Today I went shopping with my friend Meagan from LATTERSTYLE. We visited my two favorite high fashion boutiques, Ikram and Sarca. While at Ikram I picked up a SUNO dress for an upcoming event. SUNO uses Kenyan fabrics in most of its designs. I was not expecting to find a dress that resonated so emotionally with me because my mom and I visited Kenya two years ago. Now every time I wear my SUNO dress I’ll think about the best adventure I ever had with my mom.

We spent four amazing days at the unbelievably luxurious Fairmont Masai Mara campground in the Serengeti. I was able to photograph all five of the big game; a lion, water buffalo, rhinoceros, leopard, and elephant. After our safari, we flew out to the Kenyan coast and landed on Lamu Island, just 60 miles south of the Somalian border and located in pirate waters. Lamu City is the oldest African city on the Eastern coast and one of the oldest settlements in the world. Lamu City is known for being a living medieval city (with donkeys as the only form of transportation) as well as the end of the African Hippie Trail, a Shangri-La of sorts. We stayed at the family-owned Peponi Hotel in Shela, a quiet beach town outside of Lamu City. Lamu Island is a favorite vacation spot for British royalty, who value its extreme privacy, inaccessible location, and the supreme discretion of the local people. Below are some photos from my Kenya trip:

Needless to say, it was the best adventure of my life and permanently transformed me as a spiritual being. Street style is about the unlimited ways in which humans express themselves on a daily basis. When people hear about my trips to exotic locations like Kenya and India, they usually ask how those trips affected my personal style. My trip to Kenya taught me to use LOTS of color and how to mix prints. Even today, I purchased an expensive designer dress from Ikram years later because it was made in Kenya, using Kenyan fabric! Maasai women are experts at over-accessorizing, as you can see on the intoyie above dripping in intricate beadwork, and they influenced my love of massive necklaces.