Promod Stylist for a Day: Translating “je ne sais quoi”

There are pretty girls, there are fashionable girls, and there are the girls that make you stare and think, “There’s something special about her, but I can’t quite put my finger on what it is.” The French call this elusive quality “je ne sais quoi”, a term that literally translates to “I don’t know what.” This concept has never been more apt for what I’m about to share with you today, because this creative endeavor challenged me to use my own understanding of je ne sais quoi with only the vaguest idea of what I’m supposed to do.

Last Saturday, I spent an afternoon at Promod Megamall Atrium participating in a styling contest. The mechanics were fairly simple – me and a stylist friend are to come up with five outfits that embody our idea of je ne sais quoi using Promod’s current collection. Of all the five outfits, we have to choose one that will represent our work when the winners are announced on April 29. The prize? A shopping spree at Promod, plus a display of our work at the SM Megamall Atrium Promod store. When I received the invitation, I immediately thought to ask Alex, a fellow writer at the POC’s Beauty and Fashion channel. I’ve never met her in person but I know that she works as a freelance stylist for fashion shows, photo shoots, and movies. Since I have never done any styling before, not even on Polyvore or Looklet, I could certainly use the help of a professional who knows what she’s doing.

So what gives a girl that je ne sais quoi quality? Half of it comes from her attitude – the swagger in her walk, the gleam of confidence in her eyes, and the overall manner in which she carries herself. The other half comes from her sense of style. Anybody can be confident, but not all girls take the time and effort to infuse their personality into what they wear. This, I believe, is what makes people’s heads turn; they’re not looking at her clothes so much as the girl wearing it and how her outfit expresses her unique sense of self.

Translating my idea of je ne sais quoi was a real challenge, not only because of my inexperience, but because of the wide variety of clothes available to us. Promod offers over 1,500 new items every season, but we were given the freedom to use whatever was available at the store. It was so difficult for us to narrow down our options, so Alex and I decided to divide and conquer. I would put together two outfits around a pair of pants and shorts; she’d use a skirt and a dress. The fifth outfit – we’ll think about it when we get there.

If you’ve been following this blog for some time, you’ve probably noticed certain patterns in my personal style. For one thing, I’m a staunch believer of “comfort over fashion” and “less is more”; a simple outfit with a few statement pieces can speak louder than a busy layered look. For this reason, I’m easily attracted to loud prints, quirky embellishments, and vibrant colors because they express my personality while requiring minimal styling. From time to time, however, I like dressing up basic pieces with statement neckwear.

OUTFIT #1

This outfit began with the chambray pants, which I feel is a must-have piece for any summer wardrobe. Chambray is a lightweight fabric that looks like denim but feels like the softest cotton. Since it’s too hot to wear denim these days, go for pieces made of chambray instead. Aside from the fabric, what I like most about these pants is the tapered ankle; this tiny detail makes the pair stand out in a sea of boyfriend jeans and skinny jeans. Wear tapered pants with caution because they can make you look shorter. To offset this effect, I paired the chambray pants with gold heels.

I paired the pants with a white tee and an embellished brown vest, mostly because I’ve been wearing almost nothing but a plain white tee these days. Seriously, the plain white tee is your best friend; it looks just as great with a loud printed skirt as with comfy chambray pants. To add a splash of color to this outfit, I threw on this patchwork-like scarf.

While I was putting everything together in the dressing room, Shen remarked that my outfit was so me. I was very happy that she thought that because this was my favorite outfit of the two. It’s not as flashy as the ensembles the other girls were coming up with, but it’s the clearest expression of my personal style and the key pieces that I’m rocking at the moment.

OUTFIT #2

I wanted my next outfit to be a little more night-time, but I couldn’t take my eyes off these cuffed shorts. After a little bit of hunting around, I found a paint-splashed chiffon top that complements the shorts’ subdued pinstriped pattern. I topped it with a casual blazer to keep the look sophisticated.

The top had beads attached below the neckline, which saved me the hunt for complementary accessories!

These gladiator sandals are love love love! Just when I thought I was getting over the gladiator trend, I find myself lusting after this pair. The rainbow colors make it easy to wear with any color, and I bet it would look great with a daytime outfit too.

OUTFIT #3

In contrast to my minimalist, comfort-over-fashion philosophy, Alex loves layering. This comes from her interest in European street fashion, where girls are at their most comfortable under piles of necklaces and scarves over jackets (think Mary Kate Olsen and Agyness Deyn). For her first outfit, she used spring’s floral trend as her inspiration and put together a lacy button-down top with a red skirt worn at the waist.

This ensemble is not only pleasing to look at; it’s also very functional and versatile. The khaki jacket adds a touch of toughness to the floral skirt and makes the entire outfit office-friendly. Shrug off the jacket, tie the scarf over your head like a pin-up girl, and you’re ready for a coffee date with the girls!

I love what she did with the belts! To keep the jacket in place, she put on two skinny brown belts – the studded one over the plain woven one. This idea works even without the jacket because the skirt isn’t meant to be worn this high up the waist. You’ll definitely need a belt to keep it there.

OUTFIT #4

The French aren’t afraid to strike that balance between the soft and rough, especially when it comes to high fashion. When they do it, they don’t look contrived at all – it’s what Alex loves most about French style. With this in mind, she played around with prints, textures, and colors for her next outfit. She put on a chiffon minidress over a cream turtleneck and adorned the neck with a shredded scarf and three necklaces. It’s a more complex look than our previous three outfits, but there’s also an effortless quality in the way the scarf falls across the body.

If it weren’t too warm for scarves in the Philippines, I’d definitely wear this one. Not only is it thick enough to keep the wearer protected from winter’s chill, but the shredded design begs for the scarf to be the colorful centerpiece of any outfit. If you look up close, you might easily mistake it for a large layered necklace.

OUTFIT #5

Our last outfit is a true reflection of our combined personal styles. Since there weren’t enough loud prints in our ensembles, I chose a vibrant ethnic sundress and matched it with a pair of turquoise lace-up sandals. My contribution ended there – I didn’t know how what else to add to such a colorful dress.

Alex took care of the rest by adding a studded belt and two scarves – one in orange, and one in a contrasting zebra print. I thought the zebra print scarf might be overkill at first, but after seeing it on the mannequin, I could appreciate how its monochromatic color complemented the dress’s busy prints.

As a finishing touch, we tossed in a simple copper necklace, an ethnic orange necklace, and a pair of shades. The look we came up with was so resort – it wouldn’t be complete without fashionable protective eyewear!

Between our fourth and fifth outfit, we had such a hard time choosing just one to put on display at the final event on April 29. After a long deliberation, we decided on the fourth outfit because we felt that it expressed Promod’s feminine aesthetic best (it also helped that two customers examined the mannequin up close while Alex added the finishing touches). I had so much fun at this event that it doesn’t matter if we win or not. I’m not going to lie – I’d be thrilled beyond words if I won a free shopping spree at Promod. However, the opportunity to assert my personal style and reflect upon my own sense of je nais se quoi was a priceless learning experience I can’t just buy from a store, so I’m pretty grateful for that. I’m still keeping my fingers tightly crossed though!

On her way out of Megamall, Alex passed by Promod one last time. Guess what she saw on their display window?

Thanks for some of the photos, Alex! It was nice running into Shen, Nikki, and Lace too.

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