Photography: MJ Suayan

Her family significantly got the lion’s share in good looks and great fashion sense; so it is no wonder that Stephanie Zubiri-Crespi would be chosen, in time, to represent the Philippine Tatler as its choice in the annual search for Asia’s Most Stylish. “The women who were chosen before me are all of style and substance, and whose work go beyond what they wear,” she says. “To be in such good company is a pleasure.”

Young as she is, however, Zubiri-Crespi has already acquired an amazing elegance in simplicity, as well as an impeccable taste in whatever she is wearing in whatever occasion it may be. “Not many women can say that they’ve worn their wedding dresses more than once,” Stephanie shares. “I had both of them reworked to wear on other occasions.” In fact, the gown she wore to this year’s Philippine Tatler Ball is actually a two-piece ensemble of a bodysuit and a big skirt, which is true to her versatile aesthetic. But such a stylish exterior is matched equally by her effervescent personality and excellent wit—qualities that have endeared her to everyone around her.

This paradigm of style likewise adds a classy nuance to her numerous roles in life: wifehood and motherhood, and an arbiter of taste through her blogs on food, wine, and parenting. “I don’t take myself too seriously, and I think that translates to what I wear because I’m now at a point where I’m very comfortable with myself.” Definitely a young woman to look up to in more ways than one.

Words: Marga Manlapig