Suburbia

After a huge cup of coffee at Costa, we raided the hip Bandra suburbs for our blog shoot. Given the back to back festivities it is fun and unnerving to see the sheer number of people out on the streets doing the thing we love - shopping. We love how every year the festivals bring new innovations in the market. This year we spotted some diya-shaped and cracker shaped lights. The torans and colours range from subtle golds to jarring gorgeous yellows. We wish you all lots of happiness ahead!

Sonu went the boho route with a kurta and flared jeans

Kurta, c/o Monisha Pratap Shah| jeans, too old| belt worn as a necklace| bag, Aldo| wedges, Bandra| assorted bangles, mom's and Curio Cottage| watch, Guess, gifted

• The kurta is made in fine silk and we especially love the textured silk and the paint effect print on the neck, it adds an interesting and colourful touch.
• The boho-look is often incorrectly translated into the 'homeless' style. Sonu's look is inspired by the 70s but with a modern touch. The bell bottom pant, the long necklace and the many kadas are an innovative interpretation of the era.
• To reinvent the kurta-jeans look just add a lot of accessories, bangles, necklaces and a pair of comfortable heels.

Jasleen wore a checkered dress with stirrup tights

Checkered dress, Promod| linen shirt, Fashion Street| leggings, Chemistry| shoes, Forever 21| studded leather bag, borrowed from Sonu

• My mum told me how she used to wear the stirrup tights when she was in school! Another blast from the blast, these leggings are so much fun to wear with ballerinas. I personally don't think they match open toed shoes.
• Wear them with booties or brogues for a more sophisticated and classic look.
• Checks and stripes almost never go out of style. Shirts, shirt dresses, dresses, tunics and even trousers -- all look great in checks. They are a must-have in every wardrobe -- men and women.

Join the dots

Fashion is not flawless, in fact, it's a place where you can embrace your moods and eccentricities and that's what today's post is about. After some really unpleasant things that have been happening to us we decided to bounce back - bigger and stronger.

Clicked by Asif Ansari

No matter what people say, we feel that polka dots are a classic for every wardrobe. Incidentally, both these polka-dotted numbers are new additions to our respective wardrobe, while Jasleen got a gift from her mum-in-law, Sonu's dress was a steal from a secret vintage store.

In a retro mood, Jasleen sported green wayfarers with a polka-dotted shirt

Shirt, gifted| shoes, Charles & Keith| bag, Crawford Market| pants, Zara| shades, Rayban wayfarers| watch, Malaysia

Sonu wore a cutesy short dress with her boyfriend blazer

Dress, vintage| blazer, Zara| oxfords, Aldo| bag, Dharavi| brooch, mom's| watch, Guess (Birthday girt from my generous sister)

• Polka dots can be overpowering if not mixed well, tone it down with a jacket or plain pants or a plain skirt.
• For a really funky feel though you can mix with florals or stripes and create a kitschy and fun look.
• Jasleen's mid-waist powder pink pants are really reminiscent of America a few decades ago, while Sonu's navy jacket is the apt colour of winter this season.
• It's very easy to go overboard girly with polka dots so beware. Break down the cuteness with androgynous shoes (like Sonu's Oxfords) or a more serious bag (like Jasleen's nude tote) or a unisex bag/ watch etc.

In the news

While we've been away from the blogging world, we've been around in a few magazines and supplements :) We had to share our excitement with you guys!

Marie Claire, October 2010 issue

A special thanks to Nidhi Jacob popularly known as Hidden Button.

Hindustan Times, October 10, 2010

Thank you Phorum for being the silent observer during our meeting and of course for the great coverage.

Sunday Guardian, October, 3, 2010

Thank you for getting in touch Bhaskar.

Times of India, Times Life, September 5, 2010

And the biggest thank you to all you readers, friends and well-wishers for all your love and support!

Fabrics of India

Crazy things are happening to us -- some good and some very bad. Which has forced us to take a hiatus. During this time we will share some interesting facts and events happening around the city. Till then keep us in your prayers, we should be back early next month.

Recently we visited:
Event: The Paramparik Karigar Textile Exhibition
Date: Till October 16th, 2010
Venue: Coomaraswamy Hall in the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya aka The Prince of Wales Museum at Kala Ghoda.
Why should you attend: The exhibition has a varied range of fabrics from all over India, which made us realise how rich and colourful Indian culture and fashion is.

Badhini/Bandhani
  •  The term bandhini derives its name from the Hindi word Bandhan which means tying up.
•   Legend has it that the work of bandhej was initiated exclusively by the Muslim Khatri community of Kutchh and then moved on to other part of Gujrat and Rajasthan.
•    The bandhini work involves tying and dyeing of pieces of cotton or silk cloth. The main colours used in Bandhani are yellow, red, green and black and are all natural.

Ikat
•    Ikat or Bandha originated from Orissa. It is a woven, blurred, and gem-coloured with unique motifs in silk and cotton. 

•    The dominant motifs in this craft include animals and birds, with the traditional designs being fish and conch shell. As the design-type is single – ikat -- the designs on the material are blurred.

•    Ikat fabrics have seen on the international runway shows of designers like Pollini and Oscar de la Renta

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Phulkari

•    The art of phulkari originated in Punjab. The word literally means flowering and is a form of craft in which embroidery is done in a simple and sparse design over shawls and dupattas.
•    It is the skilful manipulation of this single stitch that lends an interesting and characteristic dimension to this needlework. The smaller the stitch, the finer the embroidery.
•    Phulkari designs are inspired by various day to day items:
Surajmukhi (sunflower) is in brilliant yellow, which creates a stunning effect.
Mirchi, as the name suggests, has chilies in red, orange or green usually on brown.
Belan and parantha symbolise the rolling pin and leavened bread.
Ikka or ace of diamonds has been inspired by playing cards.

Information courtesy:

http://www.craftandartisans.com/

http://indianetzone.com/

http://www.india-crafts.com/

Make Up For Ever

We were in for a huge surprise when received a glittering vanity case from Make Up For Ever, an international professional makeup brand soon to launch in The Inorbit Mall, Malad. Fashion Bombay was lucky enough to review some of the products. As and when we use these products we will update you with more reviews on the other products.

 For now we have: Make Up For Ever’s Aqua Look Collection Eyeliner Pencils
What is it? 
 It is a five crayon contour waterproof eyeliner pencils
Why we love it?
We are no expert makeup artists but these pencils are very easy to use because they glide on the eyes easily and the creamy texture ensures that the application is very smooth and even. The eyeliner doesn’t crack while applying. We love the fact it also doubles up as an eye shadow with a little smudging.
We have tried all the five shades: brown, black, neon blue, neon green and purple. Our favourite is the neon blue and brown liner. On the pencil it says waterproof but we figured just how waterproof it is when it didn’t come out till the end of the day until removed with a makeup remover. Its lasting power is tremendous, sweat or water doesn’t seem to bother this liner.

Since the brand hasn’t officially launched yet we don’t have the pricing details. We will keep you posted with the updates as soon as we know. Till then gear up for this brand to launch soon.

LFW Backstage

We're sure you guys have already seen the ramp shots of LFW, so we have for you some backstage images to show you the buzz and excitement that goes on behind the scenes. These pictures are taken by the very talented photographer Tunali Mukherjee. Tunali is an extremely talented freelance photographer/writer who works for Harpers Bazaar, Femina, Sports Illustrated and Midday amongst others. She has also won the Ibibo iFashion photographer in 2009, the  IFRA Asia Media award for the best spot news photograph in 2008, isn't that great! To see more of her work visit the following links: Tunali Mukherjee and Flickr.

 

 These are snapshots of the last season at the Lakme Fashion Week

Loved the striking fuchsia ear muffs by Soltee by Sulakshana Monga

Manish Arora draws inspiration from the art décor of 1920-30s and adds a modern futuristic twist with moulded round sleeved short capes, metallic disc blouses, draped bubbleskirts, gleaming cigarette pants, dolman sleeve textured blouses and coat dresses. Sheer genius!