More mirror work madness

A choli is a blouse that one wears with a traditional Indian skirt; the gaghra and this particular choli has been worn year after year for Navaratri, a nine-day festival celebrating a demon killing avatar, Goddess Durga. Now my love for ass kicking Goddesses is well known as is my obsession with mirror work, I mean just look at the banner for this blog but I have recently decided that I am going to make mirror work tops and bottoms a part of my every day attire. I already wear loads of it in small doses, like a patch here a handbag there but now I am going to up the ante.

Its just that I am just so bored looking at the usual blue jeans/ white tee-shirt combination that I have decided to brave any funny looks that might come my way. You know the best part? We just went to get a cup of chocolate milk wearing this and no one, not one person gave me any funny looks, it was awesome. Just goes to show that there is nothing wrong in wearing what one feels like, most people are too busy to pay any negative attention. By the way, I don't have anything against the blue jeans/ white tee-shirt combination, I just don't like wearing too much of it but if that's someone else's thing, I am sure they rock it.

The little red kantha pouch that I am wearing is from Aarong, a fair trade organisation that sources its goods from impoverished local artisans in Bangladesh. Reaching out to weavers, potters, brass workers, jewellers, jute workers, basket weavers, wood carvers, leather workers and more, Aarong represents about 65,000 artisans, 85% of whom are women. I have over the years bought a lot of stuff from them and if you're interested you should definitely check them out. I am only speaking from my personal experience because I love to support businesses that benefit women especially from disadvantaged backgrounds. I have not been asked to write this nor have I been paid for it. Hope everyone's having a great week so far and looking forward to the weekend, its the Sydney GLBTQ Mardi Gras and I can't wait for the parade on Saturday. Rainbow sparkles, sequinned hot pants and wigs, here I come.













Mirror work choli: Gujarat, India, Shorts: Vintage Levi's 501s, Wedges: Wittner, Kantha pouch: Aarong

Random photos taken over the past few months

A few photos dug out of the depths of my computer that were taken over the last few months of 2012, sometimes I take photos of things to go through later and then completely forget about them. Things that I have been looking at lately are fabric bags, army bags with patches, my army bag is going to go through some pretty heavy DIY soon, oversize vintage denim jackets (extra points if they are made in Australia), colourful middle eastern ceramics (I want to fill my house with them), ponies and a donkey we met at a street fair (I spent waaay too long trying to be friends with them) and above all ancient Indian architecture. Looking at these photos conjures up the joy that I felt in the moments they were taken. My computer will make a good competition for tumblr with the amount of photos that are floating about in various folders. Hopefully I can post more of them here for anyone who'd like to look. Happy Tuesday all!

Easy, breezy, short-all Sunday

Denim short-alls+woven bag+boots+tee-shirt: Vintage, Jewellery: Sydney markets+India

Two night outs in a row has a resulted in a very lazy me, who couldn't be bothered doing anything complicated today. Wore my new (to me) cut-off denim over-alls to get a milk-shake and walk around the neighbourhood till I got tired of being blown about by the wind. All I can think about for today is to relax, maybe watch a movie, eat ice-cream and be lazy in preparation for the hectic-ness that tomorrow will bring. Have a happy Sunday world!

A few of my favourite things

When I am disturbed and things are not going well, I turn to objects that have always cheered me up, given me comfort and motivation. Here are a few such things; succulents, succulents and more succulents, any kind of plants actually, if I could convert my house into a jungle I'd be happy, fabric/ carpet bags have been inspiring entire outfits lately, my bags are hung all over the room off every conceivable piece of furniture including my book-shelf, chair etc, plaids always have a place in my outfit choices and they look great clashing with the prints on my bags.

I have bought a copper plant hanger from the local Salvos today and can't wait to put a plant in and hang it up. Little things give me great joy in trying times. What inspires you?

Backpacks, bushwalks and cotton-tops

Billowy top +back-pack: Vintage, Shorts: Ksubi, Jewellery: India+Sydney markets

Spend another warm, sunny day by the bushlands in Sydney's north shore, walking by the water, skipping about in my billowy cotton top, visiting an organic garden and chook farm then finally fell asleep on a massive, warm rock by the water. The best kinda lazy day. What did you do over the weekend?

In which I put no thought into what I am wearing

Vintage leather backpack, Jewellery and Silk scarf: Sydney markets+India, Plaid Shirt: Minkpink, Cotton dress: Topshop, Suede boots: Wittner

The day that most people equate with over-priced flowers, expensive jewellery and cheesy cards was also the day that women (and a few men) all around the world danced for awareness as well as to demand an end to violance against women. Ofcourse I couldn't stay away from an event like that and joined the crowd of juggling, dancing women and kids at a park close to home and then promptly stalked the cutest puppies in the park. I am not even joking, we went and sat where most doggies were playing till they came over to say hello and proceeded to give them cuddles plus belly rubs. Absolutely the best way to spend an absolutely commercialized sham of a day.

Here's what I wore for comfort and to stay cool. I know I look like something a cat dragged in but that's the way I like to be, sans make-up, wearing what I feel like, keeping the hair off my face with whatever comes first to my hand and generally turning my nose up at spending hours primping and grooming. I'd rather spend hours playing with my clothes, colourful objects, jewellery and running wild in the bush. Speaking of jewellery this is one of my favourite necklaces, I mean its paisley, doesn't that say it all? I love love silk scarfs turned head bands, just messily tying my hair up and hoping it will stay put. Also I am happy to report my creative funk has resulted in a couple of pages of sketched henna designs as well as elephants (I dunno why I am obesessed with Ganesh and elephants) that will hopefully be replicated on tee-shirts soon. Plus I might indulge in some needle-work on this plaid shirt, I wear them shirts a lot and it wouldn't hurt to individualize them a little bit. Also I need DIY ideas for my leather backpacks, since they are suddenly in fashion again, I want to personalize mine, thoughts?

Hope you had fun whatever you did to celebrate the day of love and your loved ones made you feel warm and fuzzy!

Peace, love and mirror work

Here's me finally featuring my first 'mirror-work on vintage denim' shorts that I have been wearing quite consistently. Its been sometime since I've created something and this evening I got all angsty and sad, it took some time till I realised I have not created anything and that is making me cranky. Does that happen to anyone else? I need to do more than work, come home, eat and sleep to nourish my being. I still haven't started on my tie-dye Ganesh/ Hindu Goddess tee-shirt, also I am dying to learn to sew, knit and crochet but don't know who to ask and where to begin. So all in all I am pretty starved of creative fulfillment.

But instead of ranting about it, I've decided to stalk inspiring tumblrs in a bit to energize myself and get the creative juices flowing. Do you have any ideas for me? Back to outfit talk, this is my usual attire when the weather can't decide if it wants to be summer or pre-autumn and I love this plaid beauty to death. Another thing I love is the Bowie tank I've worn here, its perfect, its soft and it has David Bowie on it, what more could I want? As you can tell, I am one to repeat my items of clothing again and again, you've seen the Bowie tank here and the plaid shirt here. Hope you're having a wonderful mid-week and are preparing to spoil your loved ones today. I am going to be dancing for womens' rights and can't think of a better way to celebrate love. Sending out good vibes to the universe.

Vintage Levi's plaid and DIY shorts, Vintage leather bucket bag

And block-print makes a comeback

Vintage carpet bag and Indian cotton dress, Suede boots: Witchery

To me summer means getting to wear my flowy cotton dresses in my happy place, by the water without tights or cardies or in this case without a belt or any attempt at making myself look shapely. I was told that I looked like a ghost and I liked the feeling of almost floating about. Any one who knows me is aware that I love my Indian cotton block-printed beauties, the older the better since the fabric seems to feel more like a kid's tattered blankie with every wash. Yes, I just did say that, I want my clothes to feel like the tattered blankie I carried around as a child, it was immensely embarassing to my Mum but I treasured it. Therefore here is an outfit post of me wandering about my favourite rock-pools in a flowy dress and Suede boots till I got tired of them and scampered about bare-feet. Isn't it lovely when the sun's shining down, all one has to worry about is making one's way to the closest over-size rock and listen to the sounds of the sea? My idea of perfect. Have a great week!

Maxi skirts and cats

We woke up today to a glorious, sunny, beautiful day and ofcourse promptly decided to go to the beach. Although normally I like isolated coasts and avoid Australia's most famous beach, Sunday is market day at Bondi and off we went towards non-shopping-mall goodies. But by the time we got to the water it was getting darker with the clouds threatening to erupt as well as the wind being nasty, so off we went exploring the little lanes, peeking at gardens and ofcourse petting furry cuties who decided to say hello. Here's a few pictures of what I was wearing as well the Bondi just before it started to rain. I know most people like to post pictures of sunny beaches but I really find the seashore exceedingly beautiful even in the rain plus hardly any people and lots of seagulls, win win.

Since I wanted to wear something I could take off easily and I am trying to not always reach for my cut-offs, I went for my second favourite thing, a flouncy skirt in a print that makes me miss the sights and sounds of India. Gauzy cotton skirts have been my favourite since I was little and the paisley and flowers on this one make me feel like a wood nymph (I have been waiting FOREVER to discover I have some magic in me). Funny thing is, I have the exact same skirt, in the same colours (which you've seen here) that I justified buying because it had elephants at the bottom not flowers! I am starting to think there might be a problem but as they make me feel pretty I am going to ignore the existence of an obsession and simply say I LOVE printed maxi skirts.

And since I had already resisted the temptations of my denim shorts, I wasn't strong enough to resist a plaid shirt (another one of my wardrobe staples) and also I am not one of those people who think repeating outfits is a crime. I want to hold on to my goodies for a lonng lonng time, that means I will definitely wear them heaps and anyway I am not one of those bloggers who will apologise for repeating items of clothing. I am trying to reduce my consumption and not be part of the use once and throw mentality. While walking about we found this garage door covered with a divine tie-dye bedsheet and I couldn't resist taking a picture in front of it and look how cute is the Ganesh on it. I can't wait to make a tie-dye shirt and draw or embroider Ganapati to make it even more awesome. And on top of all the Ganesh goodness meeting not one but two feline beauties today was the highlight of my day and yes, I am one of those people who spam instagram feeds with pictures of cats.

So basically I rambled on and on just to say, I went to the beach, wore a pretty skirt, saw an amazing bed-sheet and met cutie kitties. Hope you'll had a wonderful weekend whatever you did!

Printed maxi+some jewellery: India, Swimmers: Tiger lily, Plaid shirt: Op-shopped Levis, Suede boots: Witchery, Leather bucket bag: Vintage