MANILA, Philippines - Named “Best Dresses” by New York Magazine and Brooklyn’s #1 Classic Boutique by Refinery29, the Dalaga store in New York is an homage to owners Mary and Michelle Mangiliman's Filipino roots.
“Even though we grew up outside of Washington, DC, the Philippines was always present in our lives. Our parents never let us forget where we came from and they instilled in us the warm, welcoming and hard-working spirit of the Filipino people,” Michelle said.
It comes as no surprise then that the sisters chose the Filipino word for 'lady' as the name of the store that they have been dreaming of since childhood. It was also, after all, what their father affectionately called them during their formative years.
The two confess to loving playing dressing-up and shop-keeping when they were children. They would invade their mother's closet and "merchandise" her dresses and pairs of shoes with socks as payment.
“Looking back on our childhood, it makes perfect sense that this is what we were destined to do. Even when we were five or six we were business partners and it hasn’t changed since,” Mary said.
They opened their first Dalaga store in 2006 in Brooklyn. Another shop was opened in SoHo recently.
Recently, too, they were featured by the Philippine Consulate General to be featured in the “Best of the Philippines on Fifth Avenue” as excellent examples of Filipino-American entrepreneurship. It had its installation displayed at the Philippine Center New York from August 1 to 31.
Dalaga's rotating display highlighted its Fall collection from local independent designers such as Alexandra Grecco, That’s Mona, Friend and Nemesis and a preview of Seychelles Shoes’ Fall line.
“We hope to inspire all dalagas to follow their dream,” Michelle said.