Block print anarkalis in winter

Wearing yet another block print anaarkali but have just slightly rugged it up for winter, you have seen similar dresses here, here, here and here. The whole point is that I wear similar things over and over again because they are easy, comfy and make me happy, I needed to feel happy today..let's say I had an eventful Friday night and a painful Saturday morning.

So I just put on a happy block-print tent, drank lots of fluids, hung out at pretty parks by the water in the afternoon and playing with my sketch-book in the evening. What does your weekend look like?

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?

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.

Bright and Bandhej-ed

All I need to feel wonderful is a bright bandhani kurta worn as a mini shift dress with a brilliant blue bandhani scarf and a hand embroidered bag with fun boots. What are your feel wonderful staples?

Walking the dog in flared cords

A cosy outfit for a cold autumn afternoon of walking the puppy in layers of wool, cord super flares from one teaspoon and a massive bandhani scarf. What is your outfit of choice for running after a bundle of energy that refuses to slow down? I mean look at her here, there is no point to these photos except for just looking at the sheer beauty of her!

Under the bridge in an everyday saree

This is mostly how I wear a saree when the weather starts to cool down, really really casually with pants, a crumply sweater blouse and a beanie as you've already seen here. I don't like to save wearing sarees just for special occasions, I like to wear them to check out weekend markets, get beers or just to wander about inside the house. How and where do you wear your sarees?

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.

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?