Top 10 Summer Beach Essentials you shouldn't be leaving your house without!

With Summer fully on our doorstep here in Cape Town, I imagine you and your family/ friend/ boyfriend/ cat are planning a trip to the beach, and why wouldn't you? Cape Town boasts some of the best beaches in the world. 

If your beach trips are spontaneous, the way mine always is, then you could be somewhat boggled about what to take along. Here are my top 10 Summer beaching essentials: 

1. Wide Brimmed Hat 

Yes, I never leave home without one, even if it's just going to lie in the car, at least I know I have it there (laughs). It is like having a pair of flats in the boot of your car when you running in heels all day. Another reason why I particularly like the wide brimmed hat is because it protects not only ones face but your shoulders as well where the sun hits first. 

2. Bathing Costume for your figure

Your bathing costume changes over time. It is true, what suited your body type last year, won't exactly this year. I think we may have all gone through this phase- that is- not finding the suitable bathing costume for ones figure or wearing the same one year in and year out. It's worth the time going out there and selecting the perfect costume to accentuate and flatter your figure. Mine use to be two piece bikini (way back when) but I came to realize that I prefer a fuller costume with a cool detailing of some sort. 

3. Hair Care 

Oh, yes, I can't stress how important it is for me (and you) to take care of your hair this summer especially when you find yourself on the beach and you're in and out of the water. The product you select is highly dependent on the type of hair you have. I have thick wavy hair so I would need something that is a detangler and nourishing. For finer hair, perhaps something to strengthen your locks as salt water on your hair can drain it and may cause breakage. 

4. That Perfect Summer beach dress

Perhaps let me just make something clear, do not wear jeans to the beach, its tight and can be uncomfortable especially if its like 30 degrees plus! Instead opt for something light weight, medium length and possibly a light color as you don't want to look like a walking corpse on the beach. 

5. Flip Flops (always)

As above, let me make another point very clear, don't wear sandals or sneakers to the beach. If you skeptical about this statement; ever try walking on the beach with sandals and have the sand go in your shoe, forcing you to stop and remove it all together? Yep! Now that's what I'm talking about. Stick to your flops, this summer its effortless and stylish. 

6. Towel 

Let me just stress there's a difference between a towel that you use in your bathroom and one for the beach. Please invest in one. They are not expensive and comes in an array of different colors! 

7. Water

Great to keep you hydrated, if you know that you heading to the beach the following day, don't forget to freeze some water. Trust me, you'll be grateful the next day! 

8. Fruit

Nothing better than Summer fruit on the beach. Place in the fridge the night before and you're good to go. 

9. Sunscreen 

You've heard it before! Carry your SPF with you everywhere! 

10. Beach Bag 

Where are you storing everything in? Yup. A perfect sized beach bag is great to store all your goodies in. 

I'd like to know what are some of your beach essentials. Let me know in the comments section below. Oh, and all product details are below after the jump :) 

Love, 

Iptishaam 

KNITTED

Jersey & Scarf // China Town, Shirt,Jeans, necklace // Mr P, Boots// Foschini

Bag //Luella and Watch // Guess

 

Hi There!

I am sure that you're enjoying the winter chills as much as I am. I mean, it gives everyone a chance to dress up. Although I know some wouldn't agree that winter is that going out / dressing up season.  Trends like the blanket cape , aztec making a come back, gorg cut out boots and really dark berry lips, who WOULDN'T look for an opportunity to dress up and go out to flaunt the amazing trends which are out there.

Speaking of trends, one of the coziest trends out there are knits. I love them so much (see Instagram)  that I purchased them in each color from China Town. The outfit that I am wearing here is a fairly cost effective outfit where the most expensive thing I'm wearing are my boots and bag: what I always say is never compromise on the price of your shoes as they take you from really cold to really wet weather and for me it's important that ones shoes can stand the elements that we currently experiencing in Cape Town .

I hardly wear my turban any other way besides 'the back with a large bun look' but last week and Sunday I felt I needed a change. So there I was on a Sunday morning, on Youtube, looking up "How to style a Turban" and for sure the turban lady herself, Dina Torkia, demonstrated how to style this turban. I love this style because it's not difficult to knot and it's not something that I need to worry about like whether it'll slip off the whole time (you know how annoying that could be right?) .

The month of June you can expect me to have a cool (excuse the pun) AWwinter15 competition running on my blog & Facebook Page so you ladies need to enter and continue spreading the word about this blog! You are awesome. And also I am hoping to spread my creative wings a little by teaming up with one of SA's style/creative companies. I am really excited about such a venture as sometimes teaching can make me feel a little 'boxed-in'.

Thank you to Kauthar for taking these really fun shots and to Rasheeqoh from Capturing Concepts Photography for Editing! Both of you are a complete life saver! Thank you boo!

What do you think about this look?

Happy Youth Day!

PS: Check out the rest of this look after the jump.

Iptishaam

  

 

 

 

TRENDS | THE OVER-SIZED COAT

Hi there! I hope you're having  a great week thus far, I am on a well-deserved school holiday. So yay me!

Do you feel that? Yes, that's Summer saying goodbye and Autumn knocking on our doors. It's time to replace your open toe sandals with laced-up brogues and your thin throw overs with something a little bit thicker for those days when you find yourself still out after four. 

Today's post is something that I feel is trending at the moment and that's THE OVER-SIZED COAT. A few weekends ago I attended the Bokehh Fashion Film Festival and couldn't help but notice that what was trending on the red carpet were coats worn by the biggest names in the fashion biz. The way it was worn wasn't your typical fitted, strapped on Robocop look but rather chic and elegantly just thrown on over the shoulders. Gone are the days when coats were your boring and mundane shades of grays, browns and blacks and HELLO to all the shades of the Rainbow. 

So easily do we allow the weather to control what we wear but one thing we should remember is never to let the weather affect your sense of style and mood as it is so easy to drown in a whirlwind of browns and grays. Remember a true fashionista always keeps it classy! 

After the break I've added some amazing style inspiration on how to wear coats for Autumn. 

PS. Myself and Nur will be leaving tomorrow for the West Coast for a well-deserved break so catch me on Instagram to keep up with me!

Thank you for reading today! 

Love 

Iptishaam 

A Prelude

Skirt, Top, Moustache Ring, Sunnies Mr Price // Bag YDE // Shoes DC // Lips Think Pink By Wet n Wild // Make a wish necklace by The Ramp online store 

Hi everyone! finally back at work and back to blogging! Oh, and a Happy New Year to you and your loved ones. 

The year 2014 has honestly been the toughest and often the most academically exhausting year as well as an emotional roller coaster. 2014 has seen me graduate and become a qualified high school teacher and pursue my honours in Educational Psychology. There were times when I used to give up internally and just end up crying because studying and working at the same time used to be really really difficult. When I look back, it is all worth it. 

On the flip side, 2014 couldn't have ended on a more beautiful note: I tied the knot with someone who makes me extraordinary happy by just being in the same room as me. (wink!) 

Now 2015 is here, and those are memories that I shall treasure but I have this huge urge to want to expand. So this look post is a prelude (hence the title) to that urge.  So from here on you can expect things to be a little more- for a lack of a better term- 'professional looking'. 

  In case you haven't noticed: this page looks slightly different doesn't it? 

YUP! that's me starting fresh. 

In the year 2015 I hope to grow as a unique individual, work harder at building a visually appealing blog as well a blog with great content. I hope to make time to look after myself (changed my hair a little) and my body and be accountable for the way it looks at the end of the day. I also aim to be the best that I can be to my husband as well as my family. On a business note, I recently sold beautiful kimonos on the side, this was just to spread my creative juices and they turned out to be a KILLER success (algamdulielah)! 
It is for this reason that I am looking in the direction of selling them again, perhaps in different styles, prints and textures so that it can appeal to everyone. 

This look was taken by the Amazing couple behind Capturing Concepts Photography. I love working with photographers especially Rasheeqoh and Abdul-Wahab. While Rasheeqoh was  taming my hair from the wind, Abdul was busy rolling on the grass depicting how I should lie to get 'the perfect pic'. Amazingly creative and super friendly, this is definitely a couple you would enjoy working with. You can Like them on Facebook and Follow them on Instagram .  

What would you like to see more of on the blog? 

Love, 

Iptishaam 

LOOK POST | The Midi-Skirt

Skirt, shoes MrP // Embellished top, Jet // bag, YDE// watch, Guess

When I popped into MrP the other day with absolutely no intention of buying anything, I knew that I was fooling myself. So seeing the RED sticker (you know what I'm talking about?) On one of my LUST haves being on SALE, I knew it was fate telling me to buy it (laughs). 

There's really something about midi skirts that makes me feel pretty. It's definitely the cut of the midi that gives a breath of elegance to any woman and those with any body shape.  I love that the length is just below the knee because there's something about showing your knees at formal events which are just wrong! (my opinion). 

This was perfect for the wedding I attended last week Saturday. The beautiful reception was held at Meerdam Plaas close to Kraaifontein. A little bit of a mission to find, we actually ended up at another wedding. (Laughs). 

On a personal note, it's two weeks until my big day. I am very excited to start this new journey with my soon to be husband and new family. 

Oh, in my previous post I said that this would be my last as a single woman, I guess THIS is my last... (or maybe I shouldn't speak too soon?)

Thank you for reading today! 

Love,  

Iptishaam

LOOK POST | GREY MAXI

Photo Credit: Nur

This is probably one of the last look posts that I'm putting out there as a "SINGLE" Woman! 

This look I wore for an afternoon lunch with Nur. I wanted the pics to be taken before we ate cause my make-up was still fresh and i didn't want any 'melting moments' cause yesterday's heat was kinda intense. We then went to our local park and snapped a few shots while people strolled through the park. Is it only me? Or does that make you feel a little awkward? ! 

I love maxi dresses, especially one as fitted as this one. I also love crop tops. But would not dare to wear it just as is. Therefore, I thought that these two seemingly different pieces could help oneanother out (I love this high slit by the way!)

I hope you have an amazing week and happy Monday!

Love, 

Iptishaam

LOOK POST | THE PLEATED SKIRT

Hey Everyone, just thought I would share this look post with you. Truthfully, I was a little skeptical to be putting up this post. One: because its similar to my Modestly cropped post, well it is similar because it was taken on the SAME day and the only thing that changed was the bottoms, shoes and the way the shirt is styled. Secondly, because I got unnecessary heat on Facebook about how that post is NOT Hijaab. It wasn't meant to be. Like I didn't wake up that morning and decided to flaunt Hijaab.

I'm moody. 

Damn. 

Like can you sense the moody undertone in my writing? 

I'm currently going through a crazy time with a LOT of things. I don't want to bore you with the deets but I am hoping that the storm passes SOON.  

I know that tomorrow I will regret this, lol. Initially, I wanted to post something fun like 'HOW TO WEAR A PLEATED SKIRT', but that would be fake cos I wouldn't be passionate about it. Instead, I'm honest enough to admit that I am moody. (Laughs) Perhaps moody is not even the right word to use.

On a lighter note, I hope that you are enjoying the month of Ramadaan & please don't forget to PRAY for the people of Gaza and all people going through hardships around the world Insha-Allah. May the almighty accept all our dua's / prayers, Ameen. 

Love, 

Iptishaam  

LOOK POST | FLORALS

  Hello Everyone!

 I trust that you had an awesome weekend/week/month so far. I’m really not going to bore you with all my complaints that I have about how hectic my life is at the moment, (LAUGHS). That is actually reserved for a RANT post. 

This look was taken a few weeks back by my amazing photographer- Kiki. Yeah? When last have you heard about her? (lol). She has been as busy as I am so in the meantime Nur takes my pics. Kiki is not my official photographer. I mean, some bloggers has specific photographers out there who are hired and paid to take their pictures for them. To me, that seems more like you are trying to build a brand (which isn’t at all a bad thing) it’s just that by doing this you might be  losing the real essence of what blogging means. 

I don’t know about you, but I tend to take my camera along everywhere, not with the intention that ‘this is blog-worthy’ but when the pictures are eventually taken in really amazing parts of Cape Town, that to me makes the whole idea of being a blogger great.

It is finding that secret spots that makes blogging great, it is the unplanned look-posts, the unedited laughter that makes blogging all worth it for me.

Huh? When did this become THAT kind of post? (Laughs) You see how unplanned and untamed things are? From this might come a meaningful post. (Note: that I am not saying that what I just said is at all meaningful). Hahhaha.

Do me a favor and check out this look post?

Love

Iptishaam

LOOK POST | DENIM,HEELS & that HAT

           Hi Everyone! Happy Holiday! I trust you had a great day.

This is going to be a quickie as I've got an assignment to type up and quite frankly I'm stealing some time over here to share my outfit that I wore today on a little date that I went on with my special someone. 

I love this distressed denim shirt, beige jeggings, grey pointed heels and not forgetting the hat. I adore the hat from Mr price clothing 'cos I feel like it suits my face pretty well. I love how relaxed and chilled this look is. Not too much effort on my side, the hat and shirt shows drama while the neutral basics tones it down a little bit. 

This has become like Murphey's law in fashion language:  Two loud pieces and two neutral pieces to take you from day to night = Perfect outfit <3 

What are some of your laws/rules for dressing ? 

Thank you for reading today <3

xoxo

Iptishaam  

TRENDS | THE MONOWEDGE

I remember unpacking these babies a few months back in store when they had first arrived . I have to admit that working in retail gives me a good idea of what's 'in' for this season  and what will soon 'fade' in a ball of fashion cyberspace later.

Like remember that Neon polka dot jeans that you thought was so COOL last summer?

YAP!! 

The first time I encountered the Monowedge it reminded me of that one item in your wardrobe that you wore once and regret you bought it a few months later down the line when the 14 day return policy has expired. Yes, I know, you could kick yourself in the face, hard. 

It might sound like I am on a rant here, but the Monowedge kind of remind me of people who cannot walk in heels (SORRY) or who finds it difficult.Not to worry, the Gods of fashion has created something that is not too high and not too low to walk in. Yeah sure, it is comfortable and you can run for the bus while its still on your feet without tripping, but my point is, is it here to stay?

I love trends and I think it is a fun way to play around and let your inner creative flourish, but then again I also want something that is geared up and here to stay. Could the same thing be said for Monowedge?

Hmm, do I see this trend as the new year begins? Yeah sure, for a few months. Then it will fade and you will kick yourself (again). 

The point I am trying to make is, when you purchase something, you need to ask yourself, will I and can I wear this again?  Regardless of trends and what's 'in' at the moment, will you be able and find ways to incorporate something like the Monowedge into your outfit again a few months down the line when it is no longer being unpacked by critical shop assistants (like me) ? 

HAVE A GOOD WEEK FURTHER

 LOVE 

XOXO

Ipti

photo credit: Mr Price online

LOOK POST | THE BOHEMIAN

Hello everyone! 

Besides having an undying love for heels and dressing up whenever I can, I also love dressing casually/bohemian. 

My fave bohemian must-haves are: 

1. A sun hat

2. A boho inspired dress

3.Comfortable pumps

4. Bangles , feathered earings, Rings

5. Loose hippy printed pants 

6. A pretty cardigan with an aztec printed detail

7. Wild hair , curly, wavy whatever

8. Minimal make up, has to be nice and clean and fresh looking 

9. Body - wrap bag 

10. A free spirited attitude

NOTE : 

The bohemian look does not mean that you do not have to shower in the morning, it's simply about taking simple items in your wardrobe and giving it a more free-spirited vibe to it by adding pretty prints and subtle or semi-vibrant colors. 

Keep it classy, always. 

What are some of your bohemian must-haves? 

Love 

   Iptishaam