Singapore is one of Asia’s fashion hubs and during the time I was there, I was lucky enough to witness the grand opening of Abercrombie & Fitch (A&F) – an American casual clothing retailer. They are a well-known clothing brand internationally and believe it or not, during their opening, lots of people (men and women) were lining up outside their store. The scenery looked like Apple’s launching of the iPhone – yes, they are that popular.

Photo of Abercrombie & Fitch Singapore

Image credit: A&FNewsNow

One of the things that attracted people to their store is the very fragrant scent. Apparently, Abercrombie sprayed their men’s cologne named “Fierce” all over the store. It just smelled so good that even people walking right outside the store were wondering who was wearing the perfume. Little did they know that it is the entire shop that was smelling so good.

And the strategy worked very well for Abercrombie & Fitch. Lots of guys (I included) soon found the men’s cologne, queued and bought it.

The sad thing is that there is no Abercrombie & Fitch store here in Manila so I just don’t know where to buy the fragrance once I use up the entire bottle.

Now speaking of A&F clothes, I’d say they are made of good quality but they are a bit pricey for casual clothes. Their shirts cost around 120 SGD (roughly 3,000 Pesos) making them not just an average brand but more of a luxury clothing. Not to mention that their sizes are usually bigger than what we have in Manila as their clothes are catered mostly for Americans so it is understandable that they have larger sizes.

All in all, I would recommend Abercrombie & Fitch for those who have extra money for luxury clothes and for those who need bigger clothes sizes than what we have in the Philippines. Also, I would like to reiterate that Abercrombie’s Fierce Cologne is probably one of the best men’s fragrances I have smelled so far aside from Lacoste Essential.

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Surprisingly, in our country, we don’t celebrate it. Actually, I was clueless about it until I stumbled upon an article in Wikipedia a couple of years back.

The idea of celebrating men’s day is for the promotion of men’s health, gender equality and to highlight positive male role models.

So let’s see. In celebration of this year’s International Men’s Day, Pinoy Guy Guide names Four Male Role Models who have excelled in different fields and who made a difference in one way or the other. So who made it to the list? See them below:

Sports – Manny Pacquiao

Although his last boxing match with Marquez was sparked by controversy, I really admire Pacman for his passion in his sport. This guy is one of the very few who started from nowhere but his hardwork and dedication to boxing paid-off and catapulted him to where he is right now.

What I like best about him is that he is down-to-earth and God-fearing no matter how successful he is. A good role model? I’d say absolutely!

Science & Technology - Charles Babbage

It might be the first time you’ve heard his name, but without him, maybe you wouldn’t be surfing the Internet now nor would you have a computer reading this article from Pinoy Guy Guide.

So who is he? He is the father of computers. Despite the lack of money and research funding during his time, he still managed to invent the difference engine which was an automatic, mechanical calculator. Now that mechanical calculator evolved to the computers we have today. I know he’s not as famous as Bill Gates nor the late Steve Jobs but hey, this dude deserves some credit for his hardwork!

Celebrity / Music – Allan Pineda Lindo, Jr. (a.k.a. apl.de.ap of The Black Eyed Peas)

He is half-Filipino who came from a broken family in Angeles Pampanga but that did not stop him to go from being no one to someone who is a member of a very successful and popular group in the music industry – The Black Eyed Peas.

What I like about him is that although he is half-American, it looks like he is more proud to be Pinoy as evident in the lyrics of his songs and his official website which displays the map of the Philippines as the splash screen. And to top that off, he is also doing charitable works for the youth here in the Philippines. Such a great guy!

Style – David Beckham

You must be surprised that I placed him in the style category and not in sports where he is best known for. Well the reason being is that:

1.) He is a well-known football player and like him I used to play football too. (though I’m not as good as him, that’s for sure.)

and at the same time…

2.) He is a men’s style icon and he even said in one of his interviews that he loves to look his best all the time .

Beckham is one of the very few sports people that I know who perfectly combines being athletic and stylish at the same time. He always tries to be his best even if he is in his mid-thirties already. It only proves that age does not matter at all.

And it does not end there. I have read somewhere that aside from being a football and style icon, he is supporting UNICEF’s projects as part of his charity work.

____

There you have it – Pacquiao, Babbage, apl.de.ap and Beckham. They are the Four Male Role Models of Pinoy Guy Guide for this year’s International Men’s Day 2011.

So let’s see your opinion: Should we celebrate International Men’s Day in the Philippines? Why? Who are your male role models?

Want to stay updated with PGG? Subscribe by email, like PGG on Facebook and join the PGG Forums.

Image credits: Wikipedia, BFS, StrengthSpeedAgility, KahitSino. 

PLDT Watchpad will broadcast FHM’s 100 Sexiest Women Party live via online streaming on July 14, 2011. Follow the instructions below to get access:

• Register for Watchpad now at www.pldtwatchpad.com
• If you don’t have Watchpad, sign-up for PLDT myDSL. For more information go to www.myworldmydsl.com
• Like the PLDT Watchpad Crew on Facebook.

There you have it. Catch Sam Pinto along with FHM’s hottest babes via online streaming. Don’t forget the date – July 14, 2011.

Giordano is launching a Typographic Tee Design Contest. The contest is calling all enthusiasts ages 15 and up to create a statement shirt design or a typographic tee design which revolves around Giordano’s ever popular theme and slogan – “World Without Strangers”.

The design should be created using Adobe Photoshop or Macromedia Freehand format. The top seven finalists will receive Php 25,000 in cash and Php 5,000 worth of gift certificates. Giordano will also give away consolation prizes for the eight semi-finalists. Each semi-finalist will receive Php 10,000 cash plus Php 5,000 worth of gift certificates.

The contest will run from March 21 to June 30, 2011. I think that the best part of it is that the winning designs will be featured in Giordano’s upcoming collection and will be available in Giordano stores. So if you have the artistic side of you – I suggest you join this contest. For more details on the mechanics, please visit Giordano’s official Facebook Fan page or read more about the contest details here.

Photos provided to Pinoy Guy Guide by Giordano

Last February 24, Pinoy Guy Guide turned 4 years old! Wow, that was really fast! In a span of 4 years, we have seen tremendous changes in men’s clothing and men’s lifestyle and I’m really sure there’s more to come. With that said, I’m hoping for more PGG viewers, more PGG forum members, more PGG feed readers and yes, more PGG likes on Facebook! And if you are thinking of contributing to the blog in your own way or if you have suggestions in mind, please feel free to shoot me an email at or contact me here.

By the way, I am very thrilled about the way the PGG Forums is turning out. Lots of guys are now joining there and talking about boys stuff and the likes. I’ve also learned that many guys at the forums have gained new friends and are regularly hanging-out in real life. Isn’t that cool? From online friends to real life friends. Well, I really do hope to meet you guys some time.

University of Santo Tomas is now 4 centuries old!

Image credit: Huno | License

My bad, I wasn’t able to attend UST’s historic celebration of its quadricentennial anniversary (1611-2011) last January since my office is quite far from school and it was a weekday. Nevertheless, I am taking my time now to show some love and to greet my alma mater a Happy 400^th Birthday!

You know, college in UST was one of the happiest days in my student life. I will never forget how much I enjoyed this school.

By the way, I’m curious – are there any Thomasian readers out there? Put your hands up in the air and comment below. Go USTe!

I Am Number 4 is the BOMB!

Image credit: MovieWallpaper

Last Saturday, my girlfriend and I watched the movie “I Am Number Four” in the cinema and damn, it was really really good! It’s a must-see movie and it is currently my most favorite movie (I have now seen it twice and I’m hoping for a sequel). Good actors, great storyline, superb special effects and the best thing about it is that the 2 girls in the movie are deym hot – Dianna Agron and Teresa Palmer.

Dianna Agron | Image credit: IGN

Okay, alright enough said. I don’t want to give out spoilers to those who haven’t seen it. Just make sure you don’t miss this one!

Image credit (candle number 4): Existentist | License

If you noticed it took me some time to announce the winners since I needed to talk with the Giordano representative every now and then. I wished everyone would win but we just had to narrow it down to five. So who are the lucky ones who will take home a Giordano Lion Polo Shirt? Here they are in no particular order or rank. Just the winners… and their comments. *drumroll*

1. JM Lagman (jaymlagman@yahoo.com)

jmlagman says:
October 29, 2010 at 9:51 am

I never had a Gio Polo shirt before and I want this one! Love the color (esp. black) and the big logo design. Plus the number on the sleeve is our anniversary date. My favorite! Give me one PGG! Thanks! ^_^

jaymlagman@yahoo.com
XXL, black

2. Joseph (johsef_10@yahoo.com)

Joseph says:
October 30, 2010 at 2:44 pm

I really like Giordano shirt because of the simplicity yet decent and trendy style of the shirt. I also like the number 10 design in the arm sleeve because if you may ask I’m a basketball player and my jersey number in all my jersey is 10. I’m looking for an original polo shirt/shirt that has a number 10 as design. I don’t like to buy those shirts from Divisoria because I preferred to have the original. Having an original Giordano polo shirt is one of my wishes for this coming Christmas I hope you will grant it and be my Santa for the Christmas this year.

email add
johsef_10@yahoo.com

color – Black/Happy Green
Size – XL

3. Ivan (daquis_paulivan@yahoo.com)

Ivan says:
October 31, 2010 at 12:55 pm

I’ve never had a Giordano shirt before, honestly because I can’t afford one! I’m really into these kind of shirts, and of course I’d love to have one! What I love about these kinds of shirts is that you can pair it with almost any kind pants or shorts.

e-mail:
daquis_paulivan@yahoo.com

color:
black/white

size:
small/medium (depends on their sizes, considering the difference between the sizes different clothing brands)

4. camote143 (camote.143@gmail.com)

camote143 says:
November 1, 2010 at 12:45 pm

One of the things that I look for when I buy shirts is the comfort that it brings to me when I wear it. Based on my prior experiences with Giordano shirts, truly, comfort is a benchmark of every Giordano product. In addition to that, the Giordano Lion Polo shirt is a unique style that draws attention, strike up a conversation and subsequently gives one a positive feeling about yourself. Truly, Giordano is a fashion statement in itself.

camote.143@gmail.com
XL
White

5. Icee (i.cee_19@yahoo.com)

icee. says:
November 1, 2010 at 12:22 am

Let me experience the hype of Giordano! I never had one. Especially polo shirt. My father does, but my mom won’t allow me to wear it because she was the one who bought it. Due to curiosity, I wore it once secretly. And to tell the truth, it was like OOHLALA. “Is this me?” Girls can’t take their eyes off me. And it was like a dream. After that day, I promised myself to buy one. But I’m just a student. Can’t afford it Hope you give me this shirt. It will help me exploring and enjoying my teenager period a lot. Thankyou PGG.

Medium – size
Black – color
i.cee_19@yahoo.com – email.

There you have it. Congratulations to all the winners! Be stylish this Christmas. Wear Giordano and Join Pinoy Guy Guide Forums. Please wait for an email regarding the details on how to claim your prizes.

Thanks to all who joined the contest! Subscribe to PGG by email for more updates on men’s fashion, lifestyle, promos and giveaways.

Giordano seems to be a brand that enforces minimalism in its clothing line but stylish, smart, clean and decent nevertheless. Recently, they launched their product line called “Giordano Lion Polo” shirts which sounded a big roar in the fashion world. And… you guessed it! We are giving away Giordano Lion Polo shirts for free to the lucky winners of this contest. Wohoo!

The Giordano Lion Polo shirt is a surefire hit. It comes in white, black, navy, garnet, goldmedal, patriot, gothic grape, spice orange, happy green and metal colors. It is slim-fit and is available in small, medium, large, XL and XXL sizes. The original price is 1,099 Php.

And if you will ask me, what I like best about it is the lion logo plus the number on the sleeve. Here are a few more pics provided by Giordano.

The most important part. How to join the contest? It’s easy.

1. Just post a comment below stating the reason why you deserve to win a Lion Polo from Giordano. Also include in your comment your email, shirt size and color preference. Only one entry per person please.

2. PGG and Giordano will choose the 5 best answers. Winners will be contacted through email. Please make sure to enter a valid email.

3. Winners will claim their prizes from Giordano office in San Juan.

4. The contest will run up to November 2, 2010 only.

5. Winners will be announced in Pinoy Guy Guide during the first week of November. Stay-tuned for details and updates on the contest.

Now, what are you waiting for? Post your comment below!

But sometimes, I couldn’t help it but ask myself why isn’t the Philippines a football nation?

I just can’t believe how we are all missing a lot in such a wonderful sport which takes the world by storm every 4 years. If you are not familiar with it or haven’t watched any football before, take a look at the short video below. It’s one of the best matches in this year’s games. Exhilarating!





Now just a little background. I have extreme love for football. This is because I grew up in Kenya (yes, that’s in Africa) where football is the main sport and basketball is not that popular. When I returned to the Philippines when I was 10, I was surprised to find out that it is the reverse here. Basketball is the primary sport and football is virtually unknown. In most Philippine schools, there aren’t even football fields and the sport is not even included in the PE Curriculum. Deym!

The World Cup Trophy

I do think that the Philippines really needs to catch up in football and in other athletic games. Even nearby Asian countries are doing well in the sport. Just take a look at South Korea and Japan – they are competing in the World Cup and they even co-hosted the games in 2002.

I believe that we Filipinos will do well in football because unlike basketball, you don’t need to be a 6 footer to be good in it. I hope the time will come when our nation will also learn to be fond of football. And if it isn’t too much to dream, I hope to see the Philippine national football team at the FIFA World Cup someday!


Image credits:
JSalvador ,  Globovision, Articularnos | Creative Commons License
For video credits, click on video to redirect

The clog with holes from Crocs is what made them famous. It has been there for quite sometime and it has become something like a “trademark” to them. I must admit that they look good and unique but as time passes by, I noticed that some people have outgrown that clog design which nowadays looks better on kids than on most adults.

But the good news is that for stylish people like most of us, Crocs has released a new collection of comfortable footwear called the ABF (Almost Barefoot) collection. I was fortunate enough to be invited by Crocs to be one of the guests at the ABF launching event which was held last week at Enchanted Kingdom Biki Water World. I will talk more about the event later, but for now, take a peek at the photo gallery below for the latest from Crocs. You might want to get yourself a pair!


Almost Barefoot (Men’s)

Almost Barefoot (Slide-Pro)

SS10 Men’s Collection

My personal favorites would be the black one from Almost Barefoot (Men’s) and the black/yellow flip-flop just right above this text from the SS10 collection. They are the BESTEST!

And about the launching event? Well it was a blast! I went there with a very good friend of mine and we had a great time. There was a Crocs fashion show, an exhibit of the latest ABF footwear collection, a raffle, buffet, photo booth, games and free access to EK Biki Water World facilities. Oh did I mention that the Velasco Brothers, a finalist from Pilipinas Got Talent, was also at the Crocs event? Yeah, you read that right! They performed their acrobatic dance moves right in front of us and it was superb. Everyone’s jaw dropped during their performance and we found ourselves clapping to a standing ovation in pure awe! If you are still clueless of what I’m talking about, watch their video here.

And about the photo booth, this is what you call vain moments. But I just had to crop my friend off for her own privacy.

Not yet subscribed to Pinoy Guy Guide? Enter your email here or join the discussions at the PGG Forums.

*All images were provided to Pinoy Guy Guide by Crocs

Now that the polls is just a week away, do you know who to vote? I’m going a bit off-topic today from the usual men’s fashion posts and will share my own guidelines in choosing the best people to put in our ballots. Remember that most of us guys are interested in power so choosing the next leaders to put in power is very important for our country because even if we are just one person, we are still ONE person and we can do something just by casting our votes. You may not agree with everything that I will say but this will serve as a guide for you in case you are still undecided just as I was that is why I made this up.

In my opinion here are some characteristics of a good president or an ideal leader (this also applies in choosing your vice president, senators and maybe even your local officials). Feel free to add to the list.

1. Has proven track record of accomplishments
When regular people like us apply for a job, employers will look at our curriculum vitae and see if we have relevant working experience or background to find out if we are even worth to be called for a job interview.

Same is true with the people we are voting for. Remember that being a president or leader is also a job. But this time it is us who will act as employers and we need to find out if the person we are voting for is fit to become president or leader of our nation. Does he have enough experience? What has he done so far? We should be diligent enough to find out the personal background of each candidate.

2. Is honest
I am tired of hearing of vote-buying and all those cheating. We need honest leaders.

3. Is not corrupt
Need I say more? This time, we need to spare our beloved country from the humiliation that we are facing globally regarding corrupt leaders.

4. Can represent our country to the world
For me, I think it is very important that a president or leader can represent our nation to other world leaders. We need a leader who knows how to converse intelligently and can close deals with foreign investors. We need a leader who can carry himself well and can stand up like he is implicitly saying “I am Filipino and proud” when facing the likes of Barack Obama and Ban-Ki-Moon (Secretary General of the United Nations). We need someone who can uplift the Filipino image to other countries.

5. Cannot be manipulated
No matter how honest a president or leader is, it will all go to waste when he can easily be manipulated and influenced by people close to him. Vote for someone who can stand up for his own decisions.

6. Has a high sense of morality
Imagine if our country allows abortion and polygamy. Our society will definitely be chaotic.

7. Believes in the Divine
Related to #6, if a leader believes in the Divine, morality will follow. A president should learn to acknowledge that his powers are God-given through the power of the ballot. He needs to be aware that he is not invincible and that there is a greater power up there.

8. Has genuine passion to serve
The president, vice-president, senators, mayors and all other officials are there to serve – not in words, but in action. Leaders are there to uplift the condition of the people and to do what is best for their fellow countrymen. Choose a leader who has been serving already before he has even begun his political career.

9. A strong leader with a well-defined platform of government
Ever heard of the Banana Republic? Not the clothing brand since I’m not talking about fashion now. Banana Republic is a term used to describe a politically unstable country. And I’m sure you do not want Philippines to be coined as a Banana Republic where leaders are weaklings who cannot bring peace to the country.

For me, I want a strong leader who can bring everlasting peace to our nation especially to our brothers in Mindanao. I want a leader who can unite our country as one. I want a leader who has a well-defined platform of government that can sail our country smoothly through his 6 years of leadership. I want a leader who, in 2016, will make the people rally behind him saying “Re-elect Mr. President” even if it is already the end of his term because people really love him and he has proven to be one of the best presidents the Philippines has ever had.

10. Has a strong desire to make the Philippines a better nation
It’s true that many nations have already surpassed the Philippines. Many Asian nations have already prospered and left us behind but I’m not losing hope that the Philippines can catch up.

I want a leader who has a strong desire to improve our nation especially in terms of education, infrastructure, poverty, employment, military, tourism, business, economy, science, technology, health care and even sports (heck, I would love to see Philippines to get a gold in the next Olympics and even join the FIFA World Cup).

. . . . . . .

After saying all that I’m looking for in a leader, I know what you must have in mind. Who will I vote for? Well I haven’t completed my list yet, but for president, I am going for Manny Villar. And no, this is not a political ad of his but this is my honest choice. I know that some have negative things to say about him (some maybe true, some maybe not) and as a matter of fact, he wasn’t even my choice last year when the election season was just about to start. But as May 10 comes closer each day, it becomes clearer to me that Manny Villar is the best choice among all the candidates for president that we have right now.

Let’s face it – nobody is perfect. I know that he doesn’t have all the 10 characteristics of a good president or leader that I listed above. But compared to the others, he has most of them.

But what if my candidate of choice doesn’t win? Well, it is okay for me. I need to respect who the majority of my fellow countrymen voted for. After all, Vox Populi, Vox Dei (A Latin maxim associated with democracy which means  “The voice of the people is the voice of God”). I will support whoever wins for president, after all, he is the elected president and we need to support his efforts for our country to move forward. That is what democracy is after all.

Want to discuss more about the elections? Join the discussions at the PGG Forums.

*Image credit: amonthestreets