Have a ‘good shoe day’ every day

Dear Lucy,

I’m in a “what shoes to match what outfit” dilemma. For instance, what shoes can you match with a long dress? What shoes should you wear with a mini? Back in my time, you never wear heels with a mini. 

Is there a rule on this? I see socialites wearing sneakers with a formal dress and are able to pull it off. Do give some shoe-dress matching tips.                

Joji

Nowadays, there are no rules, and most everything is a matter of being able to marry (and pull off!) function with beauty. I have an aunt, all of almost 80 years old, and she is conventional in the sense that she is a lady through and through, always in a long dress or pantsuit, with proper shoes to match. Of late though, she has discovered sneakers, and she has been able to pull it off, she who never even looked at sneakers before! Now, she wears all kinds — glittery ones, plain, printed, and she is totally rocking it even with her jewels and all!
You can wear anything with a long dress, it is a matter of style and choice. You can wear flats with a long dress, like when you host at home, but you can also wear something high and sexy with a long skirt, like when you go out to dinner.

Regarding heels and mini, yes, I get that it can go wrong in many ways but think of a really nice mini dress, in a style that skims the body, for instance, with sleeves, and some sharp details. That can go well with a pair of high heels and it will not look cheap. Heels now can be very classy, and they do not have to automatically be strappy. Roger Vivier has some gorgeous ones, closed-toe, with their requisite buckle. But the style is perfect, definitely a must-have, and even if the heels are sky-high, they have a handmade comfort that makes them very wearable. It ties together a look — mini dress or not — and is something for keeps. 

So, no rules, really, the only one being that you must be able to pull off whatever choice you make. Own it. If you do, no one will question, or second guess, the way you go.       

Lucy

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The Scent Of Love And Happiness

 Dear Rissa,

I want to try a new fragrance. Can you recommend something that isn’t trendy but smells pleasant and happy for everyday use?                                                                           

Ysa

For me, fragrance should always evoke a memory. A happy memory is what makes it smell and feel pleasant and perfect for everyday use! A wonderful new fragrance to try is Heart Evangelista’s new scent called “Linger” by Whiff x Love Marie, which was created together with the first Filipino perfumer RJ Lopena with fragrance company Whiff of Perfume.

When actress, beauty icon, and artist Heart Evangelista launched her own fragrance, I had no doubt it would be good. Everything she touches and creates has a stamp of her standards, and you can see this consistently with the everyday life she shares on social media.

Heart shares, “Sometimes, the simplest things are the most luxurious things — waking up to a gentle breeze, the feeling of summer sunshine on your face, that first coffee, a whiff of newly laundered sheets, working ’til 3 in the morning to finish a painting, and falling asleep next to someone you love — these are the things I love most.”

Capturing everything she loves in a bottle and translating them into a fragrance led to the scent “Linger” by Whiff x Love Marie. “It’s a collection of memories that make me smile and that’s what I wanted to feel whenever I use my perfume. It makes me feel beautiful and happy. It’s my wedding perfume. I crafted this scent with Whiff and RJ Lopena with that in mind,” Heart fondly shares.

Encased in an elegant glass bottle trimmed with gold, the fragrance “Linger” is composed of notes of the sea, the freshness of a citrus, harmony of floral. The top note is white musk. The base note is lily of the valley.

This scent adds to your happy memories because a portion of the proceeds of “Linger” will be donated to Aeon Childing Foundation, Inc., which provides support to indigent heart patients for surgery countrywide.

“Linger” by Whiff x Love Marie comes in a 50ml bottle for P1,650. It’s available at Pop by Retail Lab and Cura V Power Plant Mall, Apartment 8 clothing, and online via Instagram at the @whiffofperfume account.                                            

Rissa

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Send e-mail to Lucy Torres-Gomez at ltg@pldtdsl.com. E-mail Rissa Trillo at stylesos_rissa@yahoo.com or follow her on Twitter @RissaMananquil.