how to tie a sarong or pareo
I would be quite happy to be barefoot and in my bathing suit on all summer, as long as I was near the water. Lucky me, we moved into a house with a swimming pool! Meet my new favorite past time (and friend, Rosco the lobster)!
This is why dressing for July and August can be ridiculously challenging. Hopefully many of you are taking a well deserved vacation soon and if so, I thought I would share one of my easy summer looks ~ the sarong.
Last week, I was meeting a client over the river to shop for her upcoming interview. I wanted to look polished and it was a fairly warm day. I took a quick glance of my closet and saw one of my favorite textiles that I brought home from my honeymoon in Bali.
Traveling to exotic locations is not a regular occurrence for me but wherever I travel, I usually find an excuse to shop for something that will remind me of the experience. Indonesia has some of the most incredible examples of batik in the world. While Mark and I were there, we visited some of the artisan communities and toured the studios where they create these stunning textiles. They are available to purchase at every studio and I came home with three that I wear often. The piece I am wearing above is silk and I had always thought I would have a dress or pants made from it but I never had the courage to cut this amazing one of a kind piece of art…so I wear it as a sarong all year round.
The Batik method has been in use for at least 2000 years. In Indonesia batiking was at one time associated with the affluent women within society and aristocracy. Today they are worn by the general population as everyday clothing. The humid climate makes it an easy choice for workers in rice paddies to navigate the fields and they are very easy to move in being both light and comfortable. Batiking is a very traditional form of hand printing by skilled artisans, who intricately decorate natural fabrics with the most beautiful and colourful dyes. Many of these artisans have passed their skills and designs down through generations and over hundreds of years. Each sarong is created individually by hand, taking sometimes several days to produce, using either a copper batik “stamp” or a free hand form of canting. Canting involves using a small pan of hot wax, and with a handheld pipe the wax is allowed to fall onto the fabric to create an intricate design. The fabric will be waxed, dyed, then the wax removed ready for the next colour and pattern, and finally washed and dried for the process of adding more colours and patterns.
(Source.)
Have you ever wondered how some women can pull off the most amazing dress with just one piece of cloth? There are coconut or Mother of Pearl buckles that can be purchased either over the web or in resort areas where pareos and sarongs are prevalent. Here’s your path to effortless dressing around the poolside or at the beach!
This will surely make packing a lot easier once you’ve mastered a few of these creations and remember what you’re mother told you…practice makes perfect! Here is a quick tutorial on how to wear your sarong 5 ways this summer when you’re at the beach or pool. And by the way, #4 is the way the Indonesians showed me and is one of my favorite summer looks.
