Marie Antoinette, Big Hair and moi (Part III)

These poufs, no doubt, were impossible to wash and provided a bit of a breeding ground for bugs. Special head-scratchers called grattoirs were made from ivory, silver and gold. Women gracefully slid the flattened, slightly curved end of the stick up into their do for a graceful, discrete scratch.

Christie’s, Paris, April 2006

from Les Arts Décoratifs

The reign of the three Louis Louis Louis is synonymous with everything elaborate, dramatic and no doubt dazzling. Not one object – even utilitarian – seems to have escaped the court unadorned or under embellished. Shopkeepers, hairstylists and menuisiers benefited from this extravagance (while peasants paid the price). So why would a hair dressing chair be ignored? A variety was created, in different forms and from different materials. Fauteuils à coiffer, as they were called, were comfortable. They had to be, women had to sit in them for long hours. Cushioned during the winter months and caned for the summer, they were indented back to facilitate the fixing of a lady's do.

Christie’s, London, April 10, 2002

Sotheby's, Paris, France, June 14, 2006


Christie's, London, United Kingdom, December 14, 2005,
by Antoine Nicolas Delaporte, circa 1775

DFA Philippines Issues Machine Readable Passport (MRP) - DFA ePassport

The Philippines now belongs to the exclusive club of countries issuing ePassports, joining the United States, United Kingdom, Germany and Japan.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo yesterday said the Philippines has improved its standard one level above the machine readable passport with the issuance of the state-of-the-art electronic passports.

The ePassport has an embedded microchip containing data essential in verifying the passport holder’s identity, including personal data, biometrics and digital signature.

"This chip is interoperable, that is to say, it can be read by any standard passport machine reader in border controls worldwide," Romulo said.

The embedded microchip also contains a complex laminate that protects the datapage against tampering; customized invisible images on every page; and a hidden and coded technology that allows the encoding of the holder’s name and passport number on the passport photo.

"With the ePassport travel document, we join the exclusive club of countries issuing ePassports – among them Japan, South Korea, India, Hong Kong, France, Spain, Germany, Italy, the UK, Russia, the US, and other developed countries," he added.

Romulo said Filipinos were first given the world-class machine readable passport (MRP) when the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) issued 228,430 MRPs in 2007 and 2,097,383 MRPs in 2008.

From January to Aug. 9 this year, 1,500,402 MRPs had been issued and delivered. To date, the DFA has issued a total of 3,826,215 MRPs.

"The MRP has brought much benefit to our people. With a quick swipe of the MRP, immigration clearance is accomplished in less than 30 seconds," Romulo said.

The DFA said applications for the ePassport through the online appointment system will be accepted starting Wednesday.

The DFA’s Office of Consular Affairs advises interested applicants to set an appointment through the DFA website http://www.dfa.gov.ph.

Until the DFA’s ePassport system has achieved full capacity, only 100 ePassports will be issued daily on a first-come, first-served basis. From Aug. 26 to Sept. 30, only passport applications for renewal will be accepted.

Before submitting their online appointment application, applicants are requested to fill out the required fields on the online appointment page on the DFA website.

Otherwise, the online appointment process will not proceed. After internal verification, the DFA will inform the prospective applicant of his/her schedule via email.

Subsequently, the applicant will confirm his/her availability by sending a reply.

Personal appearance is required for prospective ePassport applicants. Until an announcement is made, all ePassport applications during this period shall be filed personally by the applicants.

An applicant may use the current MRP application form for this purpose, which is also available on the DFA website.

Current MRP holders are advised that their MRPs are compliant with global standards and remain valid.

Yam Laranas' Documentary "Asia’s Titanic" Premieres on August 25 at National Geographic Channel

"Asia’s Titanic", a 100% Filipino made documentary produced by Andrew Roque and directed by Yam Laranas will have its premiere on the National Geographic Channel across Asia on Tuesday, August 25, 2009 at 8:00pm with replays on Wednesday, August 26, 2009 at 4:00am and 9:00am.

The documentary which took three years in the making tells the story of MV Doña Paz sea tragedy and its survivors.


On December 20, 1987, just five days before Christmas, passenger ship MV Doña Paz collided with an oil tanker, MT Vector, off Mindoro Island in the Philippines. It is said that almost 5,000 passengers died in the tragedy and called the world’s worst peacetime maritime disaster.

Through dramatic first hand accounts from survivors and rescuers, transcripts from the Philippine congressional inquiry into the tragedy, archival footage and photos and a re-enactment of the collision, "Asia’s Titanic" would dissect how the Doña Paz tragedy unfolded.

Not Much

My apologies, the school semester has begun (I teach) and seems like everything is due right now. I do have a Marie Antoinette part III post to present, which will be short, but I must carve out some time for it. However, in the meantime, if you are interested in reading a little about the modern American furniture design market here is something. CLICK

As the end of the month is closing in, I hope everyone is having a tolerable August!

Thoughts on the Passing of John Hughes

Though he has been gone a week, I would like to say: Thank You John Hughes.

Many of us have not forgotten you.

For those teens and young adults who struggled to understand life during the 80s, the writer and director broke everything down, categorized and explained the vunerable and impressionable dynamics of those angst-filled teenage years. He captured high school, the dress, the hair, underage drinking parties and personal emotional situations… perfectly. It was real. He didn’t sit in judgment. He didn’t make you feel alone.

The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, Pretty in Pink, and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off were the ones I remember most. And also my favorites of the time.

I had a bit of a thing for 'Bender' in The Breakfast Club. His dirty, disheveled bad boyness intrigued me. I attended an all-girls 'Claire' kind of school and proper parents didn’t like for us to associate ourselves with the broken type. Donning our monogrammed sweaters, kilt skirts and tasseled loafers, we were groomed to marry the Emilio Estevez popular athlete who made good grades, the right choices and called his father ‘sir’.


Or worse, James Spader's character in Pretty in Pink, with his upturned collar, cigarette dangling from his lips and reeking of Polo cologne in the classic green bottle.

But John Hughes safely exposed me to the outcast creative angry type. And there was no turning back.

In high school, I was looking for the 'Bender', but instead dated a football player from another school. He wasn’t dirty or disheveled, he just got into a lot of trouble, chain smoked and dressed weird, and I liked that. I moved on and dated the various types John Hughes had characterized up on the screen, and then some in between. Regardless of which character each resembled (it's sounding as if there were many, not the case), and how diverse I thought my range to be, they all had something in common. It is interesting how there is a certain something -- a type, a look, a mind -- that embeds in our heads at a young age which we can never seem to shake. It took me a long time to realize the 'Bender' type I was looking for didn’t have to be the brooding outcast. And more importantly, he didn’t have to have an arrest record in his repertoire.

So thank you John Hughes for broadening my horizons of male suitors, I wouldn’t have explored the variety of types and made so many horrendous (and expensive) mistakes if it wasn’t for your films. I finally ended up with one who is just right. I probably wouldn't have gotten here unless I explored these other very, very bumpy roads. Though annoying and painful, I salute you for what you did to make me who I am.

8.8

To my husband who surprised me this morning with a cupcake and flowers for our anniversary. Although I know you will never be reading this, (which will also spare me from you realizing just how corny I can be), you mean the world to me.

And to my first little Westie in heaven. Happy Birthday Tulla! I miss you so much each and every day. You taught me how to be kind and patient no matter what. When you died, I felt for a long, long while as if someone had taken a metal ice cream scoop and cut out a jagged hole where my heart once beat. You waited, I am sure, to go when you knew I was safe. That gives me comfort. But still after these years, I have such sadness, my breaths are short and tight when I think of you.

(Top image from Cupcake a la Mode; Bottom image: Tulla's last birthday with her Uncle Tony)

Four Honor Guards Who Escorted Cory's Funeral Cortege Were Cited, Promoted

The four honor guards who escorted the remains of former President Corazon Aquino last Wednesday were proud to be part of the final journey of the late leader and icon of democracy.

From left, Navy Petty Officer 2 Edgardo Rodriguez, Army Pfc. Antonio Cadiente and Airman 2nd Class Gener Laguindan salute during a press presentation at Camp Aguinaldo yesterday. The three servicemen, along with Police Officer 1 Danilo Malab Jr. (far right), served as honor guards during the funeral procession for former President Corazon Aquino.

Police Officer 1 Danilo Malab Jr., 25, said his experience during the nine-hour-long funeral procession for Mrs. Aquino was one of the most memorable in his life.

Malab and three other honor guards – Army Pfc. Antonio Cadiente, Airman Second Class Gener Laguindan of the Air Force and Navy Petty Officer 3 Edgardo Rodriguez – have been receiving praise for displaying exceptional discipline in the performance of their extraordinary task.

Throughout the entire procession along the 20-kilometer stretch from the Manila Cathedral to Manila Memorial Park in Parañaque, the four honor guards remained standing at attention.

Malab, a member of the Philippine National Police-Headquarters Support Service (PNP-HSS), admitted that standing up straight on a moving truck for several hours was a difficult task but prayers for stamina, and determination to live up to the expectation of his superiors and a mourning nation kept him on his feet.

"Hindi ko na inisip yung matagal na oras ng pagtayo kasi ako yung tatayo para sa kapulisan, karangalan ko na lang yun bilang isang pulis mapagsilbihan si (I didn’t think about the long hours because I was standing for the police service, it was my honor as a policeman to serve) former President Aquino," said Malab who joined the PNP last June 1, 2008. "Dasal ako nang dasal para mabigyan ako ni God nang stamina (I kept prayig for stamina)."

Malab said he ate eggs and fried beef tapa for breakfast before they were deployed as early as 6 a.m. for the funeral procession.

PNP Promotes Honor Guard

PNP chief Director General Jesus Verzosa announced the promotion Malab to the next rank of PO2 after due deliberation.

"We are proud and consider it an honor for the PNP (to be part of the last moments of the former leader)," according to Verzosa.

Aside from Malab, nine ranking police officials served as pallbearers of the former president at the Manila Cathedral.

Malab said regular physical fitness exercises helped him and the three other honor guards to endure the rain and wind during the funeral procession.

He admitted that he moved his toes, but they all ignored the coins that hit them when bystanders threw coins at the coffin as part of a Filipino tradition for the dead.

Senior Inspector Jesus Manalo, who was in charge of the police team assigned to the security of the cortege, admitted that he never expected the funeral procession to last more than four hours.

"But the procession took a lot longer because of the number of people. We were worried about Danny (Malab), but we knew he could do it and he did not let us down," Manalo said in Filipino.

Manalo said his first words to Malab as soon as he alighted from the truck carrying President Aquino’s casket when it reached the gate of the Manila Memorial Park was, "Are you okay? What do you want?"

Malab said he ran towards a portable toilet set up near the gate of the memorial park.

While he was standing up there, Malab said he thought his wife Joan, who is working in Canada, was watching television and was very proud of his contribution to the historic event.

Malab’s parents Danilo Sr., and Alice were also watching the funeral procession at their hometown in Isabela and were also proud of their son’s contribution to Mrs. Aquino’s funeral.

Manalo said the HSS is proud of Malab, who will be given a weeklong vacation, which he will spend with his parents.

Drank Rain Water

Petty Officer 3 Rodriguez said they ignored bystanders talking to them or offering food and water to be able to perform their solemn duty to give honor to their former commander-in-chief. "Karangalan ng bansa na ang nakataya dito (The country’s honor was at stake here)," he said.

He added that he could not believe their efforts would catch public attention, including that of his wife Marissa and their three children.

Rodriguez said when they were thirsty, they simply drank rain water dripping from their faces.

Rodriguez added that at times, when they were about to break down, all four of them simply drew strength from the privilege given them to be by the late former president’s side, as well as from the thousands of well-wishers and supporters who showed up along the way.

"We have to perform some finger and foot exercises without being noticed so our muscles would not lock. Aside from being hungry, we just could not go to the toilet," Rodriguez said.

"When I got off the truck, I went to the police who all pointed to the portalets," Rodriguez said, adding that after going to the restroom he proceeded to their service vehicle to eat packed food prepared for them.

When he returned to Navy headquarters Rodriguez said he was surprised to see his colleagues all cheering him and asking for his autograph.

Volunteer For Duty

Laguindam, 24, volunteered to represent the Air Force in the honor guards after two of his colleagues were found to be unfit to stand as honor guards.

He said the first soldier was not that tall while the other one had just been hospitalized, "so I volunteered."

Laguindam, a resident of Magalang, Pampanga, was very proud to perform his duty, especially for the former president.

"I am very proud, of course, because it was former President Aquino," said Laguindam, who is detailed at the Air Force’s Honor Escort Battalion, which usually performs parade honors at Villamor Airbase.

Cadiente, 23, detailed at the Army’s Security and Escort Battalion based in Fort Bonifacio, said the tens of thousands of people watching and joining the funeral procession gave them strength for their job.

Cadiente said they were proud because they served a former commander-in-chief.

Meanwhile, Senators Rodolfo Biazon and Pia Cayetano said they were in favor of the proposal to grant commendations to the four honor guards.

"I’d agree to that," Biazon said. "The best they can get is military commendation medal, non-combat, the highest military merit medal."

Biazon believes that a military commendation medal award is appropriate for them and that there is no need for a congressional resolution.

Cayetano said she would file a resolution for their commendation, citing further that they were role models of what a public servant should be.

"They did their job well and I will file a resolution commending them because it is symbolic of what people in public service should do. Whatever your job is, do it well," Cayetano said.

AFP Cites Honor Guard Brigade

Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner Jr., Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Public Information Office (PIO) chief, said a brigade of honor guards assembled to provide full military honors to Mrs. Aquino would be lauded by their respective mother units, the Philippine Army (PA), Philippine Air Force (PAF) and the Philippine Navy (PN).

"For a job well done, commensurate awards and commendation will be accorded to the troops."

Brawner said that while they are elated by the public response to Laguindam, Rodriguez and Cadiente, the AFP leadership will also commend all those who participated in the full military honors for the late president.

"The military leadership is not singling out our three personnel who stood as honor guards but all AFP participants during the honors rendered to former President Aquino. All of them will receive medals and commendations, commensurate to their duties," Brawner said.

Aside from Metro Manila, AFP Chief Gen. Victor Ibrado also ordered all key military commands in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao to give the late president full military honors via a 21-gun salute.

Source: Cecile Suerte Felipe, The Philippine Star

Marie Antoinette, Big Hair and moi (Part II)

By 1769, shortly after Marie Antoinette arrived to the French court, there were no less than 1200 hairdressers in Paris. Over time, Marie Antoinette began wearing larger and more ornate bouffants. The collaboration between her famous milliner, Rose Bertin, and her hairdresser, Léonard, proved to be quite a creative one and the vogue for these hairstyles lasted for ten years. Marie Antoinette began to don more and more outrageous hairstyles. She didn't invent fashions -- she promoted radical new ones – and set the trend. These hairstyles became all the rage among the aristocracy. Women began to do more than decorate their big coifs with ribbons, feathers, flowers, beads and jewelry. They crowned it with silk or lace. But after some time, that just wasn’t enough.

Marie Antoinette by Jacques-Fabien Gautier D'Agoty (1775) Musee Antoine-Lecuyer, Saint-Quentin France

In the court of Louis XVI, members competed for attention and tried to outdo each other with witty remarks and the latest novelty fashions. The most unusual hairdo would soon have to be outdone by another -- something more ingenious and over the top.

Image from La Mesure de l'Excellence.

A beehive form made from wire was created stuffed with wool or horse hair, and then it was mounted on top of the head. Hair was wrapped around these frames – and when women didn’t have enough (or it was too fine or thin) false hair was added -- building it up to soar up to three feet high. The do was powered with flour which helped to set the creation and absorb natural oils from the head. But it was this same flour that so many starving peasants desperately needed to have to bake bread.

Image from La Mesure de l'Excellence.

Women placed in their hair little figurines made from fabric and small objects made from papier maché. Their hairdresser arranged them as sceneries or landscapes. Sometimes, they used their hair as a stage to replicate historical scenes or sometimes to communicate an emotion -- sentimental pouf -- this type of do was called.

Image from La Mesure de l'Excellence.

Themes began to develop. Marie Antoinette wore a pouf à la jardinière which included such garden vegetables as carrots, radishes, an artichoke and a head of cabbage. Another woman exclaimed in glee after seeing the pouf do that she would never again wear anything but vegetables in her hair. “Vegetables were so much more natural than flowers,” she said. Women were not to be involved in politics. It wasn’t a ladylike thing to do. But it didn’t mean they couldn’t participate in their own way. Marie Antoinette wore her pouf a’ la inoculation in support of the small pox vaccination which showed Aesculapius’s serpent wrapped around an olive tree.

She wore these hairstyles at court and in town, and this had a swift and contagious effect. Rose Bertin, a mere plebeian, was now known as the Minister of Fashion.

"Everybody was talking of the poufs created by the firm of Bertin . . . one famous pouf was that of the Duchesse de Lauzun. She appeared at a reception wearing a most delicious pouf. It contained a stormy sea, ducks swimming near the shore, someone on the point of shooting one of them; on the top of the head there was a mill, the miller’s wife being made love to by an abbe, whilst near the ear the miller could be seen leading a donkey."

excerpt from Rose Bertin -- The Creator of Fashion at the Court of Marie Antoinette. By Émile Langlade. Published in 1913. I so want to find this book....

“The Preposterous Head Dress, or the Featherd Lady", London: Published by M. Darly, March 20, 1776. Yale Library.


The Duchesse de Chartres was one of the biggest big pouf wearers. She wore in her pouf small figures of her five children. Another time she appeared at the opera with her hair dressed in a sentimental pouf – nestled in it she had a little figure of her eldest son in his nurse's arms, a parrot pecking at a cherry, a little black boy, and the initials of her son and husband.

This trend spread England and to Sweden, one woman was report to have even created a replica of her dead husband’s tombstone.

“Miss Juniper Fox”, London. Published by M. Darly, March 2, 1777. Yale Library.

One of the most fashionable hairstyles of the eighteenth century was called: À la Belle Poule, which commemorated the victory of a French ship over an English ship in 1778.


In 1776 the Duchess of Devonshire was said to have made the addition of ostrich feathers, beads and flowers fashionable in le pouf. “Lady All-Top", London: Published by J. Lockington, May 15, 1776. Yale Library.

These big hairstyles created problems though. Hairstyles would obstruct other patron’s views at the theatre. It was difficult to move through doorways or in and out of carriages without knocking it over. Women would stick their head out of a moving carriage – the roof was simply not high enough. Some women kneeled on the floor for the extra room. Rumor says that many slept upright for weeks as not to muss their do. And many others would get their hair caught on fire from candlelit sconces. Lice, mice and other such things were said to have made these pouf their home.

This one is my favorite: "Miss Shuttle-Cock", London, Published by M. Darly, December 6, 1776. Yale Library.

Queens were always expected to look like the king’s dutiful subject – necessary only to produce heirs. It was the king’s expensive, flashy favorite mistresses for whom ultra-chic fashion was appropriate -- not his wife. But Louis XVI was faithful to Marie Antoinette and instead of providing excitement in the bedroom, he allowed her to spend spend and spend some more. Marie Antoinette’s end was tragic, no doubt. She lived a life of furbelows, flounces, and fandangle, (I don’t think I’ve used that word since 1982!); extravagance and excessive spending. And then she paid for it -- her pouf permanently separated from her shoulders.

(Top image from Boston Museum of Fine Art: Gallerie des Modes et Costumes Français. 2e. Cahier des Nouveaux Costumes Français pour les Coeffures B.12 (duplicate) "Pouf d'un gout nouveau..."French, 1778)

Cory Aquino’s Funeral and Burial on August 5 is a Special Non-Working Holiday

Malacañang has declared Wednesday, August 5, 2009 the funeral and burial day of the remains of former Philippine President Corazon "Cory" Aquino as a special non-working holiday.

This will allow the nation to witness the moments before she is brought to her final resting place beside her late husband, Senator Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino, Jr. at the Manila Memorial Park.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has declared a 10-day period of national mourning from August 1 to August 10 over the death of Aquino through Proclamation No. 1850.