Suely’s Silks

WRITTEN BY VERONICA STIVALA

“…when I walk around with it [Saz scarf] I get so many compliments it is sometimes overwhelming. I think this piece is helping me to get one step closer to being my ideal boss lady!”

Suely’s gorgeous dark braids are as attractive as her vibrant character. She wears her hair proudly, a huge part of her African identity, be it tied up high in a beautiful scarf or let to fall loosely on one of her equally bright sweaters or coats.

Suely’s colourful and varied wardrobe makes for a good reflection of her wonderfully winding history that has seen her live the world over. The story starts when she was around three years old, though as she herself admits, one which changes depending on who tells it:

“My mum decided it was a good idea to leave our hometown Benguela, in Angola, to follow my grandma’s path and the rest of her family to Spain. That’s how I ended up in what I know now as my hometown – the place I’m proud to call home, Vigo, in Galicia.”

But while she has roots in these two corners of the world, Suely finds joy in travelling. She discovered this passion when she met her best friend Thuy while studying at university. Thuy had moved to London and Suely followed suit, having decided that her career in English philology was not teaching her much about the language.  

The list of new continents, and countries began to grow quickly as she moved to Australia, initially for love, but then stayed on “because it’s just great”. And then Copenhagen, because Suely realized “studies were important in [her] life again” and, in her idiosyncratic words: she “wanted to somehow become a boss Lady”. Speaking about this latest move, Suely dwells on how she much she learnt from the struggle of being in a different country with a different language and society. “It was the hardest time of my life, but also the time where I learnt the most. I’m very thankful for the Danish approach on life,” she contemplates.

And so, Suely’s tapestry of travels have influenced her mature, yet fun-loving outlook on life. This is somehow reflected in the clothes she wears – though not entirely. “My wardrobe says that I am probably someone who cares about the way they look, and somehow it’s true but not all the time,” she ruminates. Suely loves what she calls the ‘grandma’ style, and by this she means wearing big shawls over her shoulder and walking like she has no care in life. “I find it fun, classy and sassy at the same time,” she explains.

It is for this reason that she finds herself drawn to Saz’s scarves. The one she wears most is the Joia print, which means joy and is yellow with splashes of turquoise. She wears this mostly as a headscarf. Suely found herself instantly drawn to it as the “colours and the texture were super irresistibly beautiful”. It always brings her joy when she wears it, for, in her words: “when I walk around with it I get so many compliments it is sometimes overwhelming. I think this piece is helping me to get one step closer to being my ideal boss lady!” 

Photos: Suzie Mifsud