Outfits: House of Mirrors

SHIP'S LOG:  A and B give you a sneak peek of Ichigo shoes summer collection over a cup of tsokolate eh at every Filipino's home away from home, Pamana.



Pamana means 'heritage', a fitting name for a restaurant that serves all your grandma's favourite recipes from kare-kare to mangoes and sticky coconut rice. Surrounded by posters of 1930s Filipino film stars and sepia photographs of owner Happy Ongpauco's family, you can't help feeling that you've walked into a past where Sunday dinner was the highlight of the week, all sweet, eggy, glorious brazo de mercedes and lolo talking about how he led the guerillas during the war.

When we were asked by our favourite brand Ichigo to style their Spring/Summer collection, we immediately thought that Barrio Fiesta's Pamana restaurant would be the perfect backdrop to our shoot. Both companies offer a modern twist on classic oldies-but-goodies—floral prints on traditional Oxfords, pastel-coloured loafers, tsokolate fondue, tofu sisig . . . there's always something fresh and unique to find.







We asked our awesome friends Gia and Aya to be our dress-up dolls. According to them, they wore A and B costumes for the day, pastels and knits rarely something they rarely wear. But they loved Ichigo's moccasins and lace-up shoes so much they couldn't wait to get a pair. One of these days we'll show you how they styled the shoes their way!






B is very proud of her brown floral skirt, she hemmed it all by herself! We both absolutely regret not paying enough attention in Mrs Arugay's Home Economics class. We chose to write Harry Potter fan fiction round-robins or gossip about Ben Affleck's latest fling instead of learning how to do a drop-stitch.

It was so cool to find the exact same model of Singer sewing machine that we used in high school at Pamana! Converted into a side table, it is perfect for displaying an antiquarian book collection or the latest Ichigo bag.






We loved how crystal chandeliers and gigantic windows let sunlight flood the white-washed rooms. Mirrors of all shapes and sizes hung on the walls and made the rooms seem bigger, and A felt that looking glasses remain the best way to pass from one world to the next, more Alice in Wonderland than ponds in Magician's Nephew or twists of a door-knob in Castle in the Air.

Would you live in a house full of mirrors? Beautiful in the day time, but creepy at night methinks.



Ichigo
Greenhills Theatre Mall, Missouri Lane L37 Lower Ground
Greenhills, Shoppesville 3rd Level Atrium Lane
The Ramp, 2nd Level Shangrila and Glorietta Malls.
Inspired by Japan street style and the 1950s, Ichigo also sells satchels and canvas rucksacks. Check out the new collection at the Ichigo store near you! You can also order online at their Multiply site or Facebook page.

Pamana Restaurant
1315 Aguinaldo Highway, Tagaytay
Three floors full of traditional narra furniture and posters from the golden age of Filipino cinema create a cosy ambiance to have breakfast, lunch, or dinner with a fantastic view of the world's smallest dormant volcano.  A suggests tomato-drenched prawns grilled inside banana leaves (pinaputok na hipon) and her guilty pleasure, deep-fried pork with a fresh salad (bagnet). If you want to feel the wind in your hair and the tropical sun in your face, have your coffee and cake at the roof deck. Reservations recommended for Saturdays and Sundays when most of Manila heads up into Tagaytay.

A wears Hush Puppies loafers, thrifted belt and striped shirt, and paper bag trousers. B wears Forever 21 jumper, Zara boots, and thrifted skirt. Gia wears a Brooks Brothers button down and B's thrifted polka dot dress. Aya wears Bangkok shirt dress and a yellow Zara cardigan. Gia and Aya wear Ichigo shoes.