Spring, I've missed you

Spring is here and I can't wait for my mini-garden to start blooming again, wearing lighter layers and in eight weeks going home for a visit. I have waited over a year for this visit, planning things down to the last tiniest details, dreaming about the moment I will re-unite with my family, celebrate festivals like they're meant to be celebrated, make rangolis all over the house with my sister and generally just forget the nastiness in the world.

In the meantime I am going to wear as many layers of jewellery, more block print, excessive amounts of batik, embroidered bits and bobs while frolicking on isolated coasts sunning by rock pools. What are your spring plans?

Winter beach walks

Sunny winter Sundays spent by the lake or ocean are the best ways to de-stress and re-examines one's priorities. And having an energetic furball just completes the picture of perfection. I have been open about my love for traditional Indian fabrics and cuts and this top or 'Kediyu' as it is called traditionally in Gujarat is one of my prized items of clothing. Last year I went to my tailor with some left over scrap of bright green 'Bandhani' fabric that was too little to be used for much and demanded a Kediyu and he made me this. I love it so much I have qualms about washing it in the machine. I cannot wait to go back this year and get more made.

This top is very commonly seen worn by men in Gujarat and elaborate versions are worn for the Navaratri festival during the fall harvest. I can't really see myself waiting for holidays to wear what I like and therefore I wear these kind of tops all year round. I mean once you've found something you love, have continued being obsessed by it for decades, there isn't much point in wearing it every once in a while.

Beautiful pictures

I am not going to say much, just let you enjoy a few pictures from all over but mostly from Gujarat, India. The place has the most exquisite range of textiles and jewellery and I can't wait to visit soon. I've spent half my life trying to dress like these women and failed miserably but I will never give up. Hope you love these images and find them as inspiring as I do.





















Photo sources: All over

Blogger buddies RULE!

Dress: Anokhi, Bag and Beanie: Sportsgirl, Boots: India

I have had a rough couple of days and have been dealing with some yucky personal stuff lately and that had made me crawl into a hole and avoid doing much here but then one of my blogger buddies (Hey Debi!)spoke to me all night and that helped me gain a little perspective and I decided I miss my little band of fabulous feminist ladies too much to mope around for long. Therefore here I am...

My love for ethnic blockprint fabric is well documented here as is my unwavering devotion to this brand called Anokhi which supports local crafts people in Jaipur, India therefore I shall not bore you with more odes to this fabric. Instead let me tell you the story of this particular Anokhi dress; made out of thick linen fabric it used to be a maxi which looked completely ridiculous on me, so I hacked it and let the ends fray. I intend on patchworking one of my army bags with the leftover fabric and I love the shapeless-ness plus floaty sleeves of this dress which make me feel like I have wings. All in all a win-win situation, where I have a dress I love which is perfect for fall weather, I can wear a tonne of layers under the dress and it is something that no one else has and fabric from it will help me personalize my army bag. So much happiness from one little dress!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Easter holiday and feasting on goodies, I am off to do some work and then take it easy. Happy Sunday world!

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!

Yellow and Blue

Dress: Only, Shirt and Leather jacket: Super old can't remember, Boots: India, Turquoise pendant: Mexico, All other jewellery: India

Ummm...So where do I begin? I basically had the awful-est time on my trip both physically and emotionally and I'll stop at that. But I can't let things or people get me down, can I? Therefore I am going to do all the things that I enjoy doing more than ever and wear ANYTHING that I WANT no matter what. One thing that I've decided is that no one is going to tell me what to wear or how to behave :D

I have been obsessing about Maxi dresses and skirts for quite some time now and this spring weather lets me wear boots as well as pile layers of mis-matched clothes and jewellery on top. What could be better? Have a great week everyone!

Pyjama shorts and embroidered leather

Crochet and puppies do it for me at 35 degree celcius

Tee: Salvos, Crochet skirt: Bondi markets, Jewellery/ Bag/ Slippers: India

I had forgotten the joy that are stray puppies on the streets of India, they claim a certain house as their own and are the bestest friends to have. My sister's house is surrounded by stray cats and dogs who have claimed her as their pet and I get to reap all the benefits of that.

Although all this puppy love has resulted in yet another crochet skirt falling in the middle of the street incident, I am beginning to sense a pattern here. And let me tell you getting de-skirted in India can cause far worse problems than anywhere else. Skirt falling dramas and puppy love aside, I am happy to report that the weather here is almost melting my skin off but I have wonderful new treasures to be happy about. My intent to buy only used/ ethical clothing is getting really hard to stick to because I want to buy everything in sight, pretty pretty things call out to me. But so far have got gifts from everyone, claimed a few of my sister's jewels as my own and am wearing fragrant/ fresh flower crowns. Life is good!

Please admire my new embroidered slippers, since I can't wear my short shorts I am going over board with colour, embroidery and fresh flowers. Yes I know my tee says Baghdad but I imagine the city before the war and meanness and I think it must have been beautiful to sit by the Tigris and soak it in. Have a happy happy week!