (hiding under the guise of being confident with their physical appearance, when in truth they feel some sort of ‘hiya’ afterwards). Women look at these types of things as "levelling the playing field". If guys objectify women, why can’t people do the same to them? And honestly, some shows featuring men show them to be more exploited than women.

Modesty is important to both men and women. It should be stressed that not because men are visually stimulated, women should be more conscious on how they present themselves. Men too, have to be conscious. I mean, as a guy, would you like to be known immediately as the "sexiest bachelor" by the people you would meet for the first time especially if you need to set a good impression with them? I don’t think so. As a model, if you’re trying to capitalize on being high fashion, respectable, smart and decent, please be consistent. Choose jobs that won’t go against your image, or the person you are for that matter.

So What Exactly Is Modesty?

Most individuals irk when they hear the word modesty. One may ask, "What's the fuss with it? Is that still applicable to the citizens of 3rd Millenium?" People may seem to brush aside this concept, but admit it or not this still occupies a place in this contemporary world - simply because we are beings with bodies and soul. From time immemorial, sages like Socrates, Plato and Aristole (really prominent!) have contemplated and asserted the fact that we are creatures with rational soul. It is important to give proper care due to our bodies, but at the same time we have to exert the same (or more) effort for our souls.

Modesty in dressing conveys our worth as a person, not our worth as a nice body. When we dress up provocatively, we tell the world that "The best thing about us is our body - only our bodies!" We prefer people to describe us as girls with big front, big back, big whatever body part but not with a big heart. This exclamation is worthy of lament. Why will we bank on our physical body which will inevitably droop in about three decades time when we can improve the aspect that will last forever? Forming and uplifting our character will secure the respect we have been longing for. Modest dressing says "I'm worth waiting for (from Jason Evert, If You Really Loved Me)." and "I respect myself and I insist on being treated with respect (Kim Alexis, former supermodel turned modesty advocate)."

Do we want to be remembered as someone who is "sexy and hot" when they can say that we are "elegant and classy"? It will always benefit us when we ponder on the fact that our identity is that of a person with worth, with dignity. We are not reduced to our body parts. Will it not be a blatant insult when people can describe us only through our body parts? Hence, modesty is "taking the natural beauty of womanhood, and adorning it in a way that reflects her true identity (Evert)."

The blushing bride

Photos courtesy of Kate Plata-Miciano. This photo (above) taken by Noel Salazar of Imagine Nation Photography

As has been pointed out in a past post, a formal occasion is no excuse to show more skin--in fact, it's a call to look even more dignified than ever! While it's true that some dress styles/cuts (for example, venus cut and tube tops) may seem decent if the wearer is thin or is not well-endowed, their ability to place the person first may still be wanting. Let's forget about debut balls or prom nights for a moment and consider the grande dame of all formal occasions: the wedding day.

On this day, the bride wears white, not merely because all the brides in the past have worn white, but more importantly, to symbolize purity! She is beautiful, pure, modest, and maybe a little bashful... a lady on all counts. Doesn't that mean a woman's wedding day is a day on which she must be most dignified?

I'm not saying that wedding gowns should all be like Grace Kelly's (left). (Remember, we mean "dignified" also in the practical sense--a lady must be able to move with poise and comfort in the gown. How could she do that in a heavily embroidered long-sleeved number when it's 33 degrees outside?)

In this wonderful climate of ours, a bride can instead choose shorter sleeves that give the right coverage to shoulders. That is why the terno style is so becoming of a Filipina bride!

Now, there is really no reason to feel boxed, trapped or cramped in the "conservative" mindset because in all truth, it's not about being conservative, but about respecting the "whiteness"--the purity--of the occasion and valuing that very beautiful gift of the self when one exchanges marriage vows. It's really love, not rules, that moves the bride to wrap her delicate gift carefully! (Why do I use "gift"? A friend once likened a person's body to a special gift: if the gift is something worthless, there's no point in wrapping it well; just toss it in a bag and give it to whoever. But a precious gift you wrap in the best tissue wrappers, box, and ribbons; and you take special care of it until it reaches your recipient.)

Here's why we love copywriter Kate Plata-Miciano's wedding gown: while the basic dress is a strapless number, it fits her perfectly and doesn't show cleavage. To cover her shoulders, she wears a 3/4 sleeve cover-up that is light enough not to be too hot, but heavy enough not to be too exposed. In choosing that design, Kate followed her own sense of style. Kate writes:


"The real scoop about that gown is it's a second choice. The first one I wanted was also decent; only, one week before the wedding, my first modista, Loida Hunter, completely screwed it up. Everything about the gown she made was wrong, it had low neckline when we asked her to put it up a bit. The back was very plunging when we asked her to put more cloth, and the whole thing made me look fat. All that after 3 months of waiting! To make things worse, she wasn't so open about our observations about the gown so we had to find someone else to make it.

"So we went to my mom's modista, Vilma Orticio. She was able to make my second gown in a week and at such an affordable price! I chose the mermaid cut design because it's always slimming. And since I like to have lace on my gown, we used it as design of the body and as bolero. I've always loved the mermaid cut with lacey bolero so that's what I chose as design."


See, dignified dressing is not about sticking to rules, but knowing what makes a lady truly beautiful--the value of her whole person!--and expressing that through her elegant (and appropriate) style choices. Congratulations, Kate!

Photo taken by Bob Guerrero.

The S word

Just last week, a friend and I had a mini tiff because we both did not understand what the other meant by the word "sexy." While my friend was going on about how fun and exciting it was to be "sexy," I got especially concerned and said maybe it's best to tone down "sexy" because it's one surefire way of making people forget you're more than just a pair of legs (or whatever else you have). It turns out that all she meant by sexy was make-up and heels--and basically looking pleasant, attractive and approachable--while there I was worrying that, living amidst this mumbo jumbo of media-propagated beauty culture, my dear friend has become sort of numb.

I honestly don't like using the word "sexy" because it is too overused in media that it's become "diluted." You know what I mean: you see a person with celebrity wearing something very stylish and elegant and they call her sexy; then in the next page, a not-so-well-sheathed actress is described with the same word used as a praise, too. What, is "sexy" some sort of catch-all term that means "I don't have any other word to use so here's one I'd like to throw and hopefully you'd all think I gave a compliment"?

I'm like this with words, so please forgive me. I looked up sexy in the dictionary and this is what I learned:

sexy–adjective, sex·i·er, sex·i·est.
1. concerned predominantly or excessively with sex; risqué: a sexy novel.
2. sexually interesting or exciting; radiating sexuality: the sexiest professor on campus.
3. excitingly appealing; glamorous: a sexy new car.

Anne Hathaway in The Devil Wears Prada

Sexy is probably overused for it's third meaning because it's much easier to say Anne Hathaway's green coat is sexy than Anne Hathaway's green coat is excitingly appealing. (Besides, if we're going to be all grammatical about it, I may as well point out that: a. "sexy" referring to any item or article of clothing means number 3; b. referring to a person means number 2; and c. referring to an attitude or being, number 1.)

If we just consider meaning number 3, then there really is nothing wrong with sexy--I mean, what's wrong with being glamorous? We all want to be glamorous! and beautiful! and elegant!

The problem, then, lies in the other meanings attached to the S word. Number 2 entails "radiating sexuality," which means putting sexuality above personhood. Some may argue that if you're a woman, you can't help looking like a woman--but of course! I'm not saying we should all dress androgynously. The fact is: there's "ladylike" and then there's dangling one's sexuality for all to see. (At best, the latter just makes you attractive to the opposite sex; at worst, it takes the liberty to scream "Look at me! I'm sexually available!" for you.)

And number 1, of course, is just plain tasteless.

Fashion Camp!

It's time to start a revolution in the fashion world!

At a time when style is being equated to "showing off what you've got," advocates of person-centered fashion certainly come off as non-conformists. They are the ones who don't believe in everything the media proclaims as "beautiful" because they know what suits them and what highlights who they are (and not what they have).

Getting such fashion revolutionaries together, the GUTSY Fashion Team held their first Fashion Camp on July 31-August 1 at The Coffee Farmhouse, Alfonso, Cavite. In the camp, the gutsy girls learned about the difference between fashion and style, how to choose the right clothes for their body type, how dressing affects the way men look at women, how to give effective talks & presentations, and how to be active advocates of dignified dressing as consumers (and come to think of it--producers) of media.

To know more about this revolutionary movement, how about dropping by the University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P), Ortigas Center, Pasig City, on Saturday, August 14, 2010, at 10:30am? If you're a gutsy girl too, it's never too late to find out how you can help give dignified dressing a leg up.

Fashion non-conformists, unite!

Fashion camp invitation!

Hello Ladies,

If you believe in person-centered fashion and wish to promote it, how about joining other ladies in the GUTSY Fashion Camp on July 31-August 1?

GUTSY aims to empower young women to be catalysts of change in the world of fashion and to be the trendsetters in upholding their dignity through positive dressing, designing and retailing. Learn to take an active role in inspiring more women to dress with dignity through:

• Team building activities,
  
• Film viewings,
  
• Fashion talks, and
  
• Writing seminars

Contact Kathy Gacer (0926-674-0273) or Pia Lorenzo (0919-249-1192) for more details. It's going to be fun and classy! See you there! ;-)

What Is GUTSY?

"The G.U.T.S.Y. Fashion Team is a fashion advocacy group composed of students of fashion, fashionistas, young designers and retailers who understand the true sense of style of young women which is based on individuality and self-worth."

This blog shall discuss fashion that highlights the positive in the wearer and lets her individuality shine. You can call it person-centered fashion, if you like. :-)

That said...

Welcome readers, I hope the insights in this blog can help more people take the standards of fashion a step (or two) higher!