Words by Clementine Wilson

Edited by Rachel Hambly and Bailey Tolentino

For those who aren’t familiar with her, Imelda Marcos was the former first lady of the Philippines during the 1960s to 80s. Wife to notorious dictator Ferdinand Marcos, Imelda gained significant political power and ended up taking over important policy and infrastructure decisions after he placed the country under martial law in ‘74. During their regime, the two worked closely together to steal billions of pesos from the Filipino people, amassing their own personal fortune, and were responsible for committing thousands of human rights violations, cases of torture, abuse, and disappearances throughout the entire country. After the presidential couple was deposed by the People Power Revolution in ‘86, Imelda successfully defended herself against numerous court proceedings by claiming she was “a poor widow who knew nothing of her husband’s actions.”

None of the information above, however, is what Imelda Marcos is known for. The top three questions under “People also ask” when her name is Googled are the following:

“How many pairs of shoes did Imelda Marcos own?”
“What is the nickname of Imelda Marcos?”
“Who was the woman who owned a lot of shoes?”

The journey that concluded in Imelda’s legacy as a fashion icon— long and blood-stained with countless atrocities and crimes against humanity as it was— all started with her youth when she became known as a teenage beauty queen. “For me, beauty has always been a religion. Plato says God is beauty made real,” declared the former first lady. Well before she became the wife and co-conspirator to a dictator, Imelda came to the limelight as a beauty pageant contestant. She earned the nickname “Rose of Tacloban” in her hometown, and later “Muse of Manila” after moving to the capital city.

Imelda gained national influence in 1965, when her youth and charisma became a major asset to Ferdinand’s political ambitions. Crowds of people turned out to see his campaigns because they coveted a glimpse of “the beautiful wife of Marcos.” Recognizing the attention his wife was getting, Ferdinand and his team of tacticians encouraged Imelda to continue her run of public appeal by having her wear her signature ternos, a traditional Filipino dress. Tall, statuesque, dressed to resemble a butterfly, Imelda was the innocent, shining face that masked the change Ferdinand sought to enact in the Philippines.

*Colonially known as the Maria Clara gown, the dress was re-modified and popularized in the 20th century as the “ternos” due to its trademark butterfly sleeves.*

Recognizing this newfound power given to her through means of her beauty and style, Imelda went on one of the biggest shopping hauls of the century. Often accompanied by members of the socialite group dubbed the “Blue Ladies”, the majority of whom were wives of other politicians notable for their youth and beauty, Imelda had plenty of company to enable her ‘shopaholicism.’ After the downfall of the regime, when she and her husband were forced to flee to Hawaii, reports of her lavish wardrobe included several mink coats, over 500 gowns, 900 bags, and a whopping 3,000 pairs of shoes. Imelda’s most infamous shopping spree was in 1983, when she spent the equivalent of $ 7 million over 90 days. The source of these funds for this expensive retail therapy came entirely from the years Imelda spent embezzling from the Filipino government. It is now estimated that the total amount spent on Imelda’s closet alone would have been enough to pull the country out of debt.

*Imelda Marcos’s shoe collection draws public attention, now on display at the Marikina Shoe Museum.*

In the end, the Marcos couple achieved their lavish lifestyle upon the millions of Filipino people who languished in poverty, but only one of them caught the blame for it. It is not surprising that, given Imelda’s substantial wardrobe, she had more than enough to cover herself up with to create sufficient ignorance of her crimes. Unfortunately, increased allegations against her and her husband have only led to more glamorization and sanitization of the kleptocrat and her use of fashion as a means of oppression (and, later, concealment). The strongest example of this is the recent Broadway musical “Here Lies Love,” a glitzy disco-themed “dance party” which focuses on the life of Imelda Marcos. The show was met with controversy, with intense criticism of its trivialization of the suffering of the Filipino people. Under the spotlight was Arielle Jacobs, who portrayed the former first lady not as the accomplice and perpetrator of the brutal regime that she was, but as a young, besotted girl who “did it all for love.” This contradicts the real Imelda’s legal strategy when it came time for her to stand trial. She was acquitted after characterizing herself as “a poor widow who knew nothing about her husband’s activities.”

The Philippines, during the second half of the 20th century, was a country climbing out of the global periphery and into good economic standing. It was industrializing rapidly, with a GDP per capita that was rising to be one of the highest in Southeast Asia – that was, until the Marcos couple arrived on the political scene. Throughout two decades, the couple drained the Philippines of an estimated five to ten billion USD, nearly a third of the entire nation’s wealth. Power cuts and water shortages plagued towns across the country, thousands of workers lost their jobs, countless students their higher educational opportunities, and political enemies of the couple lost their lives. Still, the former first lady’s wardrobe expanded, and her public image remained unscathed thanks to her consistently well-dressed and attractive physical appearance. In the end, Imelda successfully defended herself from taking accountability for the horrors inflicted on the Philippines by twisting her image as nothing more than an ignorant, pretty lady with a shopping problem.

Imelda Marcos – the Ultimate Use of Pretty Privilege