Three weeks ago, Filipinos felt the last of February’s chill in the form of cold, cold air during night time. And just like that, it’s summer. As in, swimming, white sand, brightly colored bazaars by the bay, scorching noon time breaks away from the air conditioned offices… Finally, we have the excuse of wearing our lightweight clothes to the office and almost nothing at the beaches.

Malls have caught the summer bonanza and started selling knits (except knitted bikinis) at 25 to 50% off. Sarong prices, on the other hand, have skyrocketed to twice the normal. Summer garb is in, and so are the accessories.

Tourists will mob the resorts. It’s easy enough to spot the tourists, just look for the usual bulky belt bags. I own one myself and, yes, I wear it at the beach bazaars and souvenir shopping areas. Money and gadgets are kept in my shoulder bag, while sunscreen, visor, make up and other necessities stay inside the belt bag. Sad to say, these bulky bags make my fanny look bigger than usual, and scream “TOURIST!!!” like a red neon sign.

Our sponsor, La Cintura Waist Purse, came up with a revolutionary (and I mean, revolutionary) way to make these belt bags or fanny packs more wearable by the more fashion-conscious summer fanatics. They actually accentuate the narrowness of the waist and the fullness of a shapely fanny. No more drab tourist stigma that will have droves of hawkers following me around. Just another local fashionista spending some time out during her office break. *winks*

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