Meet the Female Dandies of Upper East Side!

A couple of weeks ago, we had our first pictorial for the brand. Ben couldn’t come because of New York Fashion Week. But he was hands on with me in choosing the models. The theme is after all, the Female Dandy. And we definitely wanted someone who exudes the complete package. We needed someone who could look sexy in “ man clothes “. Believe me, not every pretty girl can pull this off.

So what were the criteria. A female dandy carries something about her that spells confidence, but not arrogance. Someone who stands out from a crowd, not solely for her looks, but for the radiance she brings when she walks in a room. You see her and you know she is someone who can be dogmatic yet feminine all at the same time. She too must have a distinguishable personal style. Personified, meet our choices.


Alexa Uy





Alexa is a senior student at the Ateneo de Manila University. Only at 20, she has her mind set to be one of the greatest doctors of her time. A constant Dean’s Lister, she is a great source of her family’s pride. Despite her great focus on her studies, she remains to be one of the most fashionably adept persons I know. Alex is the oxymoron defined as a fashionably beautiful geek.

"Nothing of me is original. I am the combined effort of everybody I've ever known."(Chuck Palahnuik). I love emulating the Olsen sisters with regard to comfort and effortlessness, but there are those days when certain japanese and/or korean idols influence me to get dolled up. So more often than not, people see me in grunge and dark attires, then when I'm in the mood, I'd spice things up with some florals and bold prints. One piece of clothing that i could never live without would be a well-made blazer/jacket; no matter what i wear, whether androgynous or feminine, it just makes everything appear classy chic.”


Alyssa Fucoy




Alyssa is a junior law student at San Beda College. She is the perfect definition of beauty and brains. She was a scholar from Philippine Science High School, and went to college at the University of the Philippines Diliman. With a great thirst to serve the country, she moves on her with her dream to be one of the premier lawyers of the Philippines. Alyssa has a great ability to juggle her studies and social life all at the same time. She is the Lady President of her sorority, and loves to party with her friends after a long day’s exam. Notwithstanding the pressures of law schools, she makes sure to always look good and be always fashion forward.


" As a law student and head of a sorority, I move around a lot. A big chunk of my day is spent dealing with people from my sisters to terror professors. At best, I need to look smart and on top of my game everyday. I haven't really chosen the perfect look for my busy schedule until just last year. It's quite a relief to put on jeans and a cute top, pair it with my favorite heels and then throw in a blazer and still look professional. The look does not even require much thinking. Jeans are universal for one. Tops are eveywhere, It's blazers that change the whole image.

What is better is that at the end of the day, when I decide to relax and go gimmik with my friends, I still don't have to worry about looking too geeky, Blazers can still turn you into a chic without saying too much."

Do you have what it takes to be our next female dandy? Email us at
uesonline@yahoo.com and tell us all about you :)

2010 : Female Dandy is the New Sexy!

In the 18th and 19th century, the dandy was distinguished as a British man who put particular importance on his physical appearance and well-mannered gestures.


18th Century Male Dandies



Fast tracking to the present times, we see the fashion industry being highly influenced by earlier decades. We’ve been through the 90’s, 80’s, and 70’s. 2009 to 2010 moves further in time to emulate the royal fashion of the British era. Thus, the evolution of the female dandy.

A female dandy is then defined as a woman who sports male clothing in a graceful, feminine, and irresistibly sexy manner. 2010 fashion will definitely be fluxed with androgynous influences. From military jackets to boyfriend blazers, boychic fashion is definitely staying in town.





Upper East Side’s first collection is greatly inspired by the Female Dandy. The escalating boyfriend blazer and military jacket trends were given fresh feminine touches of slimmer and more form-fitting cuts. Of course, what distinguishes us from the rest of the outerwear makers is we inject fun into our designs. Exhibit A: this eye-popping royal blue militarismo jacket from our collection.


Ready for more eye candy? Check out our shop.

Confessions from a Blazer Addict

Hello, my name is motsi.I am a junior designer of outerwear and a confessed blazer addict.

Not so long ago, I started working in one of, if not the biggest media network company in the Philippines. And to confirm your impressions, YES,your first step into its arena is a bit too intimidating. It is the spotlessly clean and polished floor, the revolving doors that I only saw in Superman movies,the actors and actresses ordering food beside you at lunch. But more than that, it is the mounting pressure to always look GOOD because you really wouldn't want to look like rag beside the Louis Vuitton carrying girl in your elevator ride. No, you wouldn't want to be an outcast in this throng of fashionably able working community.

Almost a year later, what does this environment make of me? I look at myself in the bathroom mirror just as I was about to leave for work. Black studded gladiators, check. Tight, grey skinny jeans, check. Loose white shirt carelessly tucked in my denim, check. Ahhh, and yes!A black,military jacket embellished with golden buttons and ruched nicely at the sleeves.It's luscious golden lining adds a gorgeous contrast to it's blackness.I took it off and caressed its woven label that read, UPPER EAST SIDE.I couldn't help but beam with pride at the name of my very own line and brand of jackets and blazers.

Last Saturday, the first pictorial for the brand was finally accomplished.At the last snap of the camera, I picked up the phone and dialled across the globe to Manhattan, New York. " Ben,we made it!" I gushed with a palpable smile on my face.
Ben is the senior designer of the brand, who is based in New York. He is a good friend, and my mentor. We met through the web, bound by a common interest in fashion,more specifically,in outerwear.This is how we started...

Let me tell you that this media company has one of the most powerful air conditions ever. Never mind that it's 35 degrees outside. When you are inside, it's freezing, sometimes almost to death! I started investing on jackets and blazers to remedy my frostbite. From department store bought to high-end designer labels via
net-a-porter, I got them covered.Soon I had to have a separate closet made just for my blazers.It was becoming more than a need to keep warm.I was obsessed! Blazers of all colors and designs.From black to pink, cropped to trenches. I HAD IT. Apparently, even the vast array of clothing brands couldn't keep up with my almost maniacal search for the best blazers there is. I got bored with the current supply,
it just wasn't serving my obsession anymore.

One afternoon, I stumbled upon a forum of blazer lovers just like me.I couldn't believe my luck! I thought I was alone. But there they were. People who shared my sentiments, people who thought that there is a shortage of stylish and unique blazers. I had been sketching up designs that I wanted to have. I called them my " Dream Frocks" and I truly wanted to materialize them and wear them one day.I posted my sketches in the forum. One day, I got a call from New York.It was a designer from NYC who saw my sketches. He said, " My name is Ben Ryan and I have a brilliant proposal."

For the past few months, my life has been a whirlwind fairytale. One day I was merely avoiding the cold, a few month later, I am starting a jacket and blazer specialty brand with a designer from New York!Ben finished a degree from Parsons. But he truly believed that it is raw talent, and a passion and vision for fashion that matters more than formal education in the most prestigious fashion schools. He would always say! Fashion design is like singing. No matter how hard you try or how many hours in voice lessons you spend,if you ain't got it, you won't be heard.EVER. And he "heard" me. For which particular items in the sheer amateurishness of a portfolio i had, I wouldn't know. But I'm sure glad he did.

So here we are. Ben and I. Him with his fresh take of an Upper East Sider's fashion sense. Classy, chic,but daring and bold. None of the boring New Yorker's fashion of dull colors! And me with this oozing desire for outerwear, and the limitless design possibilities that I want to share with the world. Together we bring you
Upper East Side. The home of the world's most extraordinary jackets and blazers.We promise, you'll never see outerwear the same way again..