Recto

Discover Recto’s underground fashion By NRJ Ramos Frustrated with the rising cost of designer jeans? How about that leather motorcycle jacket or those nifty cowboy boots? Well, fret no more. For those with a yen for fashion but ostensibly lacking the much needed moolah—consider your prayers answered. We recently visited the infamous underground fashion haven that is Recto and we were both amazed and perplexed with the cornucopia of things we found: jeans, leather jackets, shirts, bracelets, beads, earrings, leather shoes, leather boots, heck, even school uniforms—all created by Pinoy hands and at a much, much more affordable price than their department store counterparts. Take for example this little store located down the Recto-Quiapo underpass dubbed, Crazy Horse Jeans Shoppe (736-5232). Not only are they offering good, sturdy jeans that’s not far removed from those we buy at the malls, they also let you design your own all for the princely amount of P300(! ) According to Emerson Rosal, one of three brothers who own the store, more than the affordable price, this is the kind of advantage one couldn’t find at their neighborhood mall. “Mura na nga, gagawin pa namin sarili mong disenyo, kahit ano pa ’to. Wala sa mall nito!” Emerson and his brothers, Ruben, 54 and Danny, 53, pioneered this service around the Recto area. They started in 1980 and rightly soon enough they gained a big following among students in the UniversityBelt area. “Dati ang customers naming karamihan talaga estudyante. ’Yung mga kabataan. Ang gusto kasi n’yan ’yung mura at walang katulad kaya sa ’min ang punta.” Emerson offers a wide array of jeans both local and imported. Of course, the imported material fetches a higher price at P450. “Ang mga denim naming ginagamit hindi din nagkakalayo sa mga ginagamit ng Levi’s o Lee. S’yempre imported brand sila pero sa tibay o quality halos pareho lang.” It’s inevitable that some customers ask them to make styles akin to those found in department stores. “Oo naman. Pero dinidiscourage namin ito. Alam din naman namin ang trademark rights at nirerespeto namin ito. Ang ginagawa namin inaadvise namin sila tungkol dito at kung gusto pa rin nila magmukhang Levi’s ito e sinasabi namin kayo na

magkabit ng mga etikita o ano pa man dahil hindi namin ginagawa ito.” Emerson admits business isn’t as crazy as before. “Dati kami na ang tumatanggi sa customer. Ang dami talaga. 100 to 200 persons a month siguro ’yon. Ngayon, marami-rami pa rin pero madalang na. Pumatay sa ’min ’yung ‘globalization project’ ni Ramos nu’n.” Rebecca Mustafa, 42, couldn’t agree more. Rebecca’s Smokey’s Leather Haus (412-2406), just like the Rosal brother’s Crazy Horse Jeans Shoppe accepts made-to-order packages. As she said, anything the customer wants done in leather, she would do it. “Oo. Dati maayos talaga ang business namin. Kaya lang walang laban sa mga foreign goods na nagmura na rin kasi naging tax-free. Tingnan mo ’yung mga Intsik sa Divisoria dun sa 168 Mall. Nonetheless, both agree that they can still subsist as they already have a niche market. “Ang mga customers namin ngayon yu’ong may specific idea kung ano ang gusto nila at ’di nila mahanap sa mall o kung san pa man. Meron din kaming customer na sikat gaya ni Robin Padilla. Sina Miriam Quiambao at Charlene Gonzales nagpunta na rin dito,” Emerson proudly enthused. “Dito sigurado sila na totoo ang leather na ginagamit namin at presyong masa. Kahit kilatisin pa nila. ’Yung tig-P10,000 sa department store dito sa ’min P2,500 hanggang P3,500 lang depende sa material na ginamit; makakapamili ka pa: Puwedeng balat ng kalabaw, ostrich, baboy, kambing, ahas at syempre baka. Crocodile pwede din pero bihira kasi ang dating,” detailed Rebecca. So why limit your choices to the costly products found in malls? With Recto’s fashion underground not only would you be able to get exactly what it is that you wanted you’d get a nifty bonus of being able to wave a stiff middle finger to the corporate mafia dominating the fashion industry in the process. Now, that’s cool. http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=goodLife01_aug07_2006