Trip #3 is the most recent one, a short getaway with dear friends who moved cities a few months ago. It was something we talked about for months & as the date drew closer, my excitement (& anxiety) mounted! I can’t remember the last time I visited in the rainy season. While I will be sharing some vlogs from the trip, now that a month has passed I thought it’d be a great time to share some memories through a little photo diary (all captured on my phone)

The Idyllic Vistadome Journey

There’s a lot of ways to get to Goa from Mumbai – road (car / van / bus), train, flight. I have definitely tried them all. While a flight is the quickest, the inaccessibility of the airport is the reason I usually chose the overnight bus. Tejas, who I was travelling with suggested travelling by the fancy vistadome coach on the Jan Shatabdi. It was one of the highlights of the trip, with panoramic views of the Konkan (which is so lush at this time of the year!)

I think I packed light for the first time in my life – a simple, streamlined wardrobe that was both location & weather appropriate. I’m wearing a crop top, Fjallraven kanken sling as well as nylon cargo / trackpant hybrid (that have lots of pockets & repel water, double whammy!) I wore Crocs & didn’t carry any spares because they were just the only thing I needed. Accessories were super simple- gold earrings, a couple of my favorite rings & my treasured HMT watch (I should’ve skipped the watch, considering the weather).

Beach Day

Mom hooked us up with amazing rooms at our favorite resort in Benaulim, a village that sorta feels like home. It was nice to take Rydell & Tejas around, to show them my favorite spots & introduce them to the local vendors for kadak chai & freshly made steak pav. We intentionally abstained from planning too much & just decided to take each day as it comes. One of our first major outings was an afternoon at the beach, which is luckily just walking distance away. We settled in at one of the beach shacks & since I was feeling adventurous, I thought it’d be fun to try urrak, a traditional Goan liquor distilled from cashew fruit.

The urrak (with limca) was so refreshing, we had to get a second round! Afterwards, we took a nice little walk on the seashore as the sun set.

Furry Friends

It was my second time at the same resort in just a few months (I was there with mom in the summer) so I had befriended the local cats & dog, & I was delighted to see them remember me so we could pick up where we left off!

The cats are so wonderful (they’re both female, with completely divergent personalities) & the dog is large, brown & extremely friendly! I made regular detours to feed the cats throughout the day. The dog roams where she wants & she would find us outside our rooms or on our walks.

A day trip to the city

On our last full day in Goa, we hired scooters & took a day trip to Margao, the nearest city. It’s customary for non resident Goans to visit the local spots & bring our favorite foods back home with us.

We started the day by heading to the choris stall (local Goan sausages – they’re to die for), dropped by Zantye’s for some cashew nuts & decided to lunch at the iconic Longuinos.

I had taken slightly ill at this time so I decided it’d be a good idea to have a shot of cashew feni (very potent local liquor) which has long been considered a home remedy for cold & cough. Drinking it feels like you’ve set your oesophagus on fire momentarily. I’m not sure if it helped with the cough but it did succeed in get me day drunk, I’m quite the lightweight.

Five days passed by in the blink of an eye, but I’m reviling the trip through the photos & video! All of these were taken on my Pixel 6a. I hope this inspires you to try something different on your next getaway. x

The post Monsoon trip to Goa 🌧️ | photo diary appeared first on Magali Vaz | Fashion, Lifestyle & Travel Blog.

The video description has all the outfit details, but I thought I’d break it down further here on the blog – tell you more about each look, some of the items featured, where we shot them & where I wore them (just as I did with the Fort Cochin Lookbook).

Look One

Koovs longline bomber jacket // Koovs K Active mesh panelled tshirt // Topshop moto denim skirt // Ray-Ban round – red mirror gradient sunglasses // Daniel Wellington Classy Sheffield Lady watch // Fjallraven Totepack no 1 // Vans x Disney Toy Story collection classic slip on sneakers

Makeup |   Lakmé Matte Mousse Lip and Cheek in Crimson Silk

Filmed near the King Rama VI memorial outside Lumpini Park

Worn to the Thai Tourism Festival at Lumpini Park & Yaowarat Road (Chinatown)

This is what I wore for our first proper ‘out & about’ day in Bangkok. 28th of January was the start of the Chinese / Lunar New Year festivities. Since India doesn’t have a sizeable Chinese Population or Chinatown anywhere (except for Kolkata, & I haven’t been there) I was really excited to experience what the festival would be like, & of course I had to get in the spirit by wearing a lot of red! Also débuted my new Ray-Ban round sunnies, I’m obsessed with this shape, so of course I had to buy one in my favorite colour.

We started our day dropping by the Thailand Tourism Festival. I had heard about the festival but it didn’t really interest us at first, but May (the wonderful lady that runs Cooper Bangkok, the hostel we stayed at) strongly recommended it, so we decided to go. It was certainly nice to see the really large selection of food & wares from around the different regions of Thailand. Although it soon became apparent that it was a very hot day & wearing a heavy bomber jacket wasn’t the smartest move.

After that we proceeded directly to Yaowarat, Bangkok’s Chinatown. Said to be the largest chinatown in the world, it was teeming with people hawking food & curios, other tourists like us & Chinese folk buying gold. We ventured off the road & even chanced upon the Leng Buai ai Shrine (considered to be the oldest Chinese shrine in Bangkok!) All in all a very superlative day, the only major disappointment for me is that I was too tired to wait till the sun properly set so I could see all the neon signs in Chinatown light up!

I vlogged that day!

It’s definitely one of my favorites from the trip & I hope you enjoy it.

Look Two

Zaful rainbow patch cropped sweatshirt // Zaful accordion pleat velvet skirt // Cath Kidston x Disney Mickey Mouse tote bag // Casio vintage style digital watch // Vans x Disney Toy Story collection classic slip on sneakers

Makeup |   Lakmé Matte Mousse Lip and Cheek in Crimson Silk

Filmed at the roof garden of Cooper Bangkok hostel

Worn to the Mall / Moomin Café

For me, this look is comfort dressing at it’s best. I am enjoying jumping on the velvet trend bandwagon, there’s just something very luxurious about it. This piece from Zaful is fabulous. The weight, the fall, the colour & also the subtle sheen-y finish. I love the shine because it’s sort of metallic but still daytime appropriate, you know?

I paired it with a cropped sweatshirt that is just so easy to wear & some fun Disney themed accessories, because why not? 

I wore this to the Moomin café, you can see glimpses of it in the video. It was so good, we went twice – I’ll be doing a separate post sharing my experience there.

For now, can we just take a moment to appreciate Strawberry Fanta? Indian carbonated drink flavours seem so boring now.

Look Three

Zaful owl print swimsuit (worn as bodysuit) // Topshop mom jeans // Ray-Ban round silver mirrored sunglasses // Leo Mazzoti bracelet (nautical knot) // Wanderer bracelet // Fjallraven Totepack no 1 // Native shoes

Makeup |   Lakmé Matte Mousse Lip and Cheek in Blush Velvet

Filmed outside the entrance of Cooper Bangkok hostel

Worn to Chatuchak Weekend Market

I think that wearing a bodysuit (or in this case, a swimsuit) is the ultimate way to look bomb with minimal effort.  The bird motif on the suit is what attracted me to it. It has a V-Neck & a verrrrry deep back. Wearing this much blue always puts me in a good mood.

I first visited Chatuchak Market (or JJ Market) 7 years ago, on my first trip to Bangkok & I’ve been obsessed with going back ever since. I wanted to go on my short solo visit last year, but unfortunately I had a very small window of a few hours and it started pouring on the way, so I thought it would be wise to not go to an outdoor, open market on such a rainy day & headed to the mall instead.

Maybe thinking of this market the way I did was only setting myself up for disappointment, but it was a pleasant day nonetheless. It was devilishly hot, but then we had lots of iced drinks & this delicious coconut ice cream too!

I also vlogged at Chatuchak market…

Because how could I not, really? It was a little too noisy There’s even footage of my first ever visit to a Cat Café in the very same vlog, so check it out, will you?

Look Four

Zara trafaluc tshirt dress // Ray-Ban round – red mirror gradient // Fjallraven Totepack no 1 // Wanderer bracelets // Vans x Disney Toy Story collection classic slip on sneakers

Makeup |   NYX Liquid Suede in Loud Mouth

Filmed at the Surasak BTS Station

Worn for another visit to the mall

Anti fit clothing forms such an integral part of my wardrobe & when I saw this Zara tshirt dress, it was love at first sight! It was the most hardworking dress in my luggage too. The perfect dress to just chill in, you can dress it up & down according to your preference. I accessorised with my new favorite sunglasses & a dark blue lip & this was the perfect look to just pop into the mall for some Korean food.

Look Five

Zaful Rosé all Day swimsuit (worn as bodysuit) // Vero Moda patch denim shirt // Marks and Spencer relaxed denim shorts // Liten earrings // Jeep Kongdechakul ceramic eye brooch // Lavie bag (also here) // Casio vintage style digital watch // Vans laser cut leather slip ons

Makeup |   Lakmé Matte Mousse Lip and Cheek in Blush Velvet

Filmed on Silom Road

Worn to Ratchada Train Market (rod fai 2 night market)

Another super easy, laidback look featuring a swimsuit. This suit actually says Rosé All Day but I’d much rather just prefer a cool beer. I wore this to Ratchada Train Market, this market wasn’t even on our agenda but May (from Cooper, our hostel) highly recommend it, so we had to check it out. It turned out to be one of the absolute highlights of our trip. I did vlog that day too, it’ll be up on my YouTube channel soon!

Look Six

Zaful velvet cami dress with rose appliqués // Daniel Wellington Classy Sheffield Lady watch // Steve Madden darcie sandals – red suede (also here)

Makeup |   Lakmé Matte Mousse Lip and Cheek in Crimson Silk

Filmed in the lobby of Cooper Bangkok hostel

Worn to… nowhere. I changed because this seemed too fancy for a regular dinner

The final look is perfect for evenings, especially a party or dinner date. I don’t usually wear fitted or bodycon dress but this one was just perfect from the first time I tried it on. The black velvet feels absolutely lovely & the rosé applique takes things to the next level. It’s so easy to accessorize too, I just went with a black wrist watch, a red lip & red shoes.

We shot this in the beautiful Cooper Bangkok hostel lobby which is just so chic. But I ended up changing before going out to dinner because it was just ‘too fancy’. Maybe I should have kept it on, nothing wrong with being overdressed once in a while.

I discussed in my previous travel lookbook blog post how I always try to reflect the place I’m travelling to in my wardrobe choices while there. One of the best things about Bangkok is how liberal & chilled out the place is. Coming from a country like India, it just so refreshing to be able to wear whatever I want without being leered at or harassed, even if I’m alone.

This post wouldn’t be complete without giving a big shout out to mom, who patiently helped me photograph / film all these looks & just generally put up with me on vacation.

Bangkok will always have my heart & I can’t wait to go back really soon!  x

The post What I Wore in Bangkok | A Lookbook 🚕 appeared first on Magali Vaz | Fashion, Lifestyle & Travel Blog.

Travel Lookbooks are a blend of two of my very favorite things & I love doing them whenever we’re travelling. I’m a very slow traveller & on personal trips planned with my mom / parents, we prefer to spend more time in just one place, exploring on our own. I also really love walking & prefer booking accommodation in central areas, so I have a lot of interesting areas in walking distance.

While you can watch the whole lookbook above, I thought I’d share a breakdown of the five looks below. That includes outfit details as well as where I shot & wore them.

Look One

Max Fashion velvet babydoll dress // Hidesign sunglasses // Leo Mazzotti braided nautical bracelet // Steve Madden sandals

Makeup |   Lakmé Absolut Shine Line – Sparkling Olive  |   NYX Liquid Suede – Soft Spoken

Filmed at Maritime Hostel (we stayed here for the first week)

Worn for the first day of exploring around the Chinese Fishing Nets + lunch at Cochin Club

I wore this look on our first proper day in Fort Cochin. We had seen the nets from afar & been to Cochin Club for dinner, but this is the first time we were seeing the coast in the daytime. Velvet is a huge trend this season & this babydoll marks my first ever velvet piece of clothing. It was a serious throwback moment for me because the last time velvet was on trend I was probably… eight? Yep I have distinct memories of three of my older friends turning up at one of my birthday parties all wearing new dark coloured velvet dresses! I probably still have those photos somewhere.

I liked that the velvet isn’t too shiny on this dress so it’s a nice piece to get if you’re on the fence about the trend! I also liked the autumnal colour scheme & the vintage tapestry print. Overall a very easy dress that I just paired with subtle accessories in the same colour palette, since the print is already kinda busy.

Look Two

StalkBuyLove top // Topshop black mom jeans //  The Bombay Store Kashmir suede bag // Daniel Wellington Classy Sheffield Lady watch // Lavie flatform sandals

Makeup |   Lakmé Matte Mousse Lip and Cheek in Fuschia Suede

Filmed at a cute wall on TM Muhammad Road, outside the Kochi Biennale Foundation

Worn for a very long day of exploring the area on foot

I put this look together for a day of exploring new areas. We were headed to the museum that day but we took a super long route & ended up reaching just before their lunch break. We also dropped into a bracnh of my school & got lost more than once. It was a very exhausting but satisfying day!

Look Three

bhane. dress // KOOVS studded tote // Ray-Ban round (silver reflector) sunglasses // BCBGeneration sandals

Makeup |   Lakmé Matte Mousse Lip and Cheek in Blush Velvet

Filmed at Burgar street

Worn for a laidback day of visiting cafés & petting cats

I bought this bhane. dress quite early in the year, even took it with me on earlier trips but I never wore it out. It’s like I was saving it for the right occasion. I wore this on the day we finally visited Kashi Art Café – there was no better day to début it. Princess Street & Burgar Street (the latter being the road Kashi Art Café was on) were without a doubt my two favorite streets in Fort Cochin – they felt like they were from another place, in another time. Also, there were so many semi feral cats! They weren’t too up for being petted but they did accept little snacks from us.

Look Four

KOOVS sequinned shirt //  Topshop mom jeans // KOOVS studded tote // Ray-Ban round (silver reflector) sunglasses // Daniel Wellington Classy Sheffield Lady watch // Steve Madden sandals

Makeup |   NYX Lip Suede in Kitten Heels

Filmed on the cobblestone sidewalk by St Francis Church

Worn for some exploring & lunch at Cochin Club (again)

I wore this look for yet another very relaxed day. The oversized silhouette, sequins & raw hem really attracted me to this shirt. And what can I say about mom jeans, other than the fact that I haven’t worn my skinny jeans all year? That’s one fashion statement I’ll happily carry over to 2017 as well.

Look Five

StalkBuyLove errand dress // Dhora earrings // Fjallraven Totepack no 1 – red // Leo Mazzotti rope nautical bracelet // Lavie flatform sandals

Makeup |   NYX Lip Suede in Vintage

Filmed at Bishop’s House / Indo-Portuguese museum garden.

Worn for our first visit to Mattancherry

Fort Cochin has been occupied by many different colonial powers over the years. While there were a lot of crappy downsides to all that imperialism, one of the tiny positives are the beautiful architecture in many of the churches & other buildings, built by the Dutch & Portuguese. This was the most vintage inspired of the five looks, shot at the most beautiful location. I wore this during our first visit to Mattancherry – it’s technically not Fort Cochin, but adjacent. I loved the mix of cultures there & this outfit was perfect for visiting many places of worship there, such as the Jain temple & Paradesi synagogue.

When I’m visiting a new place, I try to carry clothes & accessories that match with the vibe of the place. I like to look well put together but don’t like to stand out too much or attract unwanted attention. I think shorter clothes like my first look are totally fine if you are roaming near the beach or Chinese Fishing Nets. For venturing more inwards towards Mattancherry, it’s best to cover up a bit more (especially if you plan to visit the synagogue, museums etc.)

Winter in a tropical destination is still pretty hot & I think all of these looks were perfectly suited to the weather. If I could change something, I probably would’ve carried at least one pair of sneakers – all I carried were (flat) sandals but it would’ve been nice to have better support & cushioning on days we walked 5-6 kms! Unseasonal rains aren’t uncommon, so carrying an umbrella would be wise. We were lucky that our hostel had one we could borrow.

Mom & I have shot travel lookbooks previously- we did one for Pondicherry, Ooty & a dress lookbook in Goa. I want to say a very big thank you to mom who patiently filmed this for me on our trip. This is definitely my favorite video that I’ve ever done. I cant wait to go on more trips & document more personal style ♥

I hope you enjoyed the video, do tell me which look was your favorite in the comments! x

The post What I Wore in Fort Cochin | A Lookbook appeared first on Magali Vaz | Fashion, Lifestyle & Travel Blog.