Burning Man Costume Ideas

When it comes to one of the most unique and talked about art festival in the USA, people from all across the world travel to Black Rock City in Nevada for a once in a life time experience. If there's anything that inspires us in life is the freedom to experiment and imagine. Knowing that sarongs are being used as a fashion essential for creative festival costumes gets us excited! We all know that people have been using sarongs for centuries and we're really loving the trendiness and imagination of these modern times exhibited during Burning Man.

From fantasy characters to native warriors to pure nudity, a sarong has been used to style and protect festival goers from over exposure of sun and plus when people are camping out and dancing all day and night in the desert, sarongs are great to help keep the dust away from the eyes and hair. Some use them as a carrier to store their belongings as they dance till the sun comes up. Then when their feet gets tired, they lay their sarongs on the ground to rest and cuddle with their loved ones, listening to the sound of music echoing from a distance as the day light shines on their skin.

"A city in the desert. A culture of possibility. A network of dreamers and doers"

We were browsing a bunch of images from past festivals and couldn't help but admire how beautiful festival outfits can be. If you're going or planning to head to this amazing festival anytime soon, get yourself some sarongs and let your creativity do the work. Not only are they an affordable alternative than say renting costumes, but you get to have a little DIY project which can be therapeutic. Besides, Burning Man is all about art friendliness! Here are our favorite looks to inspire your next festival costume using your sarongs:

1) Use short sarongs as a neck or mouth cover for those windy days at the desert

2) Who would have thought head scarves could make a cool costume complete? 

3) Be it man or woman, the good ol' hip cover up style works with any man sarong or sheer sarong matched with bikinis and stack up a bunch of accessories.

4) Flowy, soft and silky sarongs to get in the mood for those twirling dance moves and breezy days

5) Layer up any sequined or colorful sarongs to make your favorite fantasy characters come to live

6) Guys, if you're lazy to think and want to whip up an easy costume in seconds, you'll find sarongs to be your best bet.

7) From bohemian tents to a sailing ship, sarongs give plenty of fabric for the imagination to run wild. How about bold animal prints for a quick and easy costume?

8) Go white with any rayon or sheer material to create a vintage or fairy or gypsy vibe. Whatever your heart desires, you can never go wrong with a white sarong!

Thank you to all Burners who have inspired us with your mind blowing festival outfits, we're looking forward to see what's in line this year! You can find out more about this magical festival here.

*Photos via Pinterest

Postcards from Rachel: Slovenia

I wanted to dedicate my first post to the beautiful country of Slovenia in Central Europe. I was blessed enough to be able to visit the gorgeous Lake Bled in the Julian Alps. This is an amazing tourist destination located in the town Bled that has been there for a thousand years! Interesting fact: on the island in the middle of the lake, the ancient Slavs worshiped Ziva, the goddess of love and fertility. There's some great info here and here if you are interested in visiting this beautiful place.

 

Must Watch Videos to Learn How to Tie A Sarong (for Women)

1. ‘7 New Ways to Tie Your Sarong This Weekend’ by PopSugar

Fresh styles for the weekend for those who want to explore both short and long sarong styles. Modeled by Allison Mcnamara, our favorite style is the dress with a little bit of waist definition that is really flattering to the body. For those who like shorter styles, you can turn your full sized sarongs to a short skirt.

Using a combination of fringeless and solid color sarong followed by a patterned and fringed sarong, we also like the harem jumpsuit look especially that added detail of having the fringe or tassels hang loose in front, it’s so cute!

*Get the look here:

• Fringe-less orange sarong
• Fringed blue sarong

2) ‘10 Simple Ways to Tie a Sarong’ by Harper’s Bazaar

True enough when they say, 'you'll never look at a single piece of cloth the same way'. Firstly, we got to compliment the quality of production because we totally love the mood and feel throughout this tutorial, it’s so chic and cool.

Our favorite sarong style is the ‘chic cape’ which is a long kimono that makes a lovely swimsuit cover when you’re strolling by the pool at a resort. A second sarong style to pay attention to because it’s unique and not many people have thought about it, turning your favorite sarongs to a crop top. Wear it with a bathing suit or a pair of shorts or long pants after having a day out in the beach. We also like that they demonstrated and eye catching and tasteful range of color palettes to show how you can match your swimsuit colors with different sarong colors and patterns.

*Get the look here:

• Fringe-less grey sarong
• Abstract sarongs

3) ‘Tie a Pareu’ by The Coconet TV

This video makes us want to book a ticket to Hawaii like yesterday! We love the angle of seeing a modern Polynesian woman sharing a staple part of an Island woman’s wardrobe which is the Pareu aka. lavalava aka. sarong. The best thing about this video (besides the beautiful Hawaiian music and setting!) is they show how to tie sarong styles using sarong ties. It's the perfect fashion accessory to pair with your sarongs so you can tie and secure your sarongs easily.

*Get the look with our collection:

• Hawaiian sarongs
• Fringe-less sarongs.

4) '12 Sexiest Ways to Tie a Sarong' by Cosmopolitan

‘No other single piece of clothing allows you to transform your look in so many ways.’ That is exactly what they try to show in the video. Our favorite is the number 10 style, where you have a one shoulder long or short sarong dress. Depending on your body type, this style may be suitable for certain body types and not others, it’s really all about experimenting and trying it out to see what works for you.

Sheer sarongs are sexy, sensual and feels heavenly on your skin. We love that they used an ocean inspired color sarong for this tutorial with a combination of blue, green and turquoise.

*Get the look here at a great value price:

• Sheer sarong black
• Sheer white
• Short sarongs

5) 'Traveler Obsession: 3 Sarongs, 3 Ways' by Condé Nast Traveler

Short, easy and straight forward tutorial to demonstrate how 'a beach cover up can become a surprisingly sophisticated piece if you know how to knot it'. Our favorite is the second style which is a halter style knee length short dress. It’s very flattering for those who want that extra boost on the chest and not to mention refine one's body shape by tying a knot around the waist.

Above all, we are really obsessed by the way she used a larger sized sarong and tie dye pattern to demonstrate the sarong styles. It's all 'about that dynamism: the beauty of a great sarong is in the creativity it affords you'.

*Get the look here:

• Tie dye sarongs
• Plus size sarongs

6) 'Trendy Sarong Styles' by Brisa G. A. Silva 

Made in Brazil which got us day dreaming about the beaches of Rio de Janeiro and samba music of Carnival. We have to admit our Portugese vocabulary is as good as 'Oi' and 'Caipirinha', so we're using our body language to put our hands together for these awesome tutorials.

We are very impressed by this beautiful Brazilian woman who really knows how to style her sarong. We can learn a lot from her and so if you're looking for something unique and truly creative, you got to check her out on Instagram. Thank you and obrigada, @brisagasilva!

The possibilities are truly endless and it makes us very happy to see more and more creative videos being made by fellow sarong lovers from all around the world. If you're looking for more ideas, follow our weekly updates here:

15 Celebrities in Sarongs

If a celebrity wears a sarong, wouldn't you want to get with the trend and wear a sarong too?

We've observed that a handful of celebrities wrapped themselves with sarongs during their beach vacation or island holiday and it's cool to see the popularity of sarong fashion as a beach cover up. Here's a list of celebrities that we've spotted using sarongs as cover ups in their own stylish ways:

1) The Princess of Sarongs - Anne Hathaway

Perfect choice of sarong color to match her silky light skin!

2) All the single ladies! -  Beyonce Knowles

Beyonce's looking beautifully tropical with her orange theme sarong!

3) Men United in Sarong - David Beckham

Honestly boys, if Beckham can rock a sarong, shake those cliche macho phobia off and go ahead and try a sarong on today!

4) Catwoman in a Sarong - Halle Berry

Voted No.1 as People's "50 Most Beautiful People in the World, hitting up a storm by wearing her sarong as a skirt. Meow!

5) Hangover no more - Bradley Cooper

He's got the best remedy for a hangover, wrapping your head with a sarong definitely keeps the heat away!

6) I'll be there for you - Jennifer Aniston

We love Rachel from Friends and we super love Jennifer in a blue sarong!

7) A Fantastic Sin - Jessica Alba

Our beach body idol and her half sarong, sizzling beauty into the blue!

8) Pirate in Wonderland - Johnny Depp

We don't mind getting lost in the Caribbean or kidnapped by the pirates, especially when there's Johnny Depp in a sarong..

9) Keeping up in class - The Kardashians, Kourtney and Kloe Kardashian

Sarongs for all including the extravagant and famous sexy duo in their half sarongs!

10) Heartbreaker songstress - Mariah Carey

You are our hero, please serenade us one sweet day in your gorgeous solid color sarong.

11) Baywatch Sexy Lifesaver - Pamela Anderson

We might just pretend to drown just for her to save us - be it in her red swimsuit or in her yellow sarong. Find out how to wear a sarong a strapless dress!

12) Of sarongs and socialites - Paris Hilton

The not-so-simple-life famous star showing us how it's done with her sheer sarong paired with a cool beach hat!

13) Good girl gone bad in a sarong - Rihanna

A girl like this wearing a sarong as a toga dress, please don't stop the music!

14) Born to be our baby, always - Jon Bon Jovi

Put us on a bed of roses with the sight of this man in a sarong, please. It's my life, indeed. 

15) Californian babe - Mischa Barton

Addicted to this model-actress and her front tie half sarong as a cover up to her vibrant one piece swimsuit!

Have you recently spotted a celebrity wearing a sarong? Please leave us a comment and share!

(Disclaimer: All images are NOT owned by us and are sourced via internet)

5 Reasons to Own a White Beach Dress

Whether you're fashionable or not, we believe that every woman should have at least one white dress in their wardrobe. If you're the kind of person that like to express yourself through fashion, you would know that the color white symbolizes purity, innocence, wholeness and completion. 

If you want to know why a white dress should be a women's clothing essential, we've come up with 5 good reasons especially for you:

1) Accessorize away

Womens Lined Long Dress - Halter - Bamboo White

Be it minimalist style or for the gypsy soul and wanderlust hearts, a white dress is probably one of the most basic color for those of you that like to mix and match. It can be a fun clothing to use your imagination and express yourselves. Tip: try using beach jewelry to get that boho chic edge.

2) Wedding destination or bridesmaid dress

Admit it. We've all dreamed of that destination wedding and a simple white beach wedding dress matches the whole ‘let’s get married barefoot on the sand’ beach vibe. If you’re a bridesmaid, getting a cheap wedding dress could also be a smart investment for your best friend’s wedding.

3) Casual or formal white dress for a white themed party

Clean, elegant and classy white themed parties are pretty popular. If you got invited to one, you can never get the dress code wrong by having a formal or casual white dress lying around at home.

4) Halloween costume

Ran out of ideas for this year’s Halloween? Recycle and get creative by making your own props to match your short white dress or long to play characters like a corpse bride, Greek goddess, an angel or a nurse.

5) White color is cool

It’s a color tone that gives protection against heat, perfect for the hot summer days or sunny beach vacations because white reflects all colors and absorbs none. Tip: Choose a white dress made of rayon fabric material for that added cooling effect.

So what do you think? If you've got more ideas to add into our list, do leave us a comment, we'd love to hear your thoughts! :)

Inspired by The Sarong Girl: Dorothy Lamour

Island fashion is timeless. While most would think that sarong fashion is a modern trend in the Western world, you’d be surprised to find that the art of sarong wear has been around for decades and is a pop culture that never goes out of fashion.

We are so star struck by this beautiful American actress and singer from the 1930s. Her trademark image of the girl next door with exotic Polynesian features has contributed to her film career where she typically played most of her film roles clad in a sarong. “Lamour appeared in a sarong in 11 of those films, meaning that fully two-thirds of her roles during that ten-year span did not call for her to wrap herself in any manner of South Seas attire”.

The biggest impact of her Hollywood career would be her famous role as "Ulah" in classical film The Jungle Princess (1936). “She publicly burned a sarong, the skimpy South Seas garment with which she had been inseparably associated since her first starring role, in Paramount’s 1936 tropical romance The Jungle Princess (Wilhelm Thiele) (Head and Calistro, 67)”

Looking at these vintage photos, we find her to be very fitting and attractive in a sarong. It’s almost like that everlasting advertisement of all time to show what a sarong represents on a woman’s body. “There was something indelible about the connection between Lamour and her trademark garment: audiences seemed to remember her not for the variety of roles she played, but for those roles in which she appeared in a revealing sarong.”

This South Sea heroine is a reminder to our love and passion for Sarong fashion and as the saying goes, “You Can’t Go Wrong with a Sarong!”

So tell us, what do you think about this sarong beauty icon?

(Text source: http://sensesofcinema.com/2002/22/lamour and note: these images does not belong to us)