Australian expat Innika Choo is as clever as she is cool. Her colourful Instagram feed (@innika) chronicles her vibrant life in Bali with her architect husband Pern and their two adorable daughters Matty and Eadie...
If you’re a fan of her style – and it’s hard not to be – you’ll be happy to know she’s launched a fashion line, Innika Choo. The range started with heavily embroidered smocks and she’s since expanded into accessories (think basket bags adorned with pom poms and suede leather mules and sandals). “These are the kind of garments that hide all evil (read: you CAN have your pro gluten cake and eat it). Think billowing folds of natural cottons and linens, enough neckline (to divert the eyes from any forbidden bulges), huge volume in your sleeves, hand detailed shoulders, and that gorgeous face of yours,” says Choo. “You might not know what year it is or if your kids have swimming lessons today or if they are wearing shoes and undies… but your linen masterpiece will sing songs about your ability to dress well when attempting parenting, when all you really did was put it on.” The range is inspired by how Choo herself dresses. “The first embroidery pattern was actually inspired by a vintage boy’s Romanian costume I’ve had in my floordrobe for years,” she says. “A few years back I had a blog and used to snaggle vintage ethnic peasant tops on eBay for fun – this one, I was particularly fond of. Anyway, I made my first sample early last year and wore it and wore it for months on end, perfected the shape and cut, and voila, we have our first range.” We caught up with the gorgeous Choo at home in Bali to talk smocks, style and sleep deprivation… Photography: Cait Miers
When I wake up…
From this attempted-parenting-of-pocket-rocket-haze, I suppose they’ll be little ladies.
Before I go to bed…
I’m ecstatic! Oh beloved sleep how I missed you. Until… MAAMAAAAAAA WEEEWEEEEEEEEEEE.
A well-dressed man…
Is dressed for something.
Women should always…
Question the societal norm.
Life as a mother of two girls is…
Entirely accountable to the fact that I now cannot finish my…
The best thing that's been said to me…
Is “Ay wuff euuu mama” which is my offsprings’ poetic adaptation of, “I love you”, most commonly heard before, “I want chocolate.”
One misconception about me is...
Well, I’m not really sure because bitches don’t say that shit to my face!
If I weren't doing what I'm doing today…
I’d be catching up on what I was supposed to do yesterday.
A great idea…
Oh gosh I’ve got loads of these*. *Queue sound of toilet flushing.
My mother taught me…
Probably all of the idiosyncrasies that drove me mad in my youth, and the very same creature habits that I’ll send my kids mad with and in a cruel twist on fate they’ll pass on to their kids too.
The soundtrack of my life…
Bah bah white sheep, and it’s ALWAYS a little girl who gets the goods at the end of the lane. No boys in this song. Save me. Ohhhh you mean adult songs??? Grease. No wait, that’s not right. Probably, Hound dog. Oh… no… Ermmm… Blue Moon? Let’s just stick with Bah bah.
The future…
Is awesome. I’ve been watching far too many morbid documentaries to let reality get in the way. Besides, we’ve got a generation of iPad kids on the rise who’ll have devastation to challenge them to an immediate solution.
Happiness is perspective...
And perspective is entirely dependent on how full my goddam’ cup of coffee is.
There are too many…
Poorly fitted thongs. High chance you’re not going to grow into them darling. It’s time you started wearing thongs/flip flops your true foot size. NB. Your packin’ oversized thongs if; there is a gap from your toe to where the rubber ends, say 2 or 3 cm…right??? WRONG!! There should be nearly no rubber. Just your toe and a teeny teeny slice of rubber (like 1mm) and then the ground. Hard facts. Surfboards are for surfing. Not shuffling.
My time management secrets are…
Oh you make me laugh.
Life in Bali is…
A wonderful tropical paradox.
In my fashion cupboard you’ll find…
Skeletons! Nah. Everything your granny chucked out years ago.
Today I’m wearing…
Underwear. I know!! I dressed up! And…. over share.
My last big fashion purchase was…
On eBay.
Duduk Tipi Tent, www.dudukshop.com
The last meal I ate was…
Gluten free, dairy free, meat free air. Then I had nachos.
My children have taught me…
To rely on coffee and botox. And…. more over share.
I relax by…
HA!
I get stressed over…
Emails. I’m not into emails.
After I finish writing this I’m going to…
Make that poor bastard of a husband take another damn Instagram photo.