Winter Batik

I've always been in love with batik, and it has recently become very hip and happening in Indonesia. At first I thought, thank God, finally! Indonesian batik should get all the long overdue recognition and appreciation it deserves. However, after seeing them literally EVERYWHERE in Jakarta...I was a bit overwhelmed. I wonder if I would look too common (pasaran) if I wore my batiks in Indonesia.

Luckily, they are still unique in Hong Kong. I've been wearing my batiks all summer! This winter, I refused to keep my batiks hidden in my closet. However, since there's no winter in Indonesia, most batik outfits were created for tropical countries/summer. So...

How to winterize your batik?
- Wear a cotton turtleneck underneath (my black turtleneck is my peanut butter in winter. I slap it on everything, and it turns out fan-bloody-tastic most of the time)
- Wear a jacket over (denim jacket to dress down, cashmere-ish/satin jacket to dress up)
- Put on a pair of plain opaque tights (stay warm, look sophisticated)

This cotton batik mini dress is from Jakarta (Mall Ambassador, Rp.100.000). I love the pattern, the color and the puffy sleeves. The size was a bit too big for me, but it can be solved by belting it (black stretchy belt with gold buckle, from H&M, HK$79 circa last winter). I added a long faux pearl necklace for an Audrey Hepburn-ish sophisticated look (Argyle Center, Mongkok, HK$20).

My batik was pretty pleased to have experienced winter in Hong Kong.