Lockdown Day 29: Age 35

I’ve read somewhere that during a pandemic, one must document his/her daily life. Even the most mundane day should be immortalized. With all those grand narratives of how Isaac Newton powered through the Black Plague, discovering some of the most important scientific discoveries known to man, we are made to believe that we have to be productive amidst this pandemic.

Today is day 29 since the lockdown was imposed over Metro Manila, and subsequently over the island of Luzon. I am also 35.

Panic buying before the Enhanced Community Quarantine. Photo taken at S&R on March 16.

When the first case of COVID-19 (then called as nCOV) in the Philippines was announced on January 30, 2020, I had already asked Mon to stock on a couple of boxes of masks from Bambang. I had been monitoring the situation for the past weeks. I knew that it’ll only be a matter of time before it blew up, and it won’t hurt to have masks stocked for our families.

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After all the drama — Hedi’s first collection for Saint Laurent

Months ago, there were lots of issues over what will happen at Yves Saint Laurent  after Stefano Pilati left the house. First, who will be the designer? Then when Hedi Slimane (of the Dior Homme fame) was announced to be the next creative director, questions over the implication of being based in Los Angeles instead of Paris arose. To make matters more interesting, the rebranding (or harking back) to the ol’ Saint Laurent Paris raised eyebrows as it was a drastic departure to the iconic YSL brand.

When I saw thumbnails of the pictures of Saint Laurent S/S 2013 from Style.com, the dark color palette of the collection was obvious. I can’t help but remember Stefano Pilati’s view over color use when he was once asked by Anna Wintour in a scene from The September Issue:

Stefano Pilati explaining the use of color from The September Issue

(Screen capture from ‘The September Issue’)

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Emma Stone for US Vogue – July 2012

Whenever I watch a movie these past few months, I’m constantly bombarded with The Amazing Spider-Man trailer. And then I’ve been thinking that for the month of July, Emma Stone will surely get the cover of US Vogue.

And I was right.

Anna Wintour became very predictable and the heroine/leading lady of a big and undeniably blockbuster movie once again bagged the cover.

US Vogue July 2012 - Emma Stone

(Photo from fashnberry.com)

But what about Jennifer Lawrence earlier this year? The Hunger Games was a big hit as well, but would Anna Wintour pick her over Adele, who she famously styled (in an unflattering all-black outfit) for the Grammys when she picked the Best New Artist award three years earlier?

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