My fashion style tends to swap and change depending on where I am in the world. I always have my fave comfortable clothes that I take with me, but my going out outfits tend to take a turn for the better when I am out of my own country.
Growing up I was never interested in fashion or dressing with matching clothes, but as I got older the more my style changed. I started to want to wear dresses and skirts, I wanted to wear nicer shoes and overall look my best when I went out with family and friends.
Exploring Europe has given me a much larger scope on different styles than simply remaining in South Africa. I consider myself privileged that I had the opportunity to shop in different countries and buy unique clothes that you wouldn’t be able to get elsewhere. I honestly noticed that the way Europeans dress and carry themselves is of a much higher standard than the general population of South Africa (sorry, it’s true). I was always in awe watching the people walk down the streets of Europe with purpose and confidence in a lovely, styled outfit. I understand that different clothes are sold overseas than what we usually get in SA, but still, we could try.
One of my favourite styles is flowy and dreamy. I don’t think business outfits and “professional” looks are my thing, unless obviously for an actual business meeting which I am yet to participate in, so I opt for the dreamy side of fashion.
The skirt I am wearing in the photo above was bought based on inspiration from one of the guests onboard the many yachts I worked on. She had a lovely flowing white skirt that she cherished preciously, and I was always asked to kindly make sure there were no stains and to iron it gently. I began to love that skirt almost as much as she did, especially since I was the one behind the scenes making sure it was presentable and immaculate at all times. I was friendly with the guests and felt comfortable enough to tell the woman who owned the skirt that I absolutely adored it, and where did she get it from? She told me she ordered it online from an app called Asos. As soon as I was out of sight from guests, I ran to my Play Store app and immediately downloaded it.
I scoured the app for any similar white skirts but was unfortunate not to find any. Of course, she mentioned she had purchased it about a year or two ago, but it was worth a try to find something similar on the same app.
She wore that skirt so often I am surprised she didn’t glue it to herself. At some point I realised that maybe I did not want the same skirt after all…it turned out to be quite see-through. I still admired it but was disappointed at its pure clarity.
On one of our days off I went to the mall with some friends and went to one of my favourite European clothing stores, Bershka. There, I happened to come across a flowy, long white skirt! Very similar to the one the guest had. I tried it on and it was also see-through but had an extra layer or two of cotton so it wasn’t as bad, especially if nude underwear was being worn. I was ecstatic with my purchase. Sometime in June 2025 was when I was successful in finding my desired skirt. I still adore that skirt, as you can see, and it makes me feel so ethereal, even just for a moment.
I also found that having a skirt like that makes it a lot easier to mix and match different tops rather than having to specifically match something with a yellow or blue skirt, for example. As now that I am older, I appreciate a proper styled outfit that actually matches. And some may think that that top in the photo is too loose for that flowy skirt, but I don’t care because I felt good in it and it made me feel happy. I came across that top in Italy, in April this year, and I just knew it would be a perfect matching top for my gorgeous white skirt. That photo shoot was one of my favourites I have done because I felt confident, pretty and happy in my choice of wardrobe. I think that’s what a lot of people miss in the sense of fashion, that the point is you are happy and feel good in a choice of your clothes. Society is so messed up in thinking they have opinions on what’s right and what’s wrong with what to wear or how to look, but it’s absolute ridiculousness.
If you were looking for a sign to buy that cute top or that cute dress or those nice, expensive boots, do it! You only live once and my golden money motto is, whatever you spend, comes back 10x fold. No point in hoarding every single penny, because in the end when we die, nothing materialistic comes with us, so spend the pennies, buy the shoes and the skirt and enjoy shopping while it lasts!
