A self-confessed shoe fan, Regine Velasquez Alcasid gives us a personal digital tour of her legendary walk-in closet, revealing the stories behind some of her lifetime favorite pairs.
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It is no secret that Regine Velasquez Alcasid is crazy about shoes. No, scratch that. It can be categorically be described as obsessed, but in the most harmless and good way, of course. After all, who isn’t romanced by the allure of a well-made pair of top-notch design? Not us, and definitely not the iconic songstress who has been known to amass an envious collection that includes everything from comfortable go-tos to one-off runway exclusives.
A stuff made of legends, her walk-in closet was once closed off to the public eye, its full glory left only to rumors, whispers, and first-hand tales. “As a fan, ako, I’m always curious kung ano ‘yung mga closet ng mga artista,” she relates before finally revealing that she is now ready to show her special space at home on her YouTube channel, which she fondly calls, Vlang. “Since special kayo, gusto kong ipakita for the very first time ang aming walk-in closet.”
Much like her personality, there is no pretense to her walk-in closet. It is straightforward, sensible, but strewn with stories and an understandable nonchalance. Appropriately filed in the enclave are clothes, dresses (some even with tags on), gowns (such as a duo of Cary Santiago originals, one in black for the ABS-CBN Ball and the other, a gunmetal silver one for the MEGA Anniversary book launch), and of course, rows and rows of shoes.
“Ang naaalala ko kasi sa relationship ko with shoes, ‘yung unang-una kong nagsuot ako ng two-inches na heel na kulay white, pinanglakad ko sa bukid sa Bulacan. Kasi sumali ako ng amateur singing contest, tapos ang layo-layo pala, paliit ng paliit yung daan hanggang sa wala ng daan, pilapil na lang—doon ako naglalakad in my two-inch white shoes,” she recounts. “Nung nagkaroon ako ng konting kita, naging curious ako sa mga branded na shoes. I don’t how it started , but I think it started nung nag-Hong Kong ako.”
From then on, her curiosity would grow into a diligent collection that had everything from an obvious penchant for Louis Vuitton, as well as prized picks from Dolce & Gabbana, Alexander McQueen, Christian Louboutins, Casadei, and Tom Ford. Whether it’s a bad-ass, spike-lined Gucci pair or her sentimental pair of chrome plated Chanel boots, which she wore with her blood red Monique Lhuillier gown, there is a story for almost each pair, which she was only so happy to recount on her YouTube channel.
Picking out her infamous pair of worn out Louis Vuitton wedged pair, she says, “Sa sobrang fan ako ng Louis Vuitton, I’ve had this for 23 years already. I used to always wear this, wherever I would go, I’d wear it, as in. Sobrang nasira na ‘to, ayan o, di ba halata? Hindi na totoo ‘yung sole niya, iba na kasi pinaayos ko na siya. Dati natatanggal-tanggal na ‘to, pero ito pa rin ‘yung original pero pinadikit ko na. Ngayon nga lumutong na kasi ‘di ko na nasusuot, I just kept it for art’s sake.”
There are many other Louis Vuitton pairs in her closet, such as the opulent gold pair from the Marc Jacobs era and the similar but rare tribal one she owns as that of Madonna from their spring 2009 collection, but the most memorable one according to her, which she recounts to great length was the gold velvet embellished tortoiseshell wedges with a striking circular detail.
“Eto talaga yung hinunting ko. Ang tagal-tagal kong hinanap, kasi ‘di ba, ‘pag nagbabasa ka ng magazines, that’s actually one of the reasons why nagkaroon din ako ng relationship with branded stuff. Gusto ko yung pag nakita ko sa magazine, ang thinking ko, pag pumunta ako sa shop nila mabibili ko. Hindi ko naintindihan na there was such a thing as runway collection. Malay ko ba?” she says. “Anyway, the story was, I went to New York to find this particular shoe. So, I went to Louis Vuitton, I was so excited. Tour kasi ‘yun, so I couldn’t wait to go to New York to get the freaking shoes! When I got there, nakita ko na sa display…umpisa pa lang, sinabi agad sa akin na ako na wala akong size.”
“Can I at least try them on?” she asked the man tending the boutique in the Big Apple. As most of these stories go, affecting even the most powerful ones such as Oprah in Paris, it didn’t go the way she had envisioned it. “Na-discriminate ang lola niyo, and na-depress ako ng very, very light. So, I went to Neiman Marcus, na maraming branded shoes, nagwala ako doon. Ang ending ko, ang inuwi ko ay 20 pairs of shoes.” Perhaps in a fit of fashion-induced vengeance, she marched right back to the Louis Vuitton store and there the tides clearly shifted. “Anyway, pagkatapos kong bilhin ‘yung 20 pairs, pumunta ulit ako ng Louis Vuitton. Nung marami na akong bitbit, pinapasok ako sa loob ng Louis Vuitton at nabili ko siya.”
This experience taught her something, which she shares with her now over 100,000 strong subscribers. “I don’t think you should feel bad if you get discriminated. You go back and kick some ass,” and boy did she show ‘em.
The closet tour progressed with more stories and even more shoes, where the Songbird rifled through boxes of boots and memories, revealing pockets of nostalgia that is most definitely illuminating as it is highly entertaining. By the end, the living legend came to a resolve to not only enact a promise to rearrange, fix, and organize her shoe sanctuary, but she was also compelled to hand down some of her favorite pairs to her audience and subscribers. In the video, she said that once she racks up a 100,000 subscribers, which is well achieved at this point, she will pass 10 pairs to random subscribers as way of decluttering and thanking them for their continued support, and well, perhaps to buy even more shoes.
If we were you, we would subscribe and keep a close eye out for YouTube account right this very second. You never know, you could very well soon be the proud recipient of a piece of history, a nugget of legend from the one and only Songbird and shoe-lover, Regine Velasquez Alcasid.
