Nerissa Pacio Itchon

Postcard from Manila: Inaugural Finery

President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino (center) with Vice President Jejomar Binay to his right.

Happy belated Fourth of July! As our country celebrated its independence, the Philippines rang in its own national holiday to swear in the country’s 15th president Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino. I recently returned to S.F. from Manila where I traveled for the past few weeks to spend time with family, do a little island hopping and get the rare opportunity to attend the inauguration of the country’s 15th president on June 30. It was my first trip back to the Philippines in more than 20 years, and what an awesome way to return! Click here for my latest fashion dispatch to the San Francisco Chronicle from the front lines of all the festivities … and stay tuned for more.

Women wore colorful custom "ternos," the traditional Filipino butterfly sleeve dress, to the inauguration at Quirino Grandstand.
Attendees tried to stay cool using Spanish fans, both a decorative and utilitarian accessory to the "terno."

Men wore the formal "barong Tagalog," typically made from silk and pina, or pineapple fibers.
All photos by Edric Itchon.

Published by Nerissa Pacio Itchon

Nerissa Pacio Itchon is a San Francisco Bay Area-based journalist, editor and copywriter. A graduate of U.C.L.A. and the University of California— Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism, her award-winning work has been published in such publications as the Los Angeles Times, L.A. Weekly, Women’s Wear Daily, Detour magazine, the San Francisco Chronicle, and the San Jose Mercury News. She was a staff reporter at the San Jose Mercury News for several years writing about the arts, entertainment, fashion and beauty before taking on the role of fashion and society editor at 7x7 magazine, San Francisco’s monthly lifestyle glossy focusing on fashion, food, people and entertainment. She has been asked to judge numerous fashion competitions in the San Francisco Bay Area and has taught an undergraduate introduction to fashion journalism course at the Art Institute of California-San Francisco. Nerissa loves covering not only the visual beauty of fashion, but the intriguing stories behind it. Throughout her years in the industry, she has found joy and inspiration interviewing a bevy of stylists, hair and make-up artists, models and designers— from Stefano Pilati and Michael Kors to up-and-comers still hand-stitching one-off pieces in their tiny studio apartments. Nerissa most recently managed the product copywriting team at LVMH-owned Sephora.com, where she wrote and edited beauty copy for the production and marketing e-commerce departments. She currently works as a freelance style writer for the San Francisco Chronicle and other publications. What can't she live without? Her Hermes scarf, her handsome husband and two little girls, and her reporter’s notebook.

3 comments

  1. I love your blog, Nerissa. It was so nice meeting you. I hope to see you again when I go back. My dad’s on your blog. Haha

    Reply

    • Hi Sam. Happy belated birthday! Too bad we missed your celebration by a day. So nice meeting you in Manila and anytime you’re in Calif. give us a call! (And yes, so many amazing visuals at the inauguration … don’t you love that your Dad made his fashion debut online? 🙂

      Reply

    • Dear Nerissa,
      Great articles.
      Hope you can do more in other papers Nerissa.
      How about San Jose and Contra Costa news.

      Reply

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