Between Maroon & Red: Babydoll Top & Voluminous Striped Maxi Skirt

Truth be told, I was a bit frenzied when I was informed to wear a maroon ensemble for Shah's cousin's wedding in Penang. The thing about "maroon" is it's that shade of red that everyone cannot seem to agree on; even Googling "maroon" would show you multiple different shades.

See: My kaftan dress for the solemnization.


I have an idea of what the colour maroon is in my head and while red is my favourite colour, maroon is not my favourite shade of red. I always want to respect a dress code though, so, three things:
1) Obviously I don't own anything maroon, so I knew I had to buy something for the wedding.
2) The challenge: buying something that, most importantly, I would and could re-wear.
3) This means not buying anything maroon and go for something that's close enough because I am not wearing maroon, guys.

PS: The men are asked to wear a suit (lucky Shah, he just needed a maroon-ish tie!).

So what's the shade between maroon and red?
Since colour shades can be subjective, it's up to my personal interpretation. I would personally answer "oxblood" to my question above, which in my head is a beautiful deep red shade that's close enough to maroon but is not maroon, regardless of what others might say.

I ended up with these two affordable separate pieces that are maroon-ish/oxblood-ish/definitely red and I genuinely love them! I can definitely see myself wearing the babydoll top again with pants, and I would love to pair something basic like a white shirt with the skirt one day.




For those who are interested, here's a little info on our local wedding culture:
It's common for Malay weddings in Malaysia to have a colour theme, in which close family members (and sometimes, the besties) would come to the wedding wearing an ensemble in that colour. At the same time, the bride and groom would usually (but sometimes not) be adorned in wedding outfits of a different colour — so that they'd stand out, of course.

Take my weddings (yes, weddings, plural, I'll explain soon) as an example: the wedding theme on my family's side was silver grey, with Shah and I clad in white. Everyone- including us- on our wedding done by his family's side — wore golden yellow.
It's common for Malays in Malaysia to have two weddings, thrown by both bride's side and then the groom's (must be in that particular order), although nowadays more youths are combining their resources to have a single bigger wedding, especially when the families of the couple live near enough to each other.

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Are you guys also constantly confused about the names of colours, like I am? I'm always Googling colour names, especially for this blog!
Also: would you call any of the red shades I'm wearing in this outfit "maroon" or "oxblood"?

Wearing: Tafa Clothing babydoll batwing top & striped skirt  |  Mango strappy flats  |  Michael Kors clutch  |  Lovisa multi-hoop earrings

Comments

  1. I know that you've been attending some "events" recently and choosing to show your clothing for those occasions but my goodness Liyana you've been
    looking exceptionally elegant lately. This rich mix of rouge variations is kind of royal in it's impact!!! You wear the jewel tones so well my young friend!!
    Love, Jude

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Judy, for your kind words!

      Unlike some people I know, I actually enjoy attending events like these, they're such fab opportunities to get all dressed up and dolled up.

      I don't know why I didn't immediately think of jewel tones, you're spot on! I do love the rubies and the garnets, and now I'm thinking about all the delicious hues of sapphires and emeralds and yellows...ahhh, dreamy!

      Delete
  2. You're simply stunning here Liyana!
    Wowee.
    I love the shapes, textures and the rich and delicious colours against your skin.
    SO beautiful.
    As for the names... we could tie ourselves in knots couldn't we?
    Ruby
    Blood
    Wine
    Carmine
    Who really cares?! Hahahahaha
    I'm going to call it "an outfit of stunning rich reds".
    There.
    XXX


    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for the compliments, Samantha, I'm very flattered <3

      Like I mentioned to Judy in the above comment, I can't believe I didn't think of the word "ruby", and now you've mentioned it too!

      OK, weirdly I like naming all the difference shades I see in my clothes, and yes I actually Google name colours, I'm not sure why I do it! I do love all the names of the red shades you named, even blood, but ESPECIALLY Carmine. Such a romantic colour name!
      PS: I also love that you called it "an outfit of stunning rich reds"!

      Delete
  3. I totes love this outfit and yeah, I google colours too haha

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Khairah!

      So glad to know I'm not the only one =D

      Delete

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Hi, I'm Liyana

I'm a style & lifestyle blogger based in sunny (and ever humid) Malaysia. On The Good Weekender, you can find typed journals of my evolving modest personal style, travel adventures, skincare/beauty updates, home decor things, and stories of other bits and pieces of my everyday life. I hope you'll enjoy flipping through these pages of my virtual book!