Bogolan Skirt with Sarah

One of my favourite things that we've made with Madame Tây so far is this skirt of beautiful bogolan or mud cloth fabric from Mali. Bogolan is traditionally made in Mali and is strongly associated with Malian cultural identity, yet in recent years the cloth has also gained popularity within global fashion and design. 

Cara purchased our bogolan at a Malian market in Senegal. You can read more about the history and cultural contexts of bogolan, and about the fascinating hand-dying processes used to create it, in Cara’s blog post here.

For this post I'm going to focus on how to wear and care for the skirt.

I love the crisp white-on-black lines of the bogolan, so to keep these lines as the main focus of the outfit, I've worn the skirt with a plain fitted black t-shirt and black sandals, keeping everything monochrome. 

The skirt is quite fitted, like a pencil skirt fit, and tends to hug the body. There is a small slit at the back for easier movement. The fabric is a thick, soft cotton, which has a tiny bit of give, and is sturdy and comfortable to wear.

Let's take a closer look at the fabric!

It's possible to find fabrics that imitate the designs of bogolan, but are not actually created using a mud-dyeing process, for example thin linens and cottons that are machine-printed with bogolan-inspired patterns. These fabrics may also look good, but for our Madame Tây skirt we really wanted to source some genuine Malian bogolan, because the fabric has the most amazing individual character and texture, and we were trying to find fabrics that were local and hand-made in the region.

In these close-ups you can see how thick the fabric is. You can also see the underside of the fabric and how the design seeps through slightly. Cara learned that if the design seeps through to the underside of the cotton, it is genuine bogolan, but if it doesn't seep through it probably didn't go through the same production process (soaking in ngamilla solution, mud dye, bleaching) and could be a mass produced variation.

Back of the skirt, with the hem turned up

The skirt has a cotton lining so it feels smooth and comfortable against the skin.

Because of the unique fabric, I think of this skirt as a piece of wearable art, rather than an every-day skirt. Treat it with care, like you would for a hand-woven fabric wall hanging. (Wearing the skirt does feel a bit like you're wearing a beautiful carpet or tapestry!) Even though the skirt can be easily styled for office-appropriate outfits, it's probably not the kind of piece you would wear to death every day at work and then just toss in the washing machine a couple of times a week. 

If anything, I would encourage owners of this skirt to wash it as little as possible! It's like having a quality suit or raw denim - basically you would spot clean it where necessary and avoid washing when it's not dirty. For the occasional clean, do a cold hand wash with very mild fabric wash. Since this is a hand-dyed piece and has not been treated for colour-fastness, I would expect some fading over time, and would always wash it separately to other clothes to avoid any colour transfer.

It takes a little bit of extra care, but I think it's worth it for such an interesting garment! This is a piece to treasure for many years.

The warmth and thickness of the cotton, and the long length, also make this a great skirt for autumn and winter outfits. Here I've worn it with a cosy jumper and boots.

Since we are quite a small-scale project, we only made a total of eight of these Bogolan Skirts. Perhaps one of them can find a home in your wardrobe.

photos by me, Steph and Carlo

Wax Prints with Sarah

This week Steph came over to my place to photograph some wax print outfits. We combined the wax print pieces with other things from my wardrobe and took some shots around the local backstreets.

First outfit is double wax print! This looks a bit like a dress, but it's actually a separate pencil skirt and top worn together, with a high-waisted gold belt and a simple pump shoe.

I love how this print looks like just a zig-zag pattern from further away, but when you look closely the zig-zags are little staircases and hand-railings.

The back of the top has a gold zip to make it easier to take on and off.

You can also wear the top and skirt as separates. Here is the skirt with a black cape-like singlet top. The minimal black balances out the busy print... it's still a colourful outfit but slightly more subtle that head-to-toe wax print.

Next we paired the top with some long navy shorts. This top can be dressed down as an easy casual piece. It's great for when the weather is really hot since the wax print cotton feels lightweight and airy.

pottering around the garden pretending to prune things

The wax print pencil skirt again, this time in a different print.

Here we've thrown a slouchy relaxed jacket over the top. By keeping everything else a neutral black the wax print stands out as the feature of the outfit.

I think wax print would also work well with crisp white separates, perhaps the skirt with a plain white t-shirt.

photos by Steph

Style Inspiration: Huong

NAME: Huong Nguyen

HOMETOWN: Hanoi, Vietnam

CURRENTLY LIVING: Hanoi, Vietnam

OCCUPATION: Vietnamese teacher and entrepreneur

I first met Huong at a nightclub in Hanoi and immediately loved her effortless style. With her bowl haircut and loose white dress, she stood out like a sore thumb in the glitzy club full of pumping electro beats, tight skirts and towering high heels. 

I was lucky enough to become close friends with Huong and found out that she is every-bit as down to earth and friendly as she first looked. When my friend Sarah and I randomly bought her an Angry-Bird cake for her birthday, Huong, despite her initial bewilderment was incredibly happy and gracious about it.

Huong always has a million plans up her sleeves and has this incredible drive to make things happen. She left Vietnam at the age of 18 to spend, what would turn out to be the next ten years, studying and working in Beijing and Shanghai. Upon returning to Hanoi she started her own company selling handbags. And her brother is a magician (true story! Check him out here.)

I’m not sure if it is the long time she spent overseas or her constant search for adventure that inspires her unique style. In any case, Huong’s blend of timeless grace and casual nonchalance has been an endless source of inspiration for Madame Tây. 

     

     

Photos by Allie Le and Karen Knauff.

Wax Prints with Christina

I recently relocated to Toronto, Canada not fully prepared for what it had in store for me, especially when it came to the weather.  Before arriving, I thought I would be rocking uber stylish winter outfits for a good chunk of the year. Instead I have been rocking a navy winter puffer coat stuffed with duck feathers for the past 5 months (imagine a sleeping bag worn vertically).

Needless to say, when I received a package in the mail with our bright patterned  wax prints, it really cheered up my day!

The weather has picked up to a ‘balmy’  10 degrees now and it’s time to bust out the short-shorts. Here are some photos of how you can style our Wax Print Blazer and our Wax Print Shorts.

Whoever said office attire can’t be stylish/fun, prove them wrong and team our Wax Print Blazer with some smart trousers and heels for a professional, yet fashionable look.  

Here, I teamed our Wax Print Shorts with a light denim jacket and a bright blue sweater  - given the shorts carry themselves, best to keep the top half of your outfit understated and simple.

For the brave, you could go all out and pair the above two as a twin-set combo which looks really fun. I initially accessorised the outfit with a thick, gold chain necklace and gold bangles and thought I looked really cool. Fact is, I also looked like I was auditioning as a backup dancer for a hip hop music video or something. Lesson learnt, keep accessories to a minimum when dealing with loud prints.

How would you style your MT Wax Prints?

Photos by me and Matt

The Peekaboo Dress with Sarah

As my mum pointed out “this dress is nice but it has a great big hole in the back!”

The backless feature is in fact by design, but I can see what she means. The soft, drapey fabric of the Peekaboo dress is lovely and comfy for summer, but if you want to wear it backless and without a bra showing like in our photoshoot you may encounter some visible nipple issues. I think the options to get around this are:

• Wear it without a bra, but buy these things. (Or - thrifty tip - wear criss-crossed band-aids on your nipples instead)
• Wear it over a bikini to the beach
• Wear it with a pretty bra, leaving the back of your bra visible
• Layer with a fitted top underneath

I've been wearing the Peekaboo Dress with a bra and fitted black crop top underneath. Also I add a belt to pull in the waist.

photos by me and mum

Style Inspiration - Elise

NAME: Elise Perriel 

HOMETOWN: Nante, France

CURRENTLY LIVING: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

OCCUPATION: French Teacher 

I met Elise last year when we shared a house together in Hanoi. It was Elise who helped to first spark my interest in tailoring clothes in Vietnam - she would often go on trip to the fabric market, where she would come home with these beautiful patterned fabrics, which her tailor Van would make into beautiful dresses. Elise has a fairly diverse wardrobe from casual sundresses to funky jumpsuits to ornate and elegant dresses. One of my favourites though is Elise's version of the peekaboo dress below - very modest from the front but slightly cheeky from the back! And, if you are flipping through these photos are wondering about her beautifully smooth skin - here is Elise's beauty tip - using old coffee grounds as an exfoliate!

         

The Snow White Chemise with Sarah

Hello everyone.

Much of our blogging so far has looked at production – but now that our clothes are finally ready for sale, we thought we could also blog about the end part of the process – wearing the clothes!

I’m going to pop in to the blog now and then and write about being the consumer in Melbourne.

I’ll do some outfit posts on our Madame Tây stuff, but also want to look at shopping from other ethical brands available in Melbourne or online. Since we started Madame Tây I’ve realised there are actually heaps of interesting clothing brands out there that are trying to be ethical and sustainable, and it’s not all hemp and twee-ness. I’m by no means any kind of consumer saint - my current wardrobe is filled with stuff from the usual chain store suspects. But if there are beautiful, well-designed alternatives available (which there seems to be more of these days), I think I could start shifting my wardrobe towards more ethical/sustainable companies pretty easily.

So, about the Snow White Chemise.

I recently went to Malaysia to visit my grandparents for Chinese New Year, and got a lot of wear out of this shirt in the hot weather. It's breathable and light-weight, with a loose fit, so it's a great basic for keeping cool. I like undoing the lower buttons and then tying a knot, to give the shirt more of a cropped shape. Here are some snaps from around my Ah-Ma's garden and the Taiping lake gardens.

Happy Lunar New Year of the Horse!

When I was flipping through old photographs I found this one of my grandparents, with my Ah-Ma wearing a sleeveless shirt similar to our Snow White Chemise! My Ah-ma tells me she made the shirt herself. She has always loved clothes and learnt tailoring when she was young.

photos by me and mum