The Manila Summer season is in full swing — you can tell by how hot it’s gotten.  To celebrate, The #SoMoms went on an all-mommy night out.  Kids, husbands, and pets were all left at home, and we dressed up, got pedicures, ate and drank to our heart’s content,  and painted the town red.

Well, okay that’s not exactly how it happened, but can you blame me for having a vivid imagination? 😉  We did dress up.  And we ate a few cupcakes (Fine.  It was MORE than a few…;) ) and drank some cocktails laced with vodka.  Our version of painting the town red was by excitedly creating our own pairs of Havaianas at the 8th Make Your Own Havaianas 2013 Media Launch.  Our summer chic looks meant that we wore Havaianas to the event too (which I think is a cool idea!)

It’s a rare treat that I get to leave the house at 6pm for a night on the town with the girlfriends.  I’m normally at home getting the kids through dinner and their bedtime routine (and then I fall asleep right after or I use the time to work and blog).  Come to think of it, Jamie has not been put to sleep at night by anyone else but me her whole life.  But from what I’ve heard over the last seven years, the #MYOH2013 was an event one wouldn’t want to miss.  Yes, there is a first time for everything, and it all happened that Tuesday night.  I went out, Jamie slept with her dad, and I attended my very first MYOH event.

It was quite the experience.  I’ve always been a fan of Havaianas.  They are hands down, comfortable, stylish, and sturdy .  I’ve only had one pair collapse on me but it happened after years and years of using it on a more-than-average basis.  And after that one night, I finally understand why it’s such a hit.  We are a tropical country and we go anywhere in slippers.  It’s the easiest thing to wear; so why not make it more than a casual choice of shoes?  It’s a brilliant idea to get people to customize their own flip-flops.  It becomes unique to the person and it speaks volumes about one’s personality.

At the Rockwell Tent (MYOH’s venue), you’ll find walls of soles and straps (the regular, the metallic and the thins) which you can mix and match to your liking.  Then there’s a menu of pins that you can dress it up with — as many as you want.  After the friendly assemblers are done, voíla.  Suddenly it’s more than just a pair of flip-flops, it’s your own fashionably styled shoes that can be used to dress up, dress down, and go all around!  It’s had quite the following over the last few years; and I’ve heard of people who hail from different cities travel 2 or 3 hours at 430AM to get in line just to make their own pairs.

For my part, I was lost and thrilled at the same time.  Lost because there was so much to choose from, I had to pause, breathe, and rationalize just how many pairs I really needed (and how many I could come home with that my husband wouldn’t flip!).  I was thrilled because it was going to be just the way I wanted it to be.  The other SoMoms and I were some of the first in line and when the raw materials started to come to the table, you could tell who owned which pair.  I ended up with this as my final output:

I used it on a trip, with my new favorite green top that some of my SoMom shopping buddies helped me pick out:

Anyway, I’m getting ahead of myself.  The next morning I had to explain to my girls why I didn’t make it home in time for our bedtime routine.  Sam, my crafty daughter, loved the idea of designing her own slippers, that she wore mine around the house for a while.  The next thing I knew, one of the star pins had cracked (what do you expect from a toddler in shoes that are thrice her foot size!).

I returned a few days later after a meeting I had in the area, and Customer Care took care of me.  I love it that they have this as an integral part of the event.  My triple stars were replaced and my slippers were brand new again.  The Havaianas assemblers even replaced the other star pin (which was still intact), because she said she noticed that there was a crack on it.

And so – since I found myself once again in this tent of imagination… I decided, why not, I’d go for another pair.  Except this time, I got one for Sam.  The thing is, MYOH is only an event for adult sizes, so I took Janice’s and Eli’s suggestions of getting a pair for the kids to grow into, and got Sam the smallest adult size of Havaianas.  I got her the Commemorative 2013 design done by Filipino Dan Matutina (@twistedfork).  This year Havaianas decided to collaborate with one of our own for the special edition flip-flops.  It is the first “glow-in-the dark” pair with carbon blue sole.  It features two spacemen with space markers connecting the stars to form images.  It represents how Havaianas invites each and everyone to let their creativity loose.  This pair is only available during the May 2-5 run (in other words, by the time you read this, you have two days left so hurry on over!).

For Sam, I added as pins the hot air balloon and the astronaut.  I got the hot air balloon because Sam loved the larger than life sized version of it made entirely out of Havaianas.  We’d take strolls down Bonifacio High Street and visit it often (Apparently Tin’s little Berry loved it too!).  I added the astronaut because Sam is my little explorer.  She’s forever curious about things and also brave enough to take that “first step” outside her little world to discover more.  I wanted to add the rocket ship too but I was told that they were low on stock.  Of course, it was also a pair to remind her of Mommy’s first MYOH event.  That’s a lot of meaning for a pair of slippers, wouldn’t you say? 🙂

 

She loved the pair so much (That’s my Sam, so easy to please and so filled with heartfelt gratitude for things we give her), she wears them at home.  Even if they are 4 sizes too big for her.  Maybe even five!

The added pleasant surprise to my 2nd MYOH visit for the season was that I paid P0.50 for Sam’s pair.  There’s an ongoing Citibank promo where you get 10% off your Havaianas purchases when you use your card — AND you can opt to use your points to pay for them too. (Note:  I never use my points, or my miles, so I felt it was put to good use).

 

Kudos to the Havaianas team for such a successful activity.  The core of the idea is so simple but so on-point, it will never go out of style.