When I first planned this girls trip to Mexico waaay back in January, I had grand plans to bikini bootcamp my way through the spring months and melt away in time for a tropical reveal. Well…with a net loss of negative four pounds and the trip just eight days away, all efforts have turned toward more fabric and conspiring to acquire as many chic cover-ups as I can lay my hands on.

I love anything that smacks of 60s style. For example I adore this picture that Stanley Marcus took (in his book ‘Reflections of a Man’) in Acapulco 1962.

 Another story for another day I will share why I worship Mr. Stanley (hint: he was one of my bosses in my second job!) but for now just know I am thoroughly inspired to have a 60s style Mexico trip. So imagine my instantaneous envy last week when I saw this tweet by beloved resort wear designer Trina Turk:

A dashiki…FABULOUS, I SHOULD SAY! Finally someone was validating my secret dashiki love. Hers was to die for, here’s her picture:

Understandably I had to have one. Stat.

So within 90 seconds I had scoured ebay and bid on a dashiki of my own. Because I am a somewhat competitive ebayer, I hit refresh 20-40 thousand times until I confirmed my victory. With exactly zero other bids and a mere $9.99 I won a new-with-tags authentic African Dashiki, made in India. Shipping from Lawrenceville, GA.

With a dashiki on the way, I decided to do a little recon on the history of the dashiki. According to Wikipedia, “The dashiki is a colorful men’s garment widely worn in West Africa that covers the top half of the body.”

Of course most of us recognize the dashiki as an iconic garment from the civil rights movement of the 1960s.

Oh, but I think Trina Turk and I are onto something here with the au courant dashiki fashion statement. In this concert review, we see badass Austin musician Black Joe Lewis rocked the dashiki just last month. (Is it just me or does his look a lot like the one Trina nabbed?)

Since I am sure you are on the edge of your seat, yes, my dashiki arrived in the mailbox yesterday. My first impression was the odd smell as I ripped open the envelope, but I quickly forgot the odor when this surprise goodie fell out.

Oh my. A Gift With Purchase. How apropos, since Stanly Marcus was the one who originally invented the Gift-With-Purchase and he is the nascence of my 60s inspired Mexico moment. But honestly I would have preferred a lipstick case or travel makeup bag instead of this teeny little man cap.

Which I’ve since learned is called a KUFI and is a very traditional African accessory with a dashiki. Apparently it is worn by “wise elders”. Yes, that suits. I think we will exude the essence of “wise elders” on this girls trip in Mexico. No, no tequila shot in a test tube for me, my friend. Don’t you see I wear the kufi?

We have had lots of laughs in this house over my attempted treasure-hunting fashion moment. I offered it as a coverup to Little Chick for her pool party last night but she laughed in my face as she bluntly declined. The Professor was later seen trying on the dashiki and kufi but the blurry pictures of him running through the house like Sasquatch are under lockdown a la J. Edgar Hoover style.

Meanwhile Lord only knows what sort of direct marketing list I am on since the ebay seller now has my name and mailing address. Rest assured if the Black Panthers make a comeback I will most likely be invited to the Lawrenceville Georgia regional kickoff picnic.

The jury is still out on the success of my own turnkey dashiki. But strange odor aside, I will be rocking it poolside in Mexico in just over a week. I’m not afraid.

That said, a bit of insurance never hurt anyone. So today I picked up this Trina Turk maxidress cover-up just in case my cheeky dashiki is a little too freaky.