I’ve had the chance to go on so many great trips this year (especially since October) that I’ve fallen behind on writing about them. My most recent trip (& the last one of 2016) was a very laidback vacation to Fort Cochin with mom. I’ll admit that the destination was chosen by mom & I wasn’t all that enthused at first. I can also be a creature of habit & if I like a place, I’m tempted to go back again & again. So I have to practically force myself to venture to new destinations. My first family vacation to Kerala (Kovalam, six years ago) wasn’t that great. Two years ago I went back for a short, solo trip to Munnar, that turned out to be pretty amazing. So I was eager to see what Fort Cochin had to offer & it it turned out to be one of the best trips we’ve had in a while. I absolutely loved the vibe as well as the food! The weather was mostly lovely too. I’m going to write more about the trip in a seperate post, let’s get back to the topic at hand – the lookbook!

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