Swinging by the seaside at sunset

Boyfriend shorts, with a silk barely there top over bathers is my uniform du jour when the weather permits it.

Running around a dry waterfall in Ko Samuii

This water-fall was fun to get to, riding a rickety scooter up a hill, stopping for some tender coconuts and then walking down to the ravines.
There was no water as we went before the monsoons but it was really fun to run up and down the rocks with a puppy that was wandering about.

An old hand block-print top with denim cut-offs, slip-ons and a locally made bag completed the look for the day. Nothing special, just travel comfort appropriate.

Super soft Lakshmi tee shirt in a rainforest

So I know the Hindu God and Goddess tee-shirts are overdone especially by white hippies (cultural appropriation galore) but I still love and wear them heaps! You've seen them before here, here and here. I love the colours of the them, they remind me of everything that is good and fun about home, Visarjan, festivals, rangolis, vintage hand painted movie posters and just life in general. Here I am wearing one such old and kinda tattered but still very much loved tee with a merino baselayer, jeans and an oversized vintage Chevignon jacket along with a suede bag picked up in Kutch.

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.

Shawl Shenanigans

Every winter I get completely enamoured with a shawl or few and have one of them (or many) wrapped around myself for the entire season all day every day. More often than not they are bright colours with embroidery, mirrors, tassels definitely pure wool and hand loomed to perfection. This year the two obsession includes this one from Bhuj and another Patola shawl :)

This one is Bandhani with mirror work, hand loomed as well as hand dyed worn with a brocade mini in a rain-forest. I don't think there is a more perfect way to wear things other than exploring deep in the foliage surrounded by mossy, slippery rocks, waterfalls and ferns. Hope you're having a wonderful weekend.

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!

Bandhani for my 200th post

I love wearing cholis and saree blouses as tops with jeans and love wearing tee-shirts and sweaters as blouses with sarees. You would have seen cholis with denims here, here and here and a sweater with a saree here.

I don't see the point of wearing certain things in pairs just because that is how it has been done for decades. I believe in having fun with things and playing with silhouettes and proportions as well as putting things together in one's own way. My latest favourite is wearing a Rajasthani type long Bandhani choli with denim and I can say that I am obsessed with this top. It is made from a Gajji silk fabric, which means that it is a satin weave done on silk fabric. It's really soft and I love the deep green colour and the subtle Bandhani designs.

I have had a few things made in this fabric and they are all beyond lovely. The top is worn here with drop-crotch boy-friend jeans but trust me it looks great with shorts, skirts as well as skinnies. These leather slip-ons are from Bali and all the silver is from India, mostly designs from various tribes in Gujarat and Rajasthan.

I hope everyone's had a lovely festive season and are excited about what 2016 will bring. Have a great Sunday :)

Travel diaries: Post cards from Kutch

The vast open desert barren save for thorny bushes, the beautiful textiles and embroidery, the salt marshes located by the Arabian sea stretching along the Tropic of Cancer and the beautiful oasis with migratory birds from far away, Kutch is beautiful! Here are a few pictures that barely do the place justice.