Inspired By You: Annie Nguyen

Tell us a bit about yourself and what you do for work?

My name is Annie, but I'm better known as @anniesbucketlist on Instagram. I'm a Sydney based Content Creator and I've spent the last 3 years doing it full-time with a focus on travel (pre-COVID of course!) and lifestyle. I'm now a mum-to-be, due this October, so that's my main focus now. I'm looking forward to where this next chapter of my life takes me and my family.

What do you miss the most about travelling? 

I miss exploring the location we're in, trying local delicacies we've never heard of before, learning about customs from friendly locals and discovering mum-and-pop stores hidden away in the most unassuming little nooks of town. Our happiest memories were definitely made during those unplanned no-schedule days! Hopefully we'll be able to do that and make new memories with our little one too.

What is your favourite piece in your wardrobe and why? 

Not to be biased but I absolutely LOVE my Rooh dresses! My first Rooh dress was the Esha I and I instantly fell in love with the puff sleeves, how comfortable it was, the cute ruffles and how the dress swishes in the most flattering way. The organic khadi cotton that the dress is made from makes it so easy to pack for road trips and travel too because it's light as a feather and has this elegant "creased but effortless" look, so if I tuck it away in my bag, I actually don't need to do much ironing before wearing it. It's basically my dream dress rolled into one and I'm sooo happy I was introduced to Rooh. 

Now that I've got quite a big baby bump, instead of investing in maternity clothes that I'll only wear during pregnancy, I opted for transitional clothes that are still wearable during and post-pregnancy and the Rooh dresses are perfect for that. I've worn the Esha II, Aurora, Eden and Hana and I feel so comfortable in every piece throughout different stages of my pregnancy. I'm pretty much in love with all of them and would happily replace my wardrobe for Rooh any day, haha!

How does your style reflect your personality?  

For the most part, my wardrobe is filled with earthy tones, long flowing dresses and peasant blouses so I'd say my style is quite 'boho'. I guess I'm a bit of a dreamer and I've always been a creative person so I'm drawn to a kind of whimsical wardrobe. Sometimes I have days where I like to try have some fun and try a new trend, but I always end up reverting back to my ultra comfortable ruffle and floaty fabric staples.

How do you practice sustainability in your day to day life? 

I come from a family of Vietnamese immigrants so I think sustainability has always played some part in my upbringing. We grew up growing our own produce like fruits, vegetables and herbs and food scraps always went to compost and never to waste. We also have a huge water tank in our backyard to collect rainwater to use for our gardening or hosing down our driveway, these are the things I still carry-on with me as normal every day living.

My parents also came to Australia with no belongings and survived off clothing and essentials provided by the Salvation Army. So I was always taught that no item of clothing should go to waste and still as an adult I'll do regular clothing and household item donations to the Salvation Army to pay it forward. 

Throughout the years I've definitely become more aware of the environmental impacts of how we live our every day life. I'm trying to decrease my spending on fast fashion and support more businesses like Rooh that care about the sustainable and ethical production of clothes. It's definitely not something that many people can do overnight because of the affordability of fast fashion, but doing things one step at a time is definitely better than nothing at all.  

What are you most excited about in becoming a mother?

My husband Will and I have been trying for a family for a long time and it was over a year ago when I received my diagnosis of Premature Ovarian Ageing and Endometriosis. We were told my our Fertility Doctor that our chances of falling pregnant naturally was deteriorating drastically and IVF was our only option. After 4 painstaking rounds of IVF, we're finally expecting our little miracle and I'm honestly just looking forward to loving this baby with every fibre of my being! I'm excited to bond with my baby, experience every emotion that motherhood brings, watching my kids be kids and feeling whole when I see them happy.

Do you have a bucket list of where you want to travel as a trio?

When the world goes back to some normalcy it would be amazing to visit our families in Vietnam and Laos and introduce our little one to our mother countries. Then we would finish off the trip with a nice relaxing resort somewhere like the Maldives (one of our favourite destinations!) where we can just laze around and swim in crystal clear water. That sounds like a dream right now!