Ads & Ends — Nanette Franco-Diyco
A towering, huge billboard along EDSA in the Greenhills area has attracted my attention. It had a solitary dog, proclaiming in all simplicity: “Tiendesitas is now air-conditioned.”
This was enough allurement. After all, I had bought my precious toy poodle from Tiendesitas six years ago, and my daughter acquired an exquisite, one-of-a-kind antique bench for her condo a couple of years after. All sans air-conditioning. Now, there were big signages along Tiendesitas’ expanded buildings advertising different clothes shops and food courts.
I discovered with my friend, Mina Contreras, a whole new three-storey building specializing in clothes. We were reminded of the old, sprawling Sta. Mesa Market, a popular fashion place catering to all socio-economic levels, before malls rendered it obsolete. But, Tiendesitas’ parking spaces, elevators, and full-blown air-conditioning declared this new place modern and definitely worth discovering.
Mina and I spent a full lazy afternoon doing just that. One of our greatest finds was a shop creatively called “Plus Size Career Clothing & Beyond” on Level 1 of Building A. I fell in love at first sight with a Size 10 pair of red and beige sandals that fitted me to a T. Thus, we were hooked into exploring everything that the shop had to offer. Besides, the shop’s decor suited our fancy — glossy coffee table books of Audrey Hepburn and Elizabeth Taylor complemented shopping bags of Grace Kelly and checkbook wallets of Audrey Hepburn.
We must confess that we were both charmed by the proprietors, Biden and Steve Arambulo, Canadian balikbayans who have come home after 16 years “with a mission.”
Biden Pineda-Arambulo revealed that this shop was her long-time obsession, way back in high school at Assumption College. After big-time business careers in New York and Canada, it was time to come home to fulfill her lifetime dream.
“I have been plus size all my life and have been always aware of every plus size woman’s frustration.” She recounted that she would go all over the place to find something that would just fit her plus size. It’s truly as rare as hen’s teeth! And when I do find something that I can squeeze into, it’s veritably a eureka moment, even if I know deep down that I probably look like a brand new sausage.
With plus sizes, let’s face it, they require a lot of wisdom and prudence in selecting the right ensemble — and mind you, they are infinitely rare and hard to find. We countered that the Americas and Canada are what many term as “size paradise” precisely because one can have a field day there and get the right size. But how many times do you travel to simply get your delectable plus size?
This is where Steve and Biden come in, having been living there for a good 16 years. With a plus-size shop forever on the back burner, Biden never stopped studying what she could offer and where she could source it for when, indeed, they would open their shop at home.
New stocks come in every two weeks — so, a few are put on sale to make room for the new stars. I bought a formal blouse and a couple of informals while Mina bought a flowered blouse to her liking. We think Biden and hubby Steve are in the very right place. Biden is all heart and can hardly wait to hand-hold plus-size women. “We strongly believe that we are collaborators with all working plus size women in attaining their goals and moving up the corporate ladder.”
Nanette Franco-Diyco ended her 15th year advertising career as Vice-President of JWT, segueing into the world of academe, currently teaching communications at the Ateneo de Manila University.
nanettediyco131@gmail.com
