Forever Imelda

Imelda Marcos gives W a tour of Old House, the over-the-top villa outside Manilla where she and Ferdinand lived their "Imeldific" life. Read the full article.

April 2007
Imelda Marcos at Old House, the lavish villa outside Manila where she and Ferdinand lived during his presidency. Imelda doesn't actually live here anymore (she lives in a faux Louis XVI-style high-rise in the city) but keeps Old House as a sort of museum and warehouse.
April 2007

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Imelda Marcos is more than a legend in her own time, she's an adjective. "Imeldific," according to Wikipedia, denotes "excessive vanity," while Word Spy defines it as "ostentatiously extravagant to the point of vulgarity."

On a recent morning in Imelda's spacious, faux Louis XVI-style apartment, 34 floors above downtown Manila, the woman lives up to both definitions. It is early January, and her abode is festooned with enough holiday decor—including huge plastic garlands—to outfit Macy's Santaland. Hundreds of framed photographs crowd every wall and horizontal surface. The lady herself appears at the end of a long hallway and sweeps in, dressed in a fluorescent green suit and dyed-to-match pumps, her signature black lacquered beehive shining. The drama of her entrance is heightened by the clicking away of her own personal photographer, one of about a half-dozen staff members on hand, all of them dark-haired, middle-aged, expressionless men wearing what look to be navy blue leisure suits.… Read more…

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