CONSIDER YOURSELF A TRAVELER #01
THE GRAND CAYMAN & MY PACKING JOURNEY
Hello dear reader! Welcome to a new supplement I am calling “Consider Yourself a Traveler.” These sporadic posts will serve as a travel diary. I will share what I saw, what I did, and most importantly, what I wore!
WHAT I SAW AND DID
A few weeks ago, I was invited to spend a weekend at the Palm Heights hotel in Grand Cayman to celebrate Christopher John Rogers. When I got the email, I nearly jumped out of my seat; what an honor, what an adventure! Firstly, this would be my first international trip! (I did travel to a little town in Canada that is near Detroit when I was about 12, but I feel like I cannot really count that as my first international trip. For one, we spent a total of four hours there, one of those hours being spent sequestered in an immigration office. Plus, that Canadian excursion only really consisted of eating mediocre falafel and walking in a park. But I digress.) Secondly, I would be spending the weekend in a gorgeous setting, with amazing people, celebrating one of the most important American designers!
What I love most about his work is that he makes happy fashion; furthermore, what I see in his pieces is honestly America. His work is a mishmash of references ranging from the Southern debutante to the black garbage bags littered about the New York streets. Which I think honestly represents the American experiment the clearest. America cannot be boiled down to a singular image - no, not even apple pie. The country is a hodgepodge of people and cultures; furthermore, it is a country that is predicated on the nature of theatrics. Yes, the performing arts are important to every country and culture in different ways, but I would argue that there is something quite integral to performance (in this context specifically film) in the fabric of America. I say all of that to say that Christopher’s clothes reminded me of the theatrical costuming of Adrian, Orry-Kelly, and Edith Head, not only in the shapes but also in the color!
I oftentimes feel I am watching a Technicolor film when I watch Christopher’s shows. For one, the pieces are shown on a color spectrum that unfurls into this beautiful rainbow display. Even when he uses black and white, there is this injection of pure happiness that matches the Technicolor confections. I bring up the notion of color because, just like Christopher’s clothes look and feel cinematic, so did Palm Heights in the Grand Cayman. The resort itself was a true paradise, just as it had appeared in the photographs. Everything was picture-perfect, from the beach chairs dotting the shore to the lemon yellow accents that adorned the surroundings, even the water had the same tint of blue that you see on the website. I felt like I was walking on the set of a Ridley Scott Chanel No.5 commercial, or perhaps a Calvin Klein underwear ad.
The hotel was a treasure trove of covetable furniture, and enviable coffee table books (I even got my hands on Jocks and Nerds: Men’s Style in the Twentieth Century by Richard Martin and Harold Koda!), and most importantly the ocean. As soon as we got off the sprinter van, the first thing that most of us did was go to the ocean. As soon as I took a dip in those blue blue waves, time seemed to freeze. Though there would be evidence that the day had moved on to the next, it almost felt as if the whole idea of time and the changing of day to night was merely a suggestion.
The whole weekend we all drank, ate, and laughed in utter merriment that, in itself, was intoxicating. What made it even merrier was that we happened to be there at the same time as a certain R&B singer, who has been in, I guess one could say, a scandal in regards to his concerts. Out of the group, I think I had the privilege of seeing him the most. It seemed like every time I was going to the lobby bathroom, there he was sauntering down the corridor, bodyguard in tow. I even discovered on the last day of my trip that this singer and I own the same swim trunks. You can too if you would like to join the club! I do not know what it is about the Palm Heights merch, but I left wanting to own every single piece of hotel merch. There was something about the idea of being a part of this club of sorts by owning this branded merch. Y I feel that there is certainly a whole psychology to the allure of wearing hotel/restaurant merch that is significantly different than wearing some designer label plastered on your chest. Perhaps the appeal in the resort merchandise resides in the fact that each piece feels like a tiny reminder of paradise?
On one day, we went to the spa and had the entire facility to ourselves. We lounged by the pool, popping berries in our mouths with glasses of juice and champagne. Thinking back to that day, it makes me feel as if it was a scene from Plato’s Symposium - though we were not preoccupied with philosophizing about love. However, I did have a great conversation about Toni Morrison and shared that amazing interview she did with Charlie Rose where she is talking about her book Jazz. We spent the day going back and forth between the ice plunge and the pool. The ice plunge was almost addictive. The water was below freezing, and we would go to the room in groups, cheering each other on as we tried to stay in the freezing water longer and longer. When you go out, you were greeted with a towel, a wave of applause, and a sharp tingle that crept from the back of your neck to your toes.
On the same day we did the ice plunge, we spent that night dancing away from six in the evening to two in the morning. And even when the music stopped and we had to leave the dance floor, some of us departed to the ocean because it sounded more comfortable than tucking away our dancing feet in bed. And when it came for me to finally depart, I made sure to say “see you later” to the ocean. (I do not believe in saying “goodbye,” because there is something quite permanent about that word to me.)
WHAT I WORE
Not only will these sporadic posts serve as a travel diary, they will also serve as a progress tracker for my packing skills. This may come as a surprise to you all, dear reader, but when it comes to packing, I crumble. I realized on the plane ride home that the reason why I probably have such a hard time packing is that I am such an emotionally driven dresser. You know, I could wake up one day and think to myself, “I want to look like Naomi Campbell in that Peter Lindbergh image with her windswept hair and pursed lips, surrounded by Dalmatians in a top-down convertible.” Then I can go to my closet, go through all my bobbles and bangles, and whip up an outfit concoction. Now that is harder to do on a trip, unless you have preplanned this certain desire to channel early 90s Naomi. I think the other challenge when it comes to packing is the fear of lost luggage. When there was such an uptick in luggage being lost, I made a vow to myself that I would only travel with a personal item and a carry-on - less to worry about and it makes it faster to get in and out of the airport. But again, the question is, what does one pack with such limited space?
The first night of the trip, I wore a sarong that was a special collaboration with CJR and the resort store Dolores, and I wore them with my go-to Emme Parsons heels and borrowed the famous CJR Circle shirt from my roomie.
I have by no means cracked the code on packing; in fact, this trip around, I overpacked mainly due to the fact that I naively listened to others in regards to what I needed to pack. The one shining glory of my packing skills lies in shoes, perhaps because when it comes to buying shoes, I try to be quite methodical. I do not want to buy shoes that will just sit about, I need them to have a function. So I think when it comes to packing shoes, I can designate shoe choices based on general activities rather than specific moments. The one shoe I brought that I absolutely loved was the Manolo Blahnik red PVC sandal. I had been a little apprehensive about getting them because I was told that they cut into your feet. I am happy to report that they did not cut into my feet; moreover, I wore them for about 8ish hours (I also discovered that if you rub deodorant on your feet it helps stop the PVC from fogging up.). I wore them to do my karaoke performance (that also involved a floor performance), I walked up and down stairs, and I danced the night away (which also involved booty bumping with the chef). I wore these shoes with that Dries Van Noten skirt I keep linking, as well as the CJR x Met Shirt in that acid green color.
The other knockout item of the trip was a peachy Ralph Lauren linen shirt that I almost did not pack. I wore this shirt every day during the trip. I wore it as a beach cover-up, I wore it as my throw on shirt to get coffee or lunch, and I even wore it on the plane home in an effort to help alleviate my suitcase from the possibility of bursting at the seams.
The other surprise hero item during the trip were my big Loewe sunglasses that I believe are from a Paula Ibiza collection - which I must say, if you are looking for good and fun resort wear, you must check out the Loewe Paula Ibiza collections (Check out this Denim Overshirt, Fringed Knit Tank Top, Pistachio Green Harem Pants ). I had tried to sell them a few weeks ago, but thankfully no one snagged them from me. I usually wear the same sunglasses from The Row x Oliver Peoples collab. I like them because they remind me of the same shades Jackie O. wore when she was gallivanting about New York.
The next trip on the books is Cape Cod, which I have been looking forward to all summer! Fingers crossed I pack well!
Until next time!
xx
Jalil
I may earn some commission if you make a purchase through one of the links above. If you liked this post make sure to check out last week’s as well!
P.S.: If you are looking for vintage Gucci and Prada check out my Basic Space page.
Your outfits! Wow. Layered, relevant, rich. I die. Also love this idea of daily, peachy linen. I am Cape-jacent for the summer and would love to have a drink if we have overlap! XO