spelly's bali escape

A few weeks before the silly season properly kicked in, I booked a little girls’ escape with my fave ladies. Girlfriends who have been in my life since our kids were little babies, and now that the kids are growth up, we can take a moment together - just us girls! 

I packed a suitcase full of some of my favourite new Spell pieces, the kind of clothes made for hot mornings, salty hair and nowhere in particular to be…

We began in Seminyak, which has always been one of my favourite little pockets of Bali. 

Tucked away from the busier streets, our days quickly found their own rhythm: long breakfasts, wandering out for coffee, laying on our beds watching Sex and the City re-runs, afternoons disappearing by the pool and that beautiful Bali thing where you somehow lose track of what day it is.

It didn’t take long to slip completely into island mode. From there, we jumped on a boat and headed east of Denpasar to one of my happiest places, a tiny island escape that I’ll keep slightly under wraps, although admittedly it’s hardly a secret.

We stayed in the dreamiest villa right on Coconut Beach, where life became a very simple rotation of coffee, cocktails and coconuts. Bare feet pretty much permanently. Swims before breakfast. Long lunches. Boat trips when we felt adventurous and lazy afternoons beside the pool when we didn’t.

One morning we headed out onto the water and swam with turtles, which was every bit as magical as it sounds. That incredible clear turquoise sea, warm air, boats drifting in the distance… One of those moments where you stop for a second and think, okay, this is exactly where I’m meant to be.

Naturally, we had brought a lot of Spell with us.

Sal floated around the island in our new Icon Bias Dress in Sky, and against that endless blue water it almost looked like it belonged there. I love a bias dress on holidays because there’s so little thinking involved… throw it on over swimmers during the day, add jewellery and sandals later, and suddenly you’re ready for cocktails somewhere by the sea.

The Icon is one of those beautifully simple pieces that lets the fabric and shape do all the work. Cut on the bias with a long, fluid silhouette, it skims rather than clings and moves so beautifully when you walk. Exactly the sort of dress I want folded into my suitcase for a Bali holiday.

She also lived in the Sun Lover Terry Shorts - soft, relaxed and perfect for those properly balmy Bali days when getting dressed needs to feel almost as easy as staying in your swimmers.

I think that’s what I love most about dressing on an island. Everything becomes a little less considered. Swimmers become tops, dresses are thrown over salty skin, hair dries in the sun and the same piece you wore barefoot to lunch somehow comes out again for dinner.

No rules. Just whatever feels good.