Glow by Lady E

  There’s a point where beautiful things stop being enough. I began noticing what they’re not saying. What they don’t carry. What they leave behind. And once I saw it— it’s hard to go back to wearing things that feel empty. A few pairs of earrings were the catalyst.  I didn’t pay much attention.  But something about that museum visit lit a fire in me.  As if my ancestors were whispering to me through the fabrics that they wove with their hands.  And then we went to Vigan .  And I saw many handcrafted goods. Some were for the kitchen.  Some were decor.  And some, for wearing. I entered a store that sold inabel pieces.  They were beautiful.  But very expensive.  After owning a piece,  I now know why. I treated my inabel skirt as something very special.  I initially wanted to save it for special occasions.  But one day, I visited the boutique that made my skirt. I was talking to the sales attendant when this elderly...

  And a pair of barrettes It started quietly. With a few pairs of earrings. Nothing dramatic or loud. No grand declarations.  Nothing that felt like a turning point at the time. Just something I picked up during a visit to Museo Kordilyera in Baguio — handmade pieces, woven from stories I didn’t fully understand yet, but somehow felt. I wore them every now and then. Not out of intention. Just because they were there. But something had already shifted. Not in how I dressed— but in how I started to see what I was wearing. I became brand conscious.  Not how the world perceives that term. But I was becoming conscious that I was wearing too many brands.  Too much fast fashion. I never understood how a shirt with a heart with eyes on it could cost Php5,000 (about $82). (I’m not throwing shade at you if you like wearing expensive, branded things. You do you! 😊  This is my story.)  But as an artist and creator,  I do understand the hard work and creati...