Monday, October 26, 2015

Summers are for Mini-Anarkali/ Kediyu














Post Dusshera prancing about on the balcony garden after I got a hose and sprayed water on every leaf, the things that make me happy are really simple! I have a bunch of these mini-anaarkali/ kediyu that I wear all summer round with shorts, in winter I wear them with jeans like you've seen here.

It's one week to our adventure, the house cleaning has begun, I don't even know what to pack but I've bought my travel diary ofcourse and already started drawing in it. In the meantime I obviously don't have time to take outfit photos but then it's not like I wear anything other than everyday wear in outfit posts. So here I am in another one of my Ajrakh staples just after watering my plants with greasy hair :)





Wednesday, October 21, 2015

Subho Oshtomi













Happy Ashtami to all those celebrating today, I thought this was a good day to show the version of skirt and choli I wore last weekend for an impromptu wander in a little secret garden. Chania cholis are too pretty to save just for Garba and Dandiya so I wear them all year round. Embroidered gaghras with my favourite graphic tees and cholis with shorts, jeans and minis seem to be a staple in my wardrobe. I especially like relaxed boyfriend jeans with vintage backless cholis with sneakers.

How do you wear your staples?

Sunday, October 18, 2015

Of white kurtas and beaded beauties










I wear kurtas to work regularly and the only way I do plain white kurtas is with heaps of silver or beads. It's the only way I understand minimalistic, I use my neutrals as a base to show off my latest obsessions. What other way is there to do minimalistic?

I had been obsessing about this picture of a lady from Mauritius who had posted the most divine photo while pregnant. No, not obsessing about her pregnancy glow, even though she was glowing like a Goddess from head to toe, I couldn't look away from her awesome beaded necklace! I finally asked her about it and discovered this amazing shop run by an awesome lady from Perth, Gifts from Africa. They have the most wonderful collection of beaded jewellery at prices that literally made my mouth water. Seriously if you love jewellery, you need to check her out.

I love buying from independent women owned businesses, even more so when they are fellow WoCs. It gives me a warm, happy, fuzzy feel. Navaratri has finally started and I am in the mood to celebrate with wonderful handmade jewellery :) I haven't been able to take this necklace off since I got it, and sometimes stop what I am doing to stare at it.

Hope you're having a great time where ever you are.

Sunday, October 11, 2015

Saree blouses are the best crop tops


















The festive season is upon us and I can't wait for Navaratri/ Durga Puja and Diwali, it's the best time of the year in my opinion. Keeping in mind the celebrations as well as the warming weather in the southern hemisphere, all my saree blouses have come out to play as crop tops. I pair traditional silk blouses as well as cholis with everything from shorts, skirts and pants to salwars and gaghras. I am so excited to wear all my blouses and get some more from my sister and go totally crazy all summer.

I wait for warm weather every year to bring out my wonderful cholis to play as you may have seen here and here. Today I celebrate the birthday of one my most favourite people, (happy birthday Mummy) by spending the afternoon in a magical garden getaway. What are you wearing this spring?

Sunday, October 4, 2015

In which I talk about incorporating more traditional wear into everyday looks
















In these photos I've worn one of my tiered block print kurtas belted to form this billowing shape. It was too hot to wear pants and to be honest pants have never been my thing so I mostly wear my kurtas with shorts. This post is for my fellow brown girls, desis who've been othered so much that it has become a second nature to blend in and hide how stunning we are. It took movements like 'Reclaim the Bindi' and talking to other WoC for me to figure out that not very many desi girls are able to express their fabulous selves in traditional finery especially out of South Asian events.

I have always faced a different problem, I've always worn traditional clothes with my own little twist and the puritans have always rolled their eyes at me. I think being brought up surrounded by people who have loved handloomed textiles and traditional weaves has given me a life long obsession with the rich textile heritage of my Motherland. Both my parents have great taste, my grandmother loved all things sarees and my uncle knows an immense amount about traditional textiles and fabrics. My sister and I can spend hours caressing mulmuls, silks, cashmere and getting our tailor to stitch our sketches into clothes. We have both imbibed our reverence for traditional handlooms from them. Some of my most treasured photos are of my grandmother travelling in her saree and trench travelling through Europe, my Mother in colourful silks with almost knee length cascading locks sailing around the world and my Dad wearing Kurtas working across the globe. It never occurred to my sister and I that we need to blend in with the grey blobs around us.

The fact that I love traditional Indian cottons, silks and wool is quite obvious on this blog but what is not obvious is they are something I wear to work, play and to go out. I've worn kurtas from work to going dancing and sarees on dates and to pubs. I genuinely think it's not what one wears but how one wears it. I love DIYs and have embroidered traditional Rabari and Ahir motifs on more denims than I can keep track of. I've decided to share more photos of me incorporating traditional clothing into my everyday wear. Every single one of these looks have been worn either to work or while I was out and about and none of them have been worn as a part of a desi get-together or event. With Durga Puja, Navaratri and Diwali coming up I hope we will all find it easy to celebrate in our spectacular threads while going to work, uni or even just to the beach or to go out dancing.

I would love if you guys would share pictures of you wearing kurtas, anaarkalis, churidaars and sarees in your everyday lives. And remember to keep track of and tag your pictures to the 'Reclaim the Bindi' week coming up for Diwali.

To be honest I don't find most mainstream fashion magazines and blogs interesting in the least. I have my own sort of preference in terms of the cuts and proportions I like, they've changed a bit over the years but my deep abiding love for all things hand crafted has remained steadfast. In my opinion never taking any fashion magazine or style advice seriously has helped me be much more comfortable with myself. I still peruse through glossies and admire style spreads, I just never apply any of their suggestions to myself. Also I am not at all a believer in the dress for your shape nonsense. I dress to make myself happy and smile at my reflection when I pass mirrored glass.