Missing Jasleen

In Jasleen's absence, I was forbidden from putting up my pictures. But yesterday, while we were shooting, my cousin cum  colleague Ruchika Vyas took some super cool shots and I had to show them to you guys. Hoping it's worth the risk :P

Dress and chappals, Colaba Causeway; leggings, Only; belt, Forever New

 Shots clicked in the studio

Fashion we hate!

Dedicated to those who loathe fashion.
Don't judge me because I spend my hard-earned salary buying fancy shoes, don't judge me because I swipe my credit card till it is so exhausted that it begs me to stop, don't judge me because I have no savings but new clothes to wear every weekend (actually, every day of the week), don't judge because I am in love with fashion!

You raise your eyebrows at the models who strut designer wear on the ramp but you secretly sigh every time you spot a magazine picture with the model wearing a short dress and high heels, admit it, you secretly wish it were you.

Fashion is easily misunderstood and widely criticised-from accusations like 'fashion promotes size zero' to how it makes you spend obscene amounts of money. You can claim to be 'above' fashion but you don't realise the statement you make with your I-am-so-not-into-fashion ensembles.

Fashion does not mean carrying an LV bag or wearing that dangerous pair of high heels that threaten to throw your back any moment. Fashion is important for the same reasons that eating right, yoga and a healthy lifestyle are-to be good to yourself.

The phone you carry, the shoes you choose, the notebook you write on-are all an extension of fashion. The only ones who hate fashion with a passion are the ones who 'think' they are too fat to care or the ones who want to fight with a feministic fervour towards a cause they like to call anti-fashion. But honestly, it is harder to hate fashion than to love it.

I'm passionate about the smell of new brown paper bags, freshly cut price tags, piles of clothes and the thrill of finding innovative ways of storing all of it in my compact flat.

But for those who are laughing themselves silly at this point, think about the envious glances you get at a party when you enter the room in your new LBD, or even how your red peep toes make you feel so sexy and suddenly make the world a whole lot better!

Fashion is not frivolous, in the right doses it is just another way of making you happy. Start enjoying the offerings of the modern world and know that it’s okay to be a material girl, once in a while.

Relax in your Victoria’s Secret pyjamas on weekends and travel the world in your Juicy tracksuit. Then the next time I walk past you in my new gladiators, bright pink nailpaint and my short designer dress, don’t judge me.

Written by Jasleen Kaur Gupta for iDiva.com, The Times of India

Sea of shoes

We recently compiled a range of monsoon footwear for a supplement of Bombay. Here's an image of how it looked when it was printed. We also added a few tips for monsoon care for the feet, it's so important yet so terribly ignored. Hope you guys like the piece.

While we were shooting...

These are some shots clicked by Nitin Patel during the latest shoot we styled for iDiva. He was testing the lights and we gladly posed for him as his mock models.
Also, since Jasleen is out of Bombay (she is off to Kuala Lumpur ) these are our last pictures for the week. But in her absence, I will be posting some more of our professional work and some Fashion Bombay recommendations real soon, enjoy these pictures till then.
And this was the day we met a fellow blogger Koshy. She is so young and talented, do visit her blog and participate in her super giveaway.

 Sonu's wearing: Purple jumper, Bandra (worn here); checkered jacket (worn here), Cotton Colour; ballerinas, Habit Shoes, MAC nail paint (last pic) 

Jasleen's wearing: 3 in 1 top, courtesy Camden; leggings and bib necklace (worn here), Aldo; ballerinas, Bandra

Gypsy at heart

We are busy preparing for a big shoot tomorrow, so here are some quick pictures we took in our coffee break.

Jasleen felt hippie in her grey embroidered dress and mojris

Dress, Bandra; peach tunic (worn as slip), Hues; bag, Bangkok; animal impression nude cuff, Colaba Causeway; mojris, Delhi; flower srunchy, Preciosa

Sonu wore a self-designed dress with her wedges

Dress, self-designed; hakoba shrug, Fashion Street; shoes, Bata; bag, Forever New, badge (worn on the shrug), Army-Navy shop; coiled cuff, Colaba Causeway

Bus Kya? Part Deux

Today we went to the Azad Maidan and were saddened by the pitiable state the property was in. We decided to shoot there anyway since it is one of the landmarks of the city. During the independence struggle, leaders such as Mahatma Gandhi and Lal Bahadur Shastri used to address huge crowds here, thus came the name Azad Maidan.

Sonu wore a dhoti skirt with her favourite studded belt

Dhoti skirt, Fashion Street; black tee, Preciosa; bag, courtesy Neil Dantas; belt, Forever New, chappals, Colaba Causeway

Jasleen wore a grey look with her printed tee and gladiators

Wolf tee, Mango; pants, Only; gladiators, Charles & Keith; pocket watch & wrist watch, gifted; bag, courtesy Neil Dantas,

Fashion Bombay in My Times -- The Times of India

Our blog pictures were featured in My Times, Lokhandwala, a local supplement of The Times of India. The fashion article spoke about teh current trends like boyfriend blazers, loose pants, nudes etc. We are pretty kicked that our pictures were used for the same. Check it out!

Camouflage

 We have a ladies' meet in office today so we are a tad formally dressed. We tried the Camouflage as our theme in our location.

Jasleen dressed down her salmon pink pleated dress with flats

Dress, Pria & Neha at Sattva (gifted by husband); gladiator flats, Forever 21; butterfly hair clips, gifted by my friend Neha Nair; bag, Forever New

Sonu wore an Oriental print structured shirt with a cinched waist-belt to add shape

Shirt, borrowed from my sister Arpita; jeans, vintage; shoes, Bandra; belt, Forever New; bag, Paprika

Bus Kya?

At Fashion Bombay, we are going to start our very own art appreciation movement. We are kickstarting this with the very cool artist Neil Dantas who makes bags and t-shirts with his patented Bus Kya designs. His very Mumbai-esque designs really appealed to us. Also, a furniture designer, we will be visiting his upcoming exhibition soon, we'll keep you posted on that. His bags are priced at Rs. 500 a pop and you can get in touch with him at neildantas@gmail.com or through Facebook

Till then, we'll wear the bag in many different ways.

Sonu wore a modified wrap with a graphic-print ganji

Bag courtesy, Neil Dantas; jeans, Seven For All Mankind Jeans; ganji, Forever 21; linen wrap (modified), Promod; shoes, Bandra; beads, Bead Gully (Kalbadevi)

Jasleen wore her dress as a blouse with modified link chains

Bag, courtesy Neil Dantas; jeans, vintage; dress (worn as a blouse), Forever New; pearl and gold links (modified), Forever 21; star pendant necklace (made from a srunchy), Vitamin K & Taxxi; wedges, Colaba Causeway

Holding a piece of spring

Monsoons are just around the corner and we are beginning to like summer and the sun, the heat/ humidity et al.We are posing right across the famed Metro theatre in Bombay. The theatre has such rich history and we'd like to share with you.

In 1938 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) acquired the land and built the cinema. The Art Deco cinema opened on 8 June 1938, and initially exhibited movies made by MGM.
In 1970, the cinema was taken over by the Gupta family and with Indianisation came the era of screening Hindi films and flashy, glittering, star-studded premieres. Raj Kapoor's Bobby set the trend and when RK released Satyam Shivam Sundaram in typical monsoon fury, the guests were delighted when the young Kapoor brothers — Randhir, Rishi and Rajeev — opened their car doors, held umbrellas over their heads and led them inside. (Courtesy: Wikipedia)

Jasleen wore a flower print dress (same as the shirt she has) with a flower brooch

Dress, Fashion Street; kurta worn inside the dress, Colaba Causeway; harem jeans, Forever New; bag, Dharavi; ring, Bali; chappals, Bandra; brooch, a gift from my friend Sruti Dhulipala

Sonu wore her kurta/ dress (also worn here) with drawstring pants with an Oriental print

Kurta/ dress, Zara; pants, Mango; lace slip worn under the kurta, Colaba Causeway; bag and shoes, Hues; accessories: multi-linked gold necklace, Colaba Causeway, Eiffel Tower necklace, Promod; elephant necklace, made out of a broken brooch; rings, Aquamarine and Curio Cottage

Pali Village Cafe

We were in Bandra yesterday and were looking for a place to eat. Our friend Tyrel suggested this newly opened place called Pali Village Cafe and for us it was love-at-first-sight. This delightful place is straight out of an Italian village and felt like a busy city street on a warm sunny evening.

Right on the Pali Naka crowded street, you have to try hard to spot this place. But don't be fooled because the interiors are massive. There are two dining areas on the ground level and three on the first floor. We sat at the little balconette, which has only two small tables and overlooks the ground floor. We even bumped into the owner, Suren Joshi who along with his fiance Mishali Sanghani, runs the place.

The apple cinammon muffin was the warmest, softest muffin that we've tasted in Bombay. The three onion soup was not too watery neither too thick. Sonu ate the grilled peppercorn chicken while Jasleen sampled the pan seared rawas. The complimentary bread basket with flavoured butter was the icicng on the cake. After eating this wholesome meal, we unfortunately had no place to eat the desserts, but we'll do that the next time we go there.

The place is extremely romantic, so we suggest you plan a surprise for a date. It's the perfect beginning to a passionate love story.

These are the pictures we clicked while we were dining.

Back to basics

Lately, we have been really stressing about what to wear everyday. We decided to take a break and dress down because fashion is all about fun and so is our blog.

Sonu wore a spray-paint effect tunic with a pendant she made out of an old pocket-watch 

 

Tunic & shoes, Bandra; zip leggings, Promod; bag, Forever 21; watch, dad's; pocket-watch necklace, self-made

Jasleen wore a basic tee with a JSo Original scarf 

Infinity loop scarf, JSo Original; tee, Hues; jeans, Mango; bag, fake Radley from Dharavi; gladiators, Colaba Causeway; hair clip, Izzo; postcard necklace, Accessorize

Living a fairytale

We recently styled actor Kalki Koechlin (remember the modern-day Chandramukhi from Dev D) for the cover page and a fashion spread for iDiva, The Times of India. Her ethereal face had us style her like a fairy goddess. We had a great time styling her, she was patient and had no hangups.

Although French, Kalki was born in Auroville and has an uncanny South-Indian twang. “I grew up with a French and Tamil background”, she explains. “I went to a British school in Ooty. So I grew up with literally three languages and culture. My parents brought me up with a lot of French movies and at the same time, I’d watch Tamil films. It was eclectic. It made me realise that there’s so much in the world that there’s really no one right way. I didn’t grow up with any religion. But I went to a Protestant school, so I’d go to church. My mother is interested in Hinduism, so we would also visit temples. I’ve grown up with an open mind. (Text, Aindrila Mitra, Courtesy: iDiva, The Times of India)
Isn't it amazing how multi-cultural she is. she ought to be our current favourite.
 Pictures by Jitu Savlani; makeup, Pancham Hariharan; hair, Asha Hariharan 

Outfit, Swapnil Shinde; stockings, stylist's own

Snow White

 Outfit, Swapnil Shinde

Tinkerbell

Outfit, Suneet Varma; shoes. Mellisa Shoes at The Ministry of Fashion

The Red Riding Hood

Outfit, Anand Kabra; necklace, Breathing Space by Eina Ahluwalia; gladiators, Aldo