Let's Party (or Partee)!!!

Image courtesy of www.emeraldcityguy.wordpress.com

After another successful night of partying, this club owner was on his way to have breakfast with some friends when he suddenly received a weird phone call at around five in the morning.  Since he was busy attending to something when his cellphone rang, a friend of his offered to answer the phone. The face of this friend turned white while he was speaking to the person on the other line so he hurriedly passed on the phone to the club owner. Before handing him the phone, he warned the club owner that the call is from a certain writer asking him for something. When the club owner answered the call, he was shocked to hear that the writer was calling him to ask if he can supply him party pills. Upset with the writer, the club owner abruptly replied “It’s five in the morning, why don’t you go to sleep!”  He was offended that the writer assumed that he carries this kind of pills since he owns a club. That's hasty generalization!

Do you want to know who this writer is? Follow micsylim on twitter and you might just get more information. Due to the sensitivity of the story, please observe the guidelines in posting your comments. Email your stories to: michaelsylim@gmail.com. Thank You for visiting Fashion PULIS!

Retrospect: Fashion Bullying, a Scene from MAGKARIBAL

Image courtesy of www.squidoo.com

In a recent fashion show where VR was one of the featured designers, spies of Fashion PULIS overheard members of the audience talking about the buzz created by the Fashion Bullying, a Scene from Magkaribal story. They were discussing the reason why some of the employees of the fashion bully opted to work for VR. It was said that the main reason of their transfer was the absence of the necessary benefits like SSS in the employment package of the fashion bully. In this case, instead of taking it against VR, she should overhaul her employment package so that they will remain loyal to her. My advice to her: Stop Bullying!

Please follow me on twitter: micsylim. Kindly observe the guidelines in posting your comments. You can email your stories to michaelsylim@gmail.com. Thank you to the spies of Fashion PULIS!

Presenting the Winners for the Kanebo Impress Granmula Raffle

My apologies for the delay, I just received the Kanebo Impress Granmula gift boxes today. Without further ado, the three lucky winners are:

Carla King

Mitch Depalco

Xtine Mendoza

Congratulations to the winners! You will receive an email from me as to how you can claim your prize. Stay tuned for the upcoming contest on Fashion PULIS. Thank you all for joining!

Letter From a Reader: Beware of Deceptive Marketing of Insurance Company

Image courtesy of www.deception.de

Dear Fashion PULIS,

I am one of your avid readers. Just call me Tere and allow me to share my story about how I was fooled by Danvil Insurance in SM Megamall.

One rainy afternoon in February, I went to SM Megamall to meet up a friend. Since I was too early for our meeting, I went up to the 5th floor to walk around. While I was window shopping, a male agent approached me and asked me if I have a credit card. When I said yes, he asked me to show it to him and when I did, he told me that I was entitled to join a raffle for a chance to win a car. He also informed me that if I was willing to attend their company's 40 minute presentation, I will receive giveaways like umbrellas and throw pillows. It was raining cats and dogs outside, I forgot to bring an umbrella and I was too early for our meeting, so I accepted the invitation.

When I entered their office, he introduced me to his female colleague. She accompanied me to the reception desk, and the receptionist took note of my credit card number. She told me that before I qualify for the raffle, I have to first listen to a presentation about the company. The male agent came back and brought me inside a room where loud music was being played. I was given a blank piece of paper and information sheets to accomplish. They offered me drinks while I was busy answering the forms.

After I was done with the forms, the female agent requested me to write my future plans on the piece of blank paper. She left for a while and when she came back, she started talking about what I wrote, my future plans and the way I save money. She told me in Filipino, "Ma'am ang konti naman ng ipon mo, pano nalang kapag bigla kang mamatay, paano na ang mga mahal mo sa buhay? Mas maganda diba, kung may ipon ka, monthly mong huhulugan ng 1,800 pesos for 5 years at in 15 years ay makukuha mo na and pera mo na halos doble pa sa hinulog mo." She continued talking about the company, their different insurance policies and then she started selling their plans to me. I told her I was not interested but she kept insisting. It was almost time for me to meet my friend but she won’t let me go unless I present my credit card to her. Since I had no choice, I gave it to her, she took it to the cashier and the next thing I knew, the agents were clapping and congratulating me. I asked her why she swiped my credit card without my permission and she said the transaction could not be cancelled. Since my friend was already waiting for me at the food court, I was forced to quickly sign the papers and she gave me an umbrella before I allowing me to leave the office.

I was very bothered the whole night so the following day, I searched the company online and I found out that this company really employs deceptive marketing. After reading the different blog entries, I tried calling HSBC to cancel the transaction, the agent was very sympathetic but he told me that he can't cancel the transaction unless Danvil cancels it for me. He suggested that I file a dispute instead.

The next day was a Monday, I went to the company’s office but it was closed. I went again the following day and they were many mall goers inside the office. I was told to get a number, and when it was my turn, I told the customer service representative that I wanted to talk to the female agent. She told me that it was not possible so she called for the manager instead. The manager told me that I couldn't cancel the transaction because I already signed the papers. I told him that they won’t let me out of the office unless I gave them my credit card and they swiped my credit card without my permission. I threatened him that if he will not cancel the transaction, I will make a scene and tell all the people inside the office about what happened to me. He got shocked because I started kicking the chair and he finally agreed to cancel the transaction. He issued me a cancellation slip that said CANCELLED FROM INCEPTION and he informed me that my money would be reimbursed to my account after 45 days. When I got home, I immediately called HSBC and sent them through fax the cancellation paper from Davil. Forty five days later, I called HSBC and I was very happy when they told me that the 6,000 pesos was already reimbursed to my account.

In my opinion, the company is legal but the way they use deceptive marketing is illegal. The company also had Prudential Life attached to their name which confused me severely. If I am not mistaken, the complete name is Danvil Philippines Prudential Life, formerly known as Family First. I don't know why the SM Megamall Management tolerates this kind of deception inside their mall. I hope this story serves as a lesson to all your readers. Whatever happens, do not give your credit card to anyone if you do not agree to what he/she is trying to sell you. I think the government agency responsible for issuing permits to this company should also investigate further on this matter.

Thank you for posting my story. More power!

Sincerely yours,
Ana Teresa Kalayaan

Don't Put the Squeeze on Your Boyfriend

Image courtesy of www.123rf.com

This female television personality is now officially engaged to a hunky businessman from a well to do family after ending her many years of relationship with another television personality. If you spot her in Greenbelt, I suggest you take special notice of the 2.6 million peso engagement ring on her finger.

After the wedding proposal, the couple started planning for the wedding. She told her fiancé that she wants to have a beach wedding in Amanpulo. When the guy’s parents first heard about this, they were a bit hesitant considering the cost and logistics, but since they want them to be happy they eventually agreed. As if an Amanpulo Wedding is not complicated enough, she suddenly changed her mind and demanded for a wedding somewhere in Europe instead. The parents were not very happy when they heard about this because they feel that the she is trying to make things difficult for their son. You cannot blame the parents for wondering if she really loves their son or is she just using him to get over her former boyfriend. Not so long ago, my friends witnessed her crying in a restaurant when she and her ex-boyfriend were arguing.

The family members of her boyfriend are very kind to her and I suggest that she should not take advantage of this. Recently, the mother of her boyfriend just gave her a 35cm Vert Anis Hermes Birkin with Ruthenium Hardware. Maybe after receiving this expensive gift, she thinks she can get away with anything she wants. Let me remind her that the brother of her boyfriend recently just got married to a beautiful commercial model who works for a magazine in Baguio and not somewhere overseas. Don’t you think a wedding in Europe is a bit over the top? To this television personality, please do not put the squeeze on him and his family members, they might end up disliking you!

Do you know who this female television personality is? Follow micsylim on twitter and you might just get more clues. Kindly observe the guidelines in posting your comments. Please email your stories to michaelsylim@gmail.com. Thank you for loving Fashion PULIS!

Meet the Two Winners

Jason

I met up with Jason Matias, the winner of the Longchamp Contest, last night at around 11:15 PM in Chocolate Fire. He just finished his late dinner with his friend, Joseph, when I dropped by to give him his prize.

Joseph and Jason

After meeting up with Jason, I was greeted by the email of Carol Gordiel, the winner of the Longevity Bangle by VIDA, when I got home. She told me that she is currently staying in the Greenbelt area but will be flying back to Cagayan de Oro the next day so I immediately got in touch with her. 

Caroline

Just right after midnight, I was already at the lobby of the Greenbelt Residences handing Caroline her Longevity Bangle by Vida. She was accompanied by her sweet husband to claim her prize but he was too camera shy. 

Again, congratulations to Jason and Caroline. I am still waiting for the Kanebo gift boxes to be sent to my place before I pick the three lucky winners. Good luck to all those who sent their entries.

Congratulations to the Winner of the Longevity Bangle by VIDA Contest

Thank you very much for participating in the Longevity Bangle contest. I was able to receive 387 correct entries. Sorry it took some time because I had to manually encode all the names, cut them out, fold them, before dropping them in this vase.

Before I announce the winner, here are the correct answers:

1. The French maid uniform is the FETISH of the businessman.
2. The OPM designer is not a fashion designer but an ACCESSORY designer.
3. The Tell Me..... how much is your "Utang" designer owes his fabric supplier SEVEN hundred thousand pesos.
4. The KEY to Success father who abandoned his two children is a HAIR stylist.
5. Last April 2010, FP went to ICELAND with some friends.
6. The celebrity boyfriend spent ONE million pesos when he went shopping with his BILMOKO girlfriend.
7. FP feels NEUTRAL about Anne Hathaway's Lanvin, Oscar de la Renta and Tom Ford outfits during the Academy Awards.
8. The Quits na Tayo writer offered several PRESS RELEASES in exchange of his outstanding cell phone bill.
9. The Hail to the Queen Chapter 2 story took place in the USA.
10. The World's Biggest Liar said that he was off to LOS ANGELES where in fact he was spotted in a bar the same night
11. One of the guidelines in posting comments is that INITIALS are not allowed.
12. One of FP's closest friends is SATCHA MITCHELL (no initials please).
13. The mystery word is FASHION PULIS (use the first letter of each answer).

And the winner is . . . . .

Miss Caroline Gordiel

Congratulations Caroline! You will receive an email from me as to how you can claim your prize. I am still waiting for the Kanebo Impress Granmula gift boxes to be delivered to me before I pick the names of the winners. Please stay tuned for updates. =)

Weren't You Invited by Manny to Watch His Fight in Vegas?

Manny Pacquiao invited most of his co stars from the television show "Show Me the Manny" to watch the Pacquiao-Mosely fight in Las Vegas all expenses paid. Did Manny forget to invite his co star Jonathan Anthony "John" Lapus? Why was he bitter when a common friend posted a congratulatory message to Manny on her Facebook page? Read John’s posts on Facebook and tell me what you think.

The Winner for the Longchamp Contest is .....

Thank you very much for participating in the Longchamp contest. I was able to receive 395 correct entries. Sorry it took some time because I had to manually encode all the names, cut them out, fold them, before dropping them in this vase.

Before I announce the winner, here are the correct answers to the contest:

1st City: Frankfurt

2nd City: Luxembourg City

3rd City: Rome

4th City: Valletta

5th City: Paris

And the winner is . . . . .

Mr. Jason A. Matias

Congratulations Jason! You will receive an email from me as to how you can claim your prize. Amazingly, it was a male reader who won the raffle. I wonder what he will do with the Longchamp Tote. 

Letter from a Reader: Bride to Wed in RTW Gown Because of Missing Designer

Image courtesy of www.nitishkumar.net

Dear Fashion PULIS, 

I've been reading your blog ever since the “fashion scam" story. I always read about the designers you feature in your blog whether it is something positive or negative. I would like to request you to publish this story of my closest friend. This friend of mine has saved for almost 10 years just for her dream wedding. Sadly she was betrayed by this designer whom she trusted to provide the gowns on her special wedding.

I will try my best to provide a detailed timeline for you and your readers to have a better picture of the story. Allow me also to post some of the emails of my friend.

December 2010
My close friend got engaged. She and her fiancé set the wedding date on May 15, 2011.

January 2011
They started booking all the wedding suppliers and started scouting for possible designer. Many designers they contacted turned them down because they say they can no longer accommodate them since their wedding date is too near.

February 2011
Through a common friend’s referral they met up with male designer A. Before the initial meeting, my friend tried searching for reviews about his work on various wedding sites. Instead of finding reviews, she found photos of him with celebrities and even came across articles about him winning a certain design competition. These bits of information made her confident that he has a name to protect so most likely she will not have any problems with him. When they met up with him, his initial quote was 120,000 Php for the gowns of the bride, the mothers and the female entourage members but since they were referred by a common friend, he offered to give them a 50% discount. They gave him 30,000 Php as an initial payment for the 60,000 Php agreed package price. He asked for an additional down payment of 10,000 Php and another 6,000 Php for the tuxedo of the groom that cost 12,000 Php. All the measurements were then taken at the groom's place and they set the first fitting on March 15. He told them not to worry and even assured them that it only takes approximately 5 days to complete a tuxedo so there is nothing to worry about.

March 2011
Before the March 15 scheduled first fitting, my friend followed up through text messages, calls and Facebook messages but received no answer from him.

April 1, 2011
With less than 2 months before the wedding date, my friend kept asking when they will get fit the gowns. A answered confidently saying "May 15 pa naman ang wedding mo." When she asked him if she can at least see the lining of the dress, he answered, "Hindi naman ganun kadali gumawa ng gown, and to be honest pang lima bride na kita." Since my friend has been bugging him almost every day, he promised that the gowns will be ready for fitting after holy week. When the family members of the groom found out about this, they were planning to pull out the unfinished gowns and file a legal case. They need the gowns as evidence since A was not able to provide a written contract and sketches which he promised to send through email.

April 26, 2011. The Monday after Holy Week.
They were able to talk to the designer. Again the he rescheduled the first fitting to May 5 considering the wedding date is on May 15. He said he wasn’t able to work during the Holy Week because he was out of town.

Here are the email updates of my friend as the wedding day approaches (in Filipino):

May 1, 2011
Kaloka ang designer ko. May 15 yung wedding ko at May 5 ang fitting ko? Sya rin ang gagawa ng entourage gowns, suit ni husband to be, pati shoes ko. Yung second week of march na napagusapan namin, nauwi na sa May 5. Mali lang talaga ako kasi pumayag ako ng verbal agreement since mababa lang ang singil nya.

Kung maibabalik ko lang, sana naging mapanuri ako, naging mas metikulosa at demanding kung kinakailangan. Masyado ako naging lenient sa designer nay iyan. Natiis kong maghintay sa kanya ng dalawang oras. Ang martir ko grabe! I thought kasi na kapag pinagbigyan ko yung isang tao, ibabalik rin nya sakin yung kabutihan ko at hindi nya ko i-stress.

Ayoko na lang masyado isipin. Akala ng mga tao di ako na-stress. Pero minsan inaatake ako ng lungkot, naiiyak na lang ako bigla.

May 5, 2011
Sa mga nag-aabang sa nangyari sa aking first ever wedding gown fitting, Mineet namin ako ng designer last night. This time, hindi na nya kami pinaghintay ng 2 hours kasi sinabi ko na kailangan ko pang bumalik sa office ng 10pm.

As expected, hindi pa tapos ang lahat ng gowns, yun sa akin lang ang medyo tapos na. Ok yung fit nya sa katawan (buti na lang), yung bandang taas na lang ang maluwag saka yung sleeves pero mukhang madali namang ayusin, wala pa syang mga beadings. Delivery is this coming Saturday night daw. Hopefully totoo nga. In general, ok naman yung mga damit pero di ko pa ma-appreciate kasi wala pang beadings.

Yung kay mother in law, masikip at hindi masara ang zipper. Sinukat nya kaninang umaga ng 6am kasi may pasok pa sa office pero na-late ng konti si A, 7am na sya dumating. Buti naabutan pa nya sa bahay yung mother in law ko. Sandali lang yung fitting kanina, umalis na rin sya kaagad kasi pupunta pa raw
sya ng marikina for my shoes. Yung shoes ko, di pa rin tapos. Sabi niya nagkamali raw ng gawa, nabaliktad daw yung telang ginamit.

Yung tuxedo ni husband to be, hindi pa rin tapos. Sa May 8 pa raw. Nung kausap ko sya last March, sabi nya 5 days lang daw magagawa na yung tuxedo. Anong petsa na ngayon, hindi pa rin tapos? Sana by Sunday matapos na lahat. Sabi pa nya, black yung natahing pants at gray naman yung sa coat, ang galing di ba? Sabi ko dapat terno yung kulay ng coat at pants. Papalitan na lang daw niya.

Yung ibang gowns ng entourage member, saka yung sa mom ko, bukas pa ng umaga ang fitting. Super lagare pero that's his fault. Overbooking siya!

Hindi na ko masyado nagrereact pag may mga kinukwento sya. I want him to think and feel na hindi ako ganoong kabait para unawain sya palagi. Pero di ko rin naman sya maaway kasi nasa kanya pa ang lahat ng gowns. Sana naman maging maganda yung kalabasan ng mga gowns.

Sa lahat ng mga nagpray para sa amin, maraming maraming salamat! Akala ko talaga mag RTW na ako, pero thank God, mukhang aabot yung gown ko.

May 7, 2011
I really feel down right now. Nadeliver na nya yung gown ko just now. When I looked closer, ang dumi! Sabi niya before tahiin, nilabhan na daw yun, pero marumi talaga. May mga marks na parang mancha, basta yung parang lumang luma na yung tela. Di ko napansin nung nagfitting kasi nagmamadali kami at saka hindi ganun kaliwanag ang lighting.

May 8, 2011
We have decided to buy RTW gowns na lang today, mahirap umasa! Pinipilit namin syang tanungin kung anong address nya at pupuntahan namin sya pero ayaw niyang ibigay. Itetext na lang daw nya yung address. Ano bang difference ng ibigay nyya habang magkausap kami sa fone versus thru text? Nagmamakaawa na ako talaga na sabihin nya yung address, pero ayaw nya talaga.

Pinuntahan ng brother ni husband to be yung shop niya sa Q.C. na malapit sa isang T.V station pero closed na! We already knew about that at sabi nung guard na marami nga daw nagpupunta dun na naghahanap sa kanya. Meron pa nga raw doon isang girl na pumunta ng araw na ng kasal nya, wala pa siyang gown. I am wondering kung yung sinabi ng isang designer sa akin na makakadeliver naman si A, late nga lang. Ang ibigsabihin ba ng late ay after the wedding?

I hope magkaka peace of mind na kami pag may nabili na kaming gowns. Ibebenta ko na lang yung mga gown kung idedeliver nya. Next time na namin iisipin kung anong gagawin sa kanya. Waka kasi kaming written contract, nagtiwala kami agad sa kanya at mali talaga kami dun!

Thank you for posting this long story. More power to Fashion PULIS.

Yours truly,
V.J.P.