Simply put, Baby Araneta Forés is style personified. Considered one of the country's best-dressed women, her fashion sense transcends the boundaries of time and generations.
This feature story was originally titled as Timeless..., and was published in the November 2002 issue of Tatler Philippines
"I grew up," Baby Araneta Forés simply says. I am at the Araneta White House, named because it was always painted white and not because it was a copy of the other house on Pennsylvania Avenue. I am seated on a sofa with her. I had asked why the change in her life? Why did the party girl become a recluse?
"I grew up. I have grandchildren now and I enjoy their company and look forward to seeing them. I am aging and I find other things interesting."
Baby speaks in declarative sentences indicative of a strong-willed person who mostly got her way through much of her life. There are no added frills, no circumlocution. If it were any other person saying what she said, we'd all simply nod our heads. But I'm hearing it from Baby Forés, the harbinger of style before anyone in Manila had a clue that style existed.
The habitué of Manhattan's party circuit in the '70s hasn't exactly surrendered to the aging process. Her face remains unchanged. One privilege of wealth is never having to be subjected to worry lines keeping the sheen of youth longer than the rest. Her hands remain exquisite as she lounges in a silk red robe with a cheongsan collar. Her hair is pulled back tight with her signature little chignon on the back of her head recalling to mind her favourite Claudio Bravo portrait of her. She may have accepted the passage of time, but she has refused, if not cheated, its physical dictates.
I had half-expected shadow plays and smart answers to the question. Society pages and whispers from past Baby groupies have invented a persona so different from who I was facing. Yes, she's seen it and done it all but she has survived unscathed and is now thankful for little moments of real affection, such as the simple embrace of a grandchild.