MEDIUM RARE
To continue our tour of Manila’s Malate district as exemplified once upon a time by fashion designers Pitoy Moreno (favorite of the beautiful, gracious Meldy Cojuangco), Ben Farrales, Christian Espiritu, Ernest Santiago, Aureo Alonso, Auggie Cordero.
Malate’s crown jewel was Remedios Circle, but for the last many decades Adriatico st. has been orphaned of its couturiers, leaving only the much younger Mike de la Rosa to hold the fort. Indeed, Mike is the one and lonely survivor of the changing times, congrats! Why, even the one and only tailoring shop for gentlemen that was owned and run by Myther Buñag has been moved to Makati by his widow, Susan. And there hangs a tale.
In his prime, Myther made the cut when he worked for a shop in Makati whose name, if memory serves, was Lord and Lady. Not long afterward, he decided to put up his own establishment, calling it Myther and Friends, for which he chose Adriatico street, which abuts Remedios Circle, as a fashionable address. Next thing I knew, my male colleagues were going to Myther to have their shirts, trousers, jackets, etc. done by his tailors.
As history tells it, Thursday was Myther’s Day with the press – it seemed he enjoyed rubbing elbows with reporters, editors, columnists, publishers. Were they more fashionable than diplomats or government officials? I think not. As far as I can remember, Myther’s only law was: “No entry to p.r.o’s” on Thursday. The lunches he served were prepared by Susan or his mother, a Pampangueña, which might explain why she’d cook for strangers and friends of her son who were not his clients anyway. Once in a while, a governor or some unidentified VIP would send a big fish for “Myther and friends” to savor and enjoy. (Myther was not one to drop names, or maybe he did not want to share the spotlight?)
How time flies... in all these years I’ve never met another tailor since Myther, come to think of it. True, men are no longer as finicky with their wardrobe as they used to be, what with rtw and imported brands coming in by the shipload, counterfeit or not. How many of Myther’s clients have made the move with him to Makati?