Hand painted Kalamkari duster

Last year a lovely friend in Pune (hey Archu!), bought this amazing hand-painted Kalamkari fabric and had this duster jacket made for me. It quickly became my most favourite thing to wear with pretty much everything.

I've worn it here with ripped light wash jeans, a Guns n' Roses tee, a vintage leather backpack and platform brogues from Jeffrey Campbell to go to a picturesque waterfall in a natural park in Sydney's north shore.

What is your favourite way to wear Kalamkaris?

Kalamkari mini

Kalamkari hand-block print is something I cannot get enough of, this dress was a weirdly shaped maxi that did nothing for me even after alterations so I just cut it off and let the ends fray. I love the sleeves and can now wear it with cut-off or full length denims, yaaaaay!

Makes perfect weekend wear in my opinion, what are your weekend wear staples?

Another anarkali with vans on a hike

So here's one of my light 'hiking' appropriate outfit on a winter's day in Sydney; icebreaker merino baselayer, jeans, beat-up vans and a Kalamkari hand block-print anarkali to keep up with an energetic puppy in a rain-forest. I really cannot get enough of flowy block print full-length dresses, I find it appropriate for any activity. What do you wear on hikes/ bushwalks?

Hand block-print and Vintage Wool

It has gotten cold in Sydney now and I dress like a grandma who likes to be completely insulated from the cold, albeit with a bit of block-print or Bandhani thrown in. These aren't so much outfit photos as they are 'look at my favourite-st puppy and I wore hand block-print and vintage wool grand-ma cardigan to play with her'. This is what I call my put everything warm I have in layers and refuse to stay indoors look.

Swathed in Magic and Ferns

Flowy anaarkali dresses in cotton block-prints and bandhani are my go-tos all year round, in all sorts of locations, these photos were taken bushwalking in the forests leading to waterfalls. Travelling to the mountains west of Sydney to explore the canyons, cliffs and waterfalls is a frequent excursion for the boy and I. The plethora of ferns, the swirling mists deep in the jungle, the almost other worldly sounds and smells, all make this place more magical every time we visit. Breathtaking views from the top, almost inaccessible valleys at the bottom, steep gorges and breathtaking rain-forests everything is both magical and majestic at the same time.

I feel like this dress just blends into the fernery, I can hide my warm woolies into its folds and if you know me, you know I have many many dresses exactly like this one. I love desi hand-crafted clothes but I also like my outfits not to limit my movements and like exploring even more, so I like my clothes pretty but functional in ways that makes sense to me.

Some more Kalamkari Love

I am really a creature of habit when it comes to my clothes, I not only buy similar things over and over again, I actually buy the same exact things in many different colours. This dress for example, if you look closely you will notice it is the exact same dress as the last post, just in a different colour. I have no excuse for my hoarding tendencies, I just have never fallen out of love with hand-crafted fabrics. I did think about not posting these sets of photos one after the other and did have other options but then thought, seriously who cares if I wear the exact same dress in a different colour in two different posts?

So here you have it, one of my tried and tested combinations, kalamkari fabric worn with a colourful bandhini scarf and a bright fabric bag. I also always add a bunch of hand crafted jewellery and here I have worn a couple of Dokra necklaces. Another thing that I have too much of and like to pretend one can never have enough of is; indigo fabrics. I have indigo in every kind of hand crafted fabric, batik, bandhini, bagru, Ajrakh, Ikat, kalamkari and I still yearn for more.
What are you tried and tested combinations that you can't get enough of?

Kalamkari love

So we had an uncharacteristically warm autumn day this weekend and I promptly put a flowy Kalamkari hand-block print maxi on paired with a hand block-print scarf, beaded Kutchi belt and a carpet bag. We took these photos on a walk around the neighbourhood after eating some yummy organic fare at the closest cafe. Some of the best weekend moments are spent just doing everyday things. Hope you've all had a great weekend!

Kalamkari Cape

One of my favourite fabrics in the whole wide world is; Kalamkari, which is a kind of hand-painted or block-printed cotton textile, produced in India. It is my absolute favourite and I have everything from kurtas to shirts to capes to gaghraas and even wall-hangings in this fabric. In most cases vegetable dyes are used to etch these amazing designs on fabrics and you've seen me wear a duster in this fabric here. This fabric gets softer and more wonderful after umpteen washes making the designs stand out more.

In the above photos I am wearing a cape tailor-made to satisfy my twirling needs, I feel like a pixie running about in my cape on the rocks by the water.

Balcony twirls

The cold and the rain though not really welcome are settling in, I am slightly excited about autumn layers but I am not really looking forward to winter AT ALL. I know I am a wuss, because Sydney winters are pretty mild compared to a lot of places but I just don't like heavy layers and wearing pants! Wearing pants is the WORST!

But hopefully there is still some sunlight left for the next few weeks and we can enjoy a bit more warmth. While there is even a semblance of warmth, I will twirl in barely there dusters and tiny little dresses like this one. Bought after an intense haggle in Colaba this dress is years old and the duster made from a thin, cotton Kalamkari saree never fails to make me feel good. All the jewellery is silver from India bought over the years.

Happy Navroze to all those celebrating today, hope everyone's having a great weekend!