A Holiday Wardrobe

Alrighty! Been quite a while since I last posted anything here, but it all that Thai bright sun, blazing heat and crystal-clear sea blinding my senses, I could not think about clothes other than get them off of my skin.

So I spent a good 18 days in nothing more than a grey leopard print brazilian bikini I got as a present two Xmas ago, and a pair of silver Havaianas borrowed from one of the Australian girls (all my flip-flops snapped after a couple of days).

But on a couple of occasions I HAD to choose something to wear. One of them was a visit to the Grand Palace in Bangkok, where one must cover one's shoulders and legs. I didn't know that, but thank the Almighty Buddha that I took this vintage printed jumpsuit in my backpack. Can't look more tropical tourist than this, but hey, it was useful and comfy.

Then, the wedding, which was the main purpose of this trip. Remember the reference was SS09 Luella, all ruffles and nets around the face? Well, that's what I came up with:

This 80s dress has been hanging on one of Major Tom's rails for the past 6 months, and I couldn't part with it - nor find an occasion to wear it. I love the layered ruffles, the jewel colour, and the shoulder pads, which pretty much sum up *wedding-ness* (at least in the 80s). It served the purpose well, if it wasn't for the nearly unbearable heat and humidity - I felt like ripping the sleeves off at some point, and by the end of the night I ended up with a heat rash all over my legs. Oh well. It made for good pictures.

The rest of the journey I lived in not much more than denim shorts and vests, or playsuits (vintage and American Apparel), which get the problem of coordinating pieces out of the way. Not the most amazing options, but when the scenario is so overwhelmingly beautiful, why compete? :P

Fashion dilemma: wedding in Thailand

Yes. A friend of my is getting married in Thailand in a couple of weeks, and although I had about a year to think about what to wear, obviously I left everything for the last minute. Now, WHAT does one wear for a day wedding in a 5-star resort without melting the whole outfit in the 38˚ C climate? If it was a hippie-chic affair on the beach, I wouldn't be panicking - I would resort (no pun intended) to any flowery, floaty number, a straw hat and probably no shoes. But that's not the case.

So today I was looking through the SS09 collections for inspiration, I found that Luella quite fits the bill. There are several cute one-shouldered and bandeau dresses with enough frills and bows to compensate for the short hem, in colours that surely would look great with a tan.

This last orange one is my favourite - Net-a-porter has the grey version of it - but at a hefty £675, let's just say it's a little out of my price range.

A quick research around the high-street websites show that copycat versions of this Luella range either hasn't arrived yet, or they're not being sold online (I'm sure they're going to be copied left, right and centre, and if I had the patience to walk around Oxford Street, I would find them). The only one I found was this coral one at French Connection, which kind of has the vibe I'm looking for, although I'd like it much more if it had a bubble or ruffled skirt. It's not bad at £75, but skint as I am, I'll probably go vintage, DIY-ing the bows and roses.

The other great dilemma promptly solved by Ms Luella was the hairstyle. This look is fresh enough to wear under the Thai sun (the high braid and quiff gets the hair out of the neck and forehead, a welcome relief), and the net around the face is a great and fresh substitute for a hat, and super easy to DIY. Problem solved!