GMA gives go-ahead for inaugural gown

The counting ain’t over till the fat lady sings, but aides of President Arroyo’s want her to look her best when she does.

Mrs. Arroyo’s wardrobe consultant Joanne Zapanta-Andrada told the STAR yesterday she has been given the go-signal to prepare an inaugural dress and gown for the President, and Andrada has enlisted couturier Inno Sotto, hailed "The Prince of Philippine Fashion," for the assignment.

Sotto said he has designed an aquamarine terno of French silk gazar for Mrs. Arroyo if she opts to take her oath in a formal indoor ceremony. If she decides to take her oath outdoors in a more business-like atmosphere, she will be wearing a red coat dress.

Mrs. Arroyo’s camp has claimed she won the elections by some one million votes over actor Fernando Poe Jr., while the latter’s camp maintains that he won the polls by two million votes.

An independent count of the election watchdog National Citizens Movement for Free Elections, however, has declared Mrs. Arroyo the winner.

This will be the first inaugural gown of the President, who took her oath of office in a hastily organized ceremony at the Our Lady of EDSA Shrine following the January 2001people power revolt. She wore an old gray suit for the hastily arranged ceremony.

Mrs. Arroyo will wear shoes from Janilyn, which are manufactured in Pasig City, and jewelry inherited from her mother, the late former first lady Eva Macapagal, for her oath-taking, as well as for the reception that will follow. Aides say the inaugural will likely take place in Cebu, where Mrs. Arroyo won by a landslide.

Sotto says the President has lost about three inches from her waistline due to the rigors of the recent campaign, and she will look very good in her inaugural attire.

"I choose aquamarine because it is a calm color, which is good after all the stresses of the campaign. The terno will have a straight neckline, and an asymmetrical design," he added.

Sotto said that whenever he designs for Mrs. Arroyo, he bears in mind that, "she is first and foremost a head of state, her being a woman is only incidental."

Zapata-Andrada said that as of late last month, the President refused to even talk about an inaugural gown, not wanting to appear "presumido" (presumptuous).

But obviously, recent events have convinced the Arroyo camp that the proverbial fat lady is about to sing, and she’ll be singing their song.