Happy Eid al Fitr: A Strategy to Re-style an Old Shirt

Selamat Idul Fitri. Happy Eid Mubarak to all my Moslem brothers and sisters who just celebrated the end of Ramadhan recently.

In Indonesia, Idul Fitri (Eid Mubarak) is celebrated festively. It is not only the occasion to freshen up our taste buds of Indonesians traditional culinary after a month of fasting, but also the event to showcase the most elegant and handsome apparels and traditional clothes. Batik, Ikat, Songket, Karawang, are only few of these treasured Indonesian traditional clothes.

Idul Fitri (Eid Mubarak), Christmas, Easter, Chinese New Year, Hannukah, Vesak, Kuningan, Birthdays, Weddings are only few of those special days which require the host as well as the attendees to look their best. However, new clothes require funding.

Meanwhile, let’s face it, not all of us are endowed with the massive amounts of Paris Hilton’s and Nicole Richie’s bank accounts as well as their enviable designers closets. Well, I for one am not –and proudly to admit so-. Well, should one then dress shabbily due to this type of deficiency? Certainly not!

In this case, one should be creative in recycling or at the very least restyling our outfits so that one’s wardrobe collection may have a double, if not a million lives ahead.

The first step of restyling is to ensure that we purchase classy fashion pieces with classic cut and colour that can be worn agelessly. Despite of the bombardment of today’s fashion advertisement which make us all craving with something directly from the catwalk of Paris, London, Milan and New York, there are some classy pieces of ensemble which kept on produced to meet the customers’s demands. One of which is the all time favourite linen shirt.

Linen shirt is always popular during summer. In South of France, almost each fashionable man and woman would own and display one in each colour of the rainbow during the hot summer days and nights. Either walking their pugs in Promenade des Anglais in Nice or visiting the Princely Palace in Monte Carlo, one is rarely seen without the crisp linen shirt.

In 2010, when I lived in Geneve, I decided to purchase an ivory colored Paul and Joe’s (http://www.paulandjoe.com/int_en/) linen shirt which is classy yet less ordinary then the others. This shirt has no collar and it is handsomely decorated with an elegant lace embroidery on the center front part.

When I first tried the shirt on inside the changing room of Bon Genie in Geneve, I saw it as an elegant and luxe version a la Francaise of kemeja koko (In Indonesia, kemeja koko refers to a collarless or tiny Chinese collared shirt for Moslem men to do their prayers which have now been worn also to attend a semi formal and formal function). 

From the first time I owned the shirt, I know that it is a keeper which I will cherish to wear for years and hopefully decades to come. In fact, my linen shirt has more than just a double life, it possess a million lives. I have restyled the shirt continuously for the past five years.

Honestly, I have been strutting this shirt during those hot and sweaty European Summer days and nights from Cote d’Azur to Isola di Capri, from cruising inside the elegant Bateaux in Lac Leman to having an elegant dinner in Interlaken. I surely made sure that it did not stop there.

Bearing in mind the distinguished similarity of my shirt with a more traditional kemeja koko, I have restyled it for attending the lovely celebration of 2015 Eid Mubarak in the Indonesian Consul General’s residence in Sydney yesterday.

My strategy to restyle the shirt is to wear it with a navy blue colored skinny chino to match the blueish embroidery on the ivory colored shirt. Fashionista, remember not to wear a black colored original cut trousers with your ivory colored linen shirt as it is gets too serious, formal and ordinary for Eid Mubarak’s celebration which is supposed to be less formal yet elegant at the same time.

The second and most important step to restyle one’s old wardrobe is to strikingly match the outfit with either monochrome or vibrant colored piece of shawl or scarf. This works every time for me. The minute the shawl drapes elegantly on the shirt, all the attention goes to the shawl. So fashionista make sure you choose a shawl or scarf which is nicely made that suits your character. Be sure to choose a pattern and colour that can represent your character. After all, fashion is a way to express oneself, most particularly one’s ideas.

Naturally, to add a fashionable twist, I put on my Mom’s recent acquisition –yes, in case you haven’t been reading my blog, my Mom is a truly fashionable lady- when she visited me a few months ago which I have been borrowing ever since. It is a black and white colored Batik cotton oh-so-light-it-is-barely-there shawl which is designed by the famous Japanese-born Australian designer, Akira Isogawa (http://www.akira.com.au/), and thoroughly crafted in Indonesia. The shawl is richly decorated with an applique of black beads and fine embroidery which I believe add a nuance of edgy romance to the shawl. C’est tres joli edgy romance, n’est-ce pas? :)

In short, as almost everyone fell in love with the look, some shared the compliments directly, while others with that sort of bewitching look in their eyes, I must say my strategy to restyling the shirt to look as if it is a brand new has gone completely successful!

Fashionista, have you tried to restyle your wardrobe? If not, then you are not living the ever changing 21^st century fashion world. Better make it soon, boys and girls!

Put aside your hesitation not only because of my words but also due to the fact that even Her Royal Highness Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, a.k.a. Kate Middleton, who is acclaimed as one of the most beautiful trendsetters in the world, is well known for her restyling wardrobes.

Wishing you all a great week ahead and a very happy restyling!

Stay fashionably tuned to JET’s articles and photios by following my instagram (@JETJAKARTA), Facebook page (JET’s Fashion Diplomacy) and twitter (@jonesey4eva).

#jetfashiondiplomacy, #indonesianfashiondiplomacy, #indonesianbatik, #idulfitri, #eidmubarak, #indonesianconsulgeneralsydney, #akiraisogawa, #paulandjoe, #menslinenshirt

Standing next to the Indonesian Consul General, Dr Yayan Mulyana, and Mrs Irene Mulyana, I was all dressed up in my same old linen shirt and a Batik shawl for the festive celebration of 2015 Idul Fitri. Location: The residence of Indonesian Consul General in Sydney.

Linen shirt: Paul and Joe (http://www.paulandjoe.com/int_en/)

Batik scarf: Akira Isogawa (http://www.akira.com.au/),

Trousers: Zara (http://www.zara.com/)

Fashionably flanked between these stately Loro Blonyo, a masterpiece creation by Benny Adrianto, a true artist for Batik and Wayang (Indonesian Puppet). Location: The Residence of Indonesian Consul General in Sydney.

Let’s show off this look for Eid al Fitr at the famous promenade of Rose Bay Wharf.

Clutch: St. Agni (http://st-agni.com.au/) a Byron based designer which fine leather goods are well crafted in Indonesia.

In Summer 2010, I walked the stylish streets of Monaco by dressing up in Paul and Joe’s linen shirt. Location: Port Hercule, Monaco.

Linen shirt: Paul and Joe

Five years ago, the Paul and Joe’s shirt was my faithful companion during a weekend visit to Monaco where I also visited the Prince’s Palace (http://www.palais.mc/en/index.html), home of Prince Albert and Princess Charlene, as well as of his late Mother, the enigmatic Grace Kelly, Princess of Monaco.

Bonjour Monte Carlo! Good morning Monaco!

My Mom’s treasured Akira Isogawa’s (http://www.akira.com.au/) hand-painted black and white Batik shawl, which is crafted in Indonesia, up close and personal.

Meticulous and fine details of my Mom’s Indonesian-crafted Australian-designed Batik scarf by Akira Isogawa, one of Australia’s most prominent designers.

Indonesian-made and Australian-designed Batik shawl by Akira Isogawa.