BLUESY TRAVELLER
Maegan Aguilar’s Fashion Odyssey
By Lionel Zivan S.Valdellon

published in PREVIEW: December 1998 in a collection of articles on the Best-Dressed Bands/Musicians

She’s always been a feisty, unique individual, one half the grown-up, growling rocker while the other half is guileless teenager. Her sense of adventure can be heard in her music where she hops from folk ballads to blues to alterna-rock with nary a flutter and mixes the best portions of each into her own music.

Her fashion style exhibits the same mutations and permutations. She admits that she doesn’t stay stuck to one fashion more than a few days. “Like my music, I don’t just write one type. In the same way, I never stick to one look; I always change. I go gothic, hippy, look like a doll, wear strange hats. I just try something out. But I never wear what I can’t carry.” Of course, we ask her what she feels she can’t carry and Maegan falls silent for a while before answering, “I can’t wear what you’re wearing.” And points to my boots, olive pants and short-sleeved shirt. “I don’t like T-shirts and jeans lang. Or if I do wear them, I don’t like them too plain.”

We eagerly ask her where she gets her clothes and the 19-year-old launches into her buying history. She remembers picking out these high beatnik sandals at the age of 14 and her mom freaking out, “You’re wearing bricks to school?!!” At about that same time, she was having dresses custom-made at 1420. Maegan would design them herself and each would cost P950. Today, she still has clothes made, but also gets them off the rack at places like Sari-Sari (where they stock her extra small size) and People Are People. “Minsan lang ako mag-Morgan, Nine West or big-time brand name outlets because they usually don’t have nice (i.e. showbiz) stuff here.” And then of course, there are the shoes. “Right now I have more than 80 pairs. I plan to have 500. So I’ve a long way to go, yet.”

Our final question is the most revealing. We ask who have been her major fashion influences over the years and the response is immediate: “Audrey Hepburn. For her glamor more than anything. I try to dress like her every time there’s a big, formal function.” She pulls out a photo album from her bag and quickly shows us pictures of her in an outfit straight from Breakfast At Tiffany’s. It’s nice to know that after all her experimentation, Maegan Aguilar still dreams of being the belle of the ball.

BACK TO TOP