Lanvin

The house of Lanvin under the masterful hands of Alber Elbaz surged to label du-jour when the likes of it-girls like Chloe Sevigny, Nicole Kidman and more famously Kate Moss were seen wearing and buying (yes, no celebrity ex-deals there, my dear) frocks that WWD describes as 'a womans best friend'. Alber was formerly assistant to esteemed and highly respected American designer Geoffrey Beene. He then became head designer for Guy Laroche and was handpicked by Yves Saint Laurent himself to fill in his shoes for his legendary label. After just one season, and this despite a critically acclaimed collection, he was unmercily booted out by Tom Ford. I guess, good things do happen to good people because Alber is more at home in Lanvin and more famous that way. Shy, jolly and very private, clients love Alber for his romantic vision of clothes without veering towards nostalgia. Even the menswear he launched with Lucas Ossenjdriver has a cult following especially the sneakers.

I have seen the prices of Lanvin and let's just say I have to sell my liver and my kidney just to own one. Good thing just a week before new year I was itching to get some ukay action. I was about to give up looking when under the pile I found this Lanvin ete 2007 and a Comme des Garcons PLAY. Winner, no?

It's made of very soft cotton printed with birds. It has a ruffle construction on the chest that is something I've never seen before. The technique was quite complicated. It's cleanly sewn on the inside with satin bias tapes covering the seams but the edges of the ruffles were raw. It looks very simple but it's not because the ruffles form a wave pattern. Amazingly, the tiny pleats also stay perfect despite after the wash. We all know cotton can easily lose its shape. I don't know what magic they used in making this garment. I'm just amazed. And the plus point is that it's simple as just donning a basic tee.

Got it for 5 pesos. :)