10-12-2025 MY INSPO: melani safari

this week's inspo comes from childhood - one of sib's best fashion moments. i may have mentioned in passed entries, but we were introduced to fashion and haute couture and all that screams luxury by our mother. she styled us as toddlers, taught us of the importance of chanel no. 5 (her signature scent), gave us her old pierre cardin tops from the department store, let us rummage through her old outfits from yugoslavia and italy (when you had to buy real jeans in trieste), and bought us a limited edition elizabeth taylor barbie doll. 

through our games and playing pretend, fashion was prominent - our bratz dolls had boutiques and fashion shows, in a pretend game of camp i was coco chanel's long lost daughter, we played numerous dress up games (dollzmania, stardoll, daily dress up games, and roiworld, just to name a few), and one of the games i remember vividly was playing pretend that sib and i owned the boutique melani safari. this aesthetic  was primarily created by the great mind of sib herself - who invented this persona. 

the name safari could give you insight to the aesthetic. look up vintage banana republic - before their minimalistic suits. animal prints and texture, safari outfits: camouflage, neutrals, breathable or utility looks.

perhaps we could also contribute the films crocodile dundee, the gods must be crazy, and other safari-like films we watched on croatian tv. 

who is melani safari? sib couldn't remember. what does melani safari wear? i might guess - good denim, linen, and isn't shy of ethically sourced animal skin, leather and fur. i tried asking sib about what she remembered about this fashion philosophy, if anything at all, but no avail. perhaps this game meant more to me - as evidenced by my melani safari playlist on spotify, or this melani safari pinterest board. i think i took sib's idea and created mission from vision. recently, i went even further - i recreated a melani safari collection on indyx using items from my closet. here's a variety of looks that roar melani safari.

first five are some of sib's faves:

here's five of my faves (it was hard to choose - i had a total of 102 fits styled!)

one day, i'll embark on this fashion safari and actually wear these wild looks!