Tropical holiday staple: Block print headwrap

The hand block print scarf from Jaipur worn here as a head-wrap is a trusty friend on many of my trips and I never leave home without her or one of her many sisters. You have seen me wear it here as an after swim cover-up and I use it as a versatile classic that morphs into what I need for my every day requirements.

The fabric gets softer and the colours better with every wash, the soft hand-woven cotton dries easily and makes any outfit better and I genuinely feel like it is one of those must-haves I can't do without. This floral print on has been created using natural dyes on wooden blocks with light weight Indian cotton and the sheer weave of the fabric feels light and soft to the touch. Each scarf varies from piece to piece, even the same design in the same colours, making each scarf special in it's own way.

I was wearing it as a head-wrap here to dry my hair post a dip in the sea in Koh Samui. We left the beach to scoot up a hill to get to a water-fall and walked through the tropical jungle to get to this mossy little spot full of abandoned little homes and ancient life size figures.

Along with the scarf I threw on my every day island attire of a random cotton singlet, bright embroidered bag made by the Hmong tribe, denim cut-offs and canvas slip-ons. The scarf was also a little something to keep me warm after a day full of adventures.

Bell-bottom jeans with Bandhani

Bandhani is an ancient form of intricate tie-dye, evidence suggests that it was in existence as early as 4000BC and most of what I wear comes from the Saurashtra or Kutch region of Gujarat. The dots are created by meticulously tying thousands of sections of the cloth to resist the rich colours of mostly natural dye it is then dipped in, which results in intricate designs and motifs.

I can never get enough of Bandhani, here I have worn a cotton open front flowy bandhej kurta with a maxi cardigan and a pair of bell-bottoms from One teaspoon. However as much as I love Bandhani, I also like wearing it in ways that suit me, rather than wear the typical gaghra, or salwar kurta, I don't see the point of staying within the tried and tested popular parameters. I mean I will play the princess in a chiffon bandhani anarkali but not all the time and I do like to incorporate a lot of traditional desi fabrics into my everyday with my jeans. What's life if one can't play a little bit with one's clothing?

Post holiday blue skies

The holiday up north was good, but boy it is good being back to my summer serenity, blue skies and beaches. I am the happiest when I can live in my swim things, throw on a ragged pair of shorts, cowrie shells+silver, a tee-shirt almost as an after thought, grab the first fringy bag in my reach and run around bare feet all day playing with dogs. Bliss!

I have a lot of photos to go through and photo diaries to post but for now I am glad to be back and am slowly catching up on all that I've missed in blog land. Happy Sunday world!

More needle-work on denim adventures

Lately I've been thinking that just posting pictures of my outfits doesn't really define my idea of what this blog should be. I mean of course I want to post pictures of outfits that I really like but let's face it, most of them are going to involve cut-offs and ripped tees, instead of being repetitive I want to share things that I really really inpire me. One of the things that seriously makes me want to decorate my surroundings plus myself is hand-embroidery/ needle-work, there is just something about colourful sewn designs that makes me go aah! I gotta have it!

Also I got a couple of very sweet emails from some of you asking me for photos of the process and DIY needle work tips instead of just putting pictures of my completed designs. So here goes, now for this particular DIY, the idea was to stitch a patch on my denim vest but the fabric is so thick that I broke a couple of needles trying to poke it into submission. So before I did more damage a decision was taken to try my hand at a denim shirt, I have heaps lying around and they make the most wonderful layering pieces in the colder seasons. Since I am documenting this here, I wanted to challenge myself; therefore instead of just using a combination of stitches that I already know I decided to learn one online and then use it to make my shirt pretty. I will share the tutorial that best helps me learn my chosen style instead of making a repeat tutorial. My chosen art form is Kutchi embroidery.

Kutch is a part of the desert in Western India where the artisans sew intricate colourful designs on fabrics that adorn various people and objects. I have wanted to learn this method forever and I just hope I am half as good as the local artisans. It seems like an elaborate process of first making a grid and then interlacing the grid to form an absolutely beautiful design but as I found it isn't as hard as I first thought it was. Here go the pictures of the shirt in different stages of the process as well as the link to the tutorial that I used to learn the Kutchi border design. Please excuse the pencil drawings you can see on the shirt, I haven't washed it yet, scared to put it in the wash for the fear of the mirrors falling off and also I was excited to take pictures and post them. In case any of you decide to try this DIY send me pictures of your endeavours.

Stomping on fine sand makes boots rad

Shorts: Vintage Levi's, Boots: Nine west, Corduroy shirt and Harley Davidson Bag: Vintage, Jewelery: India+Gifted+Sydney Markets

The very first weekend of 2013 consisted of heaps of wild kangaroo sightings, sunbaking, binge picnic food consumption, sea shell hunting, dolphin sighting, cockatoo spotting and exploring a beach with the whitest sand in the world, if this sets a pattern for the year I will be more than happy. Also I am happy to report the new looking boots look completely worn-in just the way I like it, stomping on the fine sands of various beaches on Jervis bay gave them the look I wanted plus a coating of dust that is totally rad.

Hope you are having a great start of the year what ever it is that you're doing. Happy start of 2013!

Vest obsession still going strong

Skirt: Bondi markets, Crop top: Factorie, Vest: Vintage Levis, Wedges: Wittner, Jewellery: Gifted+India

Okay we've got to accept that I am officially obsessed with my vest, its just so perfect I try to wear it everyday with everything or did for the first few days after I hacked the sleeves off. Now I am back to obsessing about crochet and flared pants which doesn't mean that you've seen the last of this vest. I am just planning my DIY and then I'll probably sleep in it for a month.

Yesterday, I came home to a beautiful package from my bestest friend and it has made me a happy little girl. Among other things it has this totally rad singlet that I cannot wait to wear, since it was meant as my Christmas gift I am going to try to wait for Christmas to wear it or as close as I can get to the holidays. Baaaah, I have no patience! Basically my point of telling you this mundane detail of my life is that surprise packages make me happy therefore they must make other people happy as well ergo people should send each other more handwritten letters, postcards, notes and packages :D

Happy lead up to the holidays everyone, eight sleeps to go till a very special person visits the boy and I...CANNOT WAIT!

Summer shorts DIYs

Like any other girl I love denim cut offs for summer, baah who am I kidding, I love them all year round, but unlike most other girls who might have a few trusted pairs of jean shorts I have amassed a huge collection over the years. Since they look better with age there is no giving them away and as I re-organized my clothes during the move I realized I have an astounding number of Levis 501s alone and an even greater number of various other brands and leather and suede and various other materials, okay I think you get the picture, I have a lot of shorts. So this year I've decided to refrain from buying more and to avoid getting attracted by shiny new ones I decided to get crafty with my existing pairs.

I've already jumped on the tie-dye bandwagon eons ago, ripped a few babies to reveal their cooler shredded avatars, bleached, dip-dyed etc etc but I knew now was the time to up the ante because I want a pair of personalized denim that no one else would have. So I decided to go the ethnic embroidery route, Gujarati needle work style. Gujarat is a state in Western India that has a long history with textiles especially needle work and tie dye, popularly known locally as Bandhani. The stark monotony of the desert landscape in the region is brightened up by intricate colourful embroidery, bead and mirror work. Now I am not any where close to as talented as the local ladies there are but I still decided to have a go on a pair of shorts in what can be described best as my take on that style.

Here are a few pictures of the various DIYs that I am currently working on, I started small with stitching a ying yang patch on the back pocket of a pair, then embroidered a peace sign on the back of another, then sharpied a Mexican sugar skull-esque design on the front of a 501 and then started some more complicated work on a pair of Wranglers that's almost ready. Outfit posts coming as soon as the November rain lets up. Any DIY+design suggestions are more than welcome :D Happy Wednesday all!

Bonne fete de la toussaint

Floral denim shorts: Insight, Corduroy shirt: Thrifted, Suede bag: India, Boots: Witchery


Since my last post we've moved into a new house and I am currently obsessed with making a tropical forest-esque garden on my balcony. The rest of the house is a maze of cartons filled with my various wordly posessions, needless to say I hate unpacking and organising. I totally welcome decor DIY ideas and am constantly checking home decor blogs, might even do a "hey look at my pretty house" post when I successfully do up the place.

This whole outfit post has come about because of my said obsession with terrace foliage, my lovely corduroy men's shirt/ jacket, denim flower print shorts and the beautiful suede perfection on my shoulder. Its not easy to blog about what I am wearing while I have to comb through half a dozen suitcases but its no excuse to vanish from the blogosphere altogether therefore here I am as usual talking about my latest loves from my own closet. In a way its fun though, to find things I already have and fall back in love with them since I refuse to be a part of the use and throw fast fashion bandwagon. I shall stop now because more home decor inspiration beckons. Have a fun El Dia de los Muertos!

Random shots taken after dark

Hello hello :D Two posts in a week after almost two months of silence? What can I say except for I love getting my posting mojo back. So I am sharing these pictures more for the accessories than anything else, I know some people post perfect looking pictures but I am not one of them. In the first outfit I am in love with the DIY-ed CK shorts, embroidered camel leather bag and the crochet cardigan thing and in the second with the gauzy skirt and the neck party.

I bought the shorts from a vintage shop in Surry hills which I haunt for denim and bags, the embroidered bag was a gift, the crochet cardigan is from the Manly markets, the gauzy skirt is from Paharganj, Delhi and the neck bling is from all over. I bought this skirt on one of my first few days in Delhi with my soul-sister, promptly wore it to go see the Qutab minar and I think I'll always treasure it because of the person I bought it with and the people I met while wearing it for the first time. Yea I am sentimental like that.

The more I read about fashion in most magazines the more I am inspired to just dress for myself, I can't really understand how it is okay for magazines to tell us that we are not good enough if we're not dressing for our body-type, we need to wear certain colours or certain things are not in and wearing them will make us look what? Silly??? Stupid??? Well Bleh! I am barely five feet tall and I will wear maxi skirts and dresses without heels because I WANT to. I am fed up with people telling me what looks good on me or even worse what is appropriate.

Appropriate or inappropriate is all in one's head if you ask me, telling people how they should dress or behave is just plain idiotic. If it is 40 deg celcius outside I will wear the least amount of clothing and if that makes you insecure to have me around your man or woman, one go see a shrink and get rid of your insecurities and two go run round the block to whip your body into shape instead of telling me to dress appropriately!!! Phew rant over.

I've been wanting to get this off my chest for ages, the trip back home was filled with people who made me tremendously uncomfortable about being who I am. The worst part of it all was that more women seemed to be intent on girl shaming than men. But something my Dad said stayed with me "You don't have to change who you are or lie about anything as long as you are happy with yourself". Thankfully my parents are wonderful people and are happy to let me grow into whoever I want to be. I think I should actually sit and do a post on how stupid it is to judge people on the basis of how they choose to dress or undress their body. But in the meantime I have read a pretty good post on the topic and you should definitely read Courtney's blog, especially this post

Happy friday everyone!