Lace Fixation

This blog post has been sitting in my drafts for months now, and I decided to finish up today, a gloomy Friday morning. This look has been one of my most liked on my Instagram.

My love for anything lace has been clear and blunt. I still vividly remember paying endless trips to ‘Cheap Jack’ in General Bazar with my mom to pick up the perfect lace fabric for those dreamy outfits.

All of 12, I remember putting together an outfit that I had in mind; a flared lace skirt, a solid shirt and a lace crop jacket to go with it – all in peach.
It was my go to outfit. I would want to wear it to every place we go until I finally outgrew it. Ever since, I’ve not really owned a full lace outfit as I grew weary of anything mildly flimsy. Wearing something sheer or lacy meant factoring in a lot of things; the delicacy of the fabric, the translucency et al – just too much work.

However, when @women_and_dresses sent across this beautiful dress it made me oh so nostalgic. I readily agreed to style it and I think it is safe to say that I cannot seem to part from my love for lace after all.

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I think my Instagram speaks a lot about my new found love in beige and neutral tones. I feel like I’ve been leaning towards this aesthetic a lot lately. Keeping it simple and minimal. And of course, the gold brogues; I have had so much love coming from people for these. I picked these up from Ajio over a year ago. I’ve been hunting for them in black but haven’t been successful 😦

Let me know how you like the new look on my blog 🙂

Love,
Rad All Day.

New Year, Rekindle!

‘I was wondering after all these years you’d like to meet?’

I still remember writing my first blog post of 2018 – Whimsical Blossom.

I still remember the grim and dreariness of the beginning of the year as if it was just yesterday, although a year has gone by.

As I mentioned in one of my recent Instagram posts, I was in a place where I was on the verge of giving up on everything I was doing, because I couldn’t believe I gave people the power to hurt me. It altered the way I thought of myself, the way I perceived every emotion and relationship; love, patience, forgiveness, and friendship.

Although my blogpost of 2018 had me saying, rejuvenate, renew, and regrow, I found myself unable to do those myself, because I was met with far more difficult situations as the year went by. Just when I thought things couldn’t get any worse, they did. And how!

However, writing was something that strengthened me. I was able to draw courage from all the messages from people. I was able to write my heart out whenever I felt the need to. I may have hurt some emotions and feelings in the process, but it was needed. It was needed, that I bring out those words.

I look back at this year as the most difficult year so far, but that is not going to stop me from making the coming year better. The struggle has strengthened me, reinforced my beliefs, and restored my faith.

As a first step towards making this year a better one, I spent the last couple of weeks trying to rekindle some friendships that I thought didn’t hold any significance in my life. However, now my comprehension of them seems to differ and for good. 

Rekindling old friendships or relationships is quite a vacillating pursuit. But it’s never impossible. 
I came to realise that no matter how wrong someone has done you or how wrong you’ve been to someone, there’s no way it cannot be mended. Holding on to anger and shutting yourself off isn’t the only way out, always.

When you know you can look someone in the eye and not be enraged by their wrong doings, you know you’ve overcome. It is not easy, but it is not impossible either.

It has been a good start to the year after all.

One song that also kept me going was, Everybody Hurts by R.E.M.

Listen to it here: Everybody Hurts

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Outfit

Before my favourite kid could leave to pursue his dream at FTII, we met for a couple of shoots together and this was one of them. I never got a chance to post them.

I put this look together to channel my love for White + Denim – The Classic. Paired a pale blue denim with a vintage-y off white shoulder frill top.

I have been musing over Jenna Roi Long‘s Instagram feed for a while now. The hat was inspired from one of her posts.

As always, this kid creates magic with his pictures. I mean, is that even me?

Outfit Details:

• Off-white Top – Only
• Blue Denim – Levi’s
• Gladiator Sandals – Forever 21
• Sling Bag – Zara
• Hat – HnM

Pictures by AJ Aaron.

Hope you guys have a great year ahead.

Love,

Rad All Day!

Roots

A few years down the line, on a hot summer morning; wouldn’t you love to dig your wardrobe and have that ideal summer dress in the perfect fabric? Would you want to care to hoots about what’s trending or what’s not? Get on the Slow Fashion bandwagon.

The term Slow Fashion is doing quite the rounds on all platforms concerning fashion; but it can only be operationally defined, as a string of words cannot completely explain its meaning.  However, it can be synonymously used for “trustworthy” fashion. Every so often we’re presented with heart wrenching tales of ‘I made your bag, I made your clothes’ – the victims of high/fast fashion as they call them. Slow Fashion started out as a movement to overcome this trend with time.

Slow fashion as the name suggests aims to decrease the speed of production, consumption and disposing by enabling you to place greater appreciation on your purchase. You might want to carefully consider an acquisition, concerning fashion, instead of having just another addition to your wardrobe which may be only worn for one occasion.

Makes you Responsible

Love how Ankita points out in one of her posts, that over the years she’s accumulated way too much jewelry and how in an effort to change that, she has stopped buying cheap accessories completely. What she is consciously trying to do now is to ‘invest’ in pure/precious metal jewelry that will last forever and can be passed down to anyone and more importantly, acquired from brands and people whose aesthetics she deeply admires.

While buying clothes, we’re willing to pay for anything that we think looks good on us. Slow Fashion encourages us to slow down and be conscious about our decisions while shopping.

Educates

Revolving around the concept of being able to know who made your clothes, where was the fabric sourced from, how much time did it take to create it and how different things came together for that particular piece of fashion to come to the market; Slow fashion helps us discover and educate ourselves on the process. It also enables us to not compromise on quality as we are aware of the process behind it.

It tells a story

It highlights the craftsmanship of the people who make them and weaves a story of where it came from. Investing in Slow Fashion helps us express ourselves, what we stand for and what we feel, through the clothes we wear.

It helps you tell a unique story. Slow fashion brands are usually small-scale, making indie clothes and most pieces are hard to be recreated. So, it’s quite unlikely that you’d pass by someone on the street wearing the same top. If you do, it gives you a chance to interact with other people out there who are keen on investing in the same fashion that you do; it helps you strike a chord.

Builds a Community

Shared passions and purposes are what drive these movements and they make way for lasting relationships between, the makers, the brands and customers. This automatically changes the process of purchasing; it moves away from merely purchasing some goods from a seller to investing in a shared vision because you respect the people who make exactly what you love and helps you familiarize with other people who share the same interests.

Roots by Nangalia Ruchira

One such name for Slow Fashion that we had the chance to work with is Ruchira Nangalia. She hails from Jaipur and her love for the place transcends into her creations.

Her newest collection titled “FLUID’ is an amalgamation of stripes and hand-looms with a hint of androgyny rawness. The collection is the epitome of Jaipur’s immemorial craftsmanship translated into a contemporary form.

A juxtaposition of handwoven fabrics sourced from South India in earthy colors mixed with a mustard palette gives it that freshness needed for summer. The designs, needless to mention, are bold, raw, and chic in character confabulating an androgynous yet feminine look.

Outfits: Roots by Nangalia Ruchira

Love!

Rad All Day.

Winter Weddings – Look 3

Winters are all about layering.

Have that elegant dress lying in your wardrobe that you’re contemplating on wearing to a chic Christian wedding but have your doubts about the sleeves? Layer your outfit by throwing in a blazer or a shrug in a bold color; I bet you can never go wrong with this and also keep the chill at bay.

Brocade + Velvet

The more you can mix fabric, the more fashion-forward you are; read this somewhere and I couldn’t have agreed more. For my final blog post in this series, I have chosen a fabric that’s probably every lady’s favorite – Brocade. This off-white beauty in brocade, that I got for a steal from Vero Moda – Marquee edition, has been lying in my wardrobe for over a year. It’s a sleeveless dress, with intricate embroidery around the waist. I love it for the fabric, the finish and the fit. To complete the formal look I chose a velvet blazer in ox-blood; the two colors and fabrics blend together to create a rich yet elegant look.

A pair of stilettoes in gold are a must have for a girl; but when you’re heading out to one of those weddings, throw a pair of your flats in the boot of your car, cos you never know who’d ask you for a dance that might last all night 🙂

Christian weddings always have me looking forward to the rock and rolling to old country songs. This is one of my favorites 🙂

Outfit Details:

• Off-white Brocade Dress – Vero Moda
• Ox-blood Velvet Blazer – Ginger, by Lifestyle
• Clutch – Charles and Keith
• Footwear – VELVET ARMY, by Koovs
• Jewellery:
  Choker – Zahana, Chennai
  Earrings – Forever 21
  Bracelet – Boga Accessories

 

Winter Weddings – Look 2

Two is always better than one! Yeah?

Some trends come and go, but I’ve not seen anyone sporting the ‘Coordinated Separates‘ trend ever go awry. Taylor Swift has been rocking this trend for years now and looks super modish every single time.

Jacquard Velvet Separates

The second look that I’m featuring on my blog as part of the Winter Weddings series is my take on the ‘Coordinated Separates’ trend. This outfit would fit perfectly for a semi-formal wedding look.

For this look, I was inspired by one of Samantha Ruth Prabhu (now Akkineni)’s outfits that she posted on her Instagram. A subtle gold matching separates outfit in chevron and checks pattern. Ever since, I was on the lookout for something similar. Luckily enough, I stumbled upon this lovely olive-bronze pleated skirt from Kazo on Myntra and bought it without any second thoughts.

The jacquard and velvet blend of the fabric makes it a perfect choice for a formal winter wedding or even a pre-wedding ceremony. And who doesn’t love the houndstooth pattern? It comes with a boxy crop top in the same fabric with short flared sleeves.

The two are quite versatile pieces of clothing. If you are not a fan of matching separates, you could pair the top with a black skirt or palazzos in black or olive green. Give the boxy top a miss by teaming the skirt with a black or gold crop top and you’ll be able to pull off a whole new look. The basic black lace choker always helps me sassy up any outfit. I coupled it with an angel-wing detailed statement necklace and of course a mini sling to finish the look.

Winter Weddings – Look 3 coming up soon – Stay tuned 🙂

I have been crushing on this song for a while now and the video is adorbs.
Don’t you think this number would make a ‘perfect’ first dance song?

Outfit Details: 

• Kazo Black & Golden Houndstooth Patterned Flared Maxi Skirt – Myntra
• Kazo Black & Golden Houndstooth Pattern Crop Top – Myntra
• Charm and Lattice Choker Set – Forever 21
• Angel-wing statement necklace – Jgypsy

Pictures by: Salih Abdullah

Love,

Rad All Day!

Paisley

How many of you can relate to me when I say I know plenty of songs, some of them by heart although I haven’t watched the video or the movie that the song is from? Some of these songs that I know belong to none other than Ilayaraja. When I discovered he was going to be performing in Hyderabad, I had no two thoughts about attending it.

Hyderabad saw one of its most beautiful nights on Sunday with the maestro regaling the young and old alike. It was endearing to say the least, to see youngsters bring in their parents and grandparents to cheer Ilayaraja and his troupe (all the way from Hungary).