The yellow-orange leaves that you collect for no reason, the pain that you hide in your laughter, the first love letter, now crumpled and lost in the pages of an old book, the peck on the cheek that you get after a hard day, the hug that you give when your own strength is ebbing away, the helplessness hidden in your sigh and the dance in your step that doesn’t die away. These are just some of the things that make you, that complete you. That tells, carry on soldier, you are doing great.

At times I am convinced that I am full of paradoxes. I am calm and the storm, the black and the white, the vice and the virtue, the mess and the harmony. Most of the time (especially of late) I am trying to find myself amidst all the haze and the chaos. What has all that got to do with fashion you ask? I hear you. As I have often stated in this blog, fashion or style is not an entity existing alone in an ivory tower. It is personal, political and everything in between. Above all it is a way you express yourself (and your various moods to the world).

Of late I am all about experimenting with colours, textures and unlikely combinations. In my previous post, you saw me wearing Gingham blouse with Indian style jhumkas. In here, I am mixing two unlikely colour and textures. Although I love colourful ensembles, I would have never thought of wearing pink with olive green. I literally threw this look together when I was dashing for work early in the morning. But I was surprised how well it came together. Another experiment I have done here is combining leather with knit wear. Once again, I never thought it could be done but as I have shown you here it can be. Paradoxes, you see.

leather skirt style

leather skirt style

To bring out the look in its completely, I have gone for black accessories like polka dot tights, knee high boots and bag. But once again to give it a dash of sass, I have used quirky and colourful earrings. If you are still unsure of colour blocking, I would suggest to start small. Pair bright colours with a muted ones, add colourful accessories and voila you would have a look which is easy to pull yet make you stand out of the crowd.

leather skirt style

leather skirt style

Sweater: Ralph Lauren, Skirt: Amazon Fashion, Boots: Ego, Bag: Osprey, Earrings: Independent designer 

So, next time if you are bogged down about paradoxes don’t be after all a bit of variety hurt no one.

Thank you for reading. Have a wonderful weekend and hope you liked my post. Don’t forget to follow me. You can also follow me on Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter. 

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I have never seen elegance go out of style—Sonya Teclai

A very Happy New Year to all my amazing readers and blogging friends. I hope your year started with a bang.

As I mentioned in my previous post, New Year means a time for new opportunities, new challenges and new adventures. For me, it is also the time to step back, introspect and re-invent myself. When I am talking about re-invention, i am not merely talking about physical one. For me, this year, re-invention is focused more on emotional, mental and spiritual aspects.

It is about finding myself in the chaos and incessant chatter of life, it is about learning to let go and it is about de-cluttering my life of negativity, of toxic people, de-cluttering my mind and of achieving some clarity (at least that’s my aim, how much of this I achieve is a question of time).

At the same time, it is also about reinventing myself, learning new things, experimenting (sartorially and otherwise) and once again learning to have faith in me and in people around me.

Gingham blouse trend from Shein

To be honest, I was not too sure, on how I wanted to start the first fashion post of the year on this blog. I was toying if I should glam up or dress down. At the end, I chose what reckoned with me the most. If you know me, you know that l love all things quirky. So, when Shein asked me collaborate with them, I jumped in and chose this cute and quirky gingham billow sleeve blouse with cut out high neck.

Gingham blouse fashion trend, Shein

It is chic, effortless, minimal, quirky (that word again!) and fun. These are the qualities i love and always aim for in my looks and in my life. I chose to pair with ripped jeans, a bright bag and to go back to my Indian roots—Indian style jhumkas. I love mixing oriental/Eastern elements with Western ones (and you will see such mash ups more often this year) and this is just an example how it can be done without going overboard. For footwear, I have used oldie but gold of an ankle boots. I chose this laid back style also because of the fact that it is still supremely cold in UK and I am not quite ready to let go of comfortable dressing. But this is a versatile blouse and I can totally see myself wearing it with black skirt and pumps in spring/summer.

Gingham blouse style by Shein

Gingham blouse fashion trend, Shein

So what do you guys think? Isn’t effortless chic the new black? If you loved this blouse, don’t forget to check Shein for this and more amazing items they have.

Gingham blouse fashion trend, Shein

Blouse: Shein, Ripped Jeans: Diy, Bag: Zara, Earrings/Bracelet: Amazon(UK), Boots: New Look

Thank you for reading. Hope you liked the post. Don’t forget to follow me. You can also follow me on Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest.

Thank you Shein for sponsoring this post. 

“At the end of the day, we can endure much more than we think we can”–Frida Kahlo

Welcome to the second last day of the year. I hope you had a wonderful Christmas weekend and made several memories. Each year this time around I am filled with hope and positivity with a little bit of anxiety thrown in. 2016 has been one tumultuous year for many of us. A year which shocked us in many ways thanks mainly to two seminal events: Brexit and Donald Trump. I am not in any way underestimating political and cultural shifts taking place in other parts of the world but there is a certain truth in the saying that when super powers cough everyone catches a cold.

It is also the year when we lost some iconic names from the world of film, literature and music. David Bowie, Alan Rickman, Harper Lee, George Michael, Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds to name a few. If you think all is lost then think again. Few months ago Ebola vaccination was discovered, ozone layer is healing, Giant pandas are no longer endangered and my favourite actor and teenage crush Leonardo Di Caprio finally won that damn Oscar. The point is: there is always light at the end of the tunnel and that hope is something we should never let go off. 

Personally, it has been a year of realisations, persisting despite failures, learning to let go, learning to forgive more. There has been several times this year when I just wanted to give up: on this blog, on myself even on dressing up. But everytime I fell down, I got up, dusted myself and kept going. Because isn’t that what life is all about? To keep going no matter what. After all, the real defeat is when you stop trying. Sartorially, I have tried to push the envelope, go out of my comfort zone and pair the most unassuming things. Here’s the countdown of my favourite looks in no particular order.

dress4 - 1

I loved this velvet and jacquard dress which i wore to celebrate my birthday in Tenerife.

IMG_20160605_214642

This summer I finally mustered the courage to show off my legs in a pair of denim shorts which i paired with boho looking cold shoulder blouse.

Bridesmaid dress style

Maxi Wrap dress style shein

I also enlisted the help of my talented photographer friend and colleague to capture these beautiful photos. In the first one, I tried my hand at becoming a bridesmaid although I had no such luck in real life. In the second one, it was all about donning a super chic maxi wrap dress and turning in to an uptown girl.

Shirt Dress Over Jeans

Talking about unusual pairings, who knew shirtdress over jeans would be such a hit?!

When Fashion Meets Art: Van Gogh Starry Nights

Or that I could pull of a Van Gogh painting skirt for a lunch date?

Must have Dress: Maxi dress style

And have the confidence to wear noodle strap maxi dress.

Paisley Print casual look

Polka Dot Fashion

Or go completely casual in this paisley print and polka dots.

I hope you liked these looks that I have picked here. I hope you have an exciting and wonderful New Years Eve and continue to make bucketloads of memories.

Thank you for reading this post. Have a wonderful and exciting weekend and I will see you in the next year. Do not forget to follow me. You can also follow me on Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter.

Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah to all my lovely readers. Hope you had an awesome day and Santa spoiled you really well.

This year, after a very long time, all of my family (UK edition) was in UK and needless to say we celebrated Christmas with much splendour, some tasty grub, lots of laughter, singing, dancing and just the ride dose of madness. Rather than blabbering here, I would just let my pictures do the talking.

Christmas jumper style and fashion

When we sort of twinned 😀

Christmas lunch

Our lovely food spread

Christmas jumper style and fashion

Waiting not-so-patiently to open the presents 😉

As I said in my previous post, this truly is a magical time and one filled with warmth and hope. The perfect time to count our blessings and realise that despite all the daily challenges we do have a lot to be thankful for too. 😀

Thank you for reading, have a wonderful week and happy holidays. Do not forget to follow me. You can also follow me on Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest too.

Playing dress up begins at age 5 and never really ends–Kate Spade

Gosh, I cannot believe that this year is almost ending and this is my first post for December 🙁 Truth is, December, has been a bit of a rollercoaster ride for me and not because it is the year end. I was unwell for most part of this month, confined to the bed even and piled with work. But hey atleast despite everything I still managed to enjoy my office Christmas party  in style(I do have some awesome colleagues) and I am getting back to my favourite method of unwinding–blogging.

The best part of the festive season (apart from all the presents and the general love and affection amidst people) is of course festive fashion. When it comes to festive fashion (or any other fashion for that matte) my favourite go-to style is dresses. This year, instead of splurging on another new dress (mind you I have done that too) I instead thought of re-styling an old dress.

This maroon-red dress in baroque print dress is my all time favourite and I decided to restyle it for obvious reasons. Red is a colour synonymous with Christmas. Combine it with black and some winter accessories and you have an hands down winner.

Festive-Christmas fashion lookbook

 

Festive-Christmas fashion lookbook

Red dresses have spunk, playfulness and just the right bit of sass to make it a clear wardrobe winner. Pair it with classic winter accessories like over the knee high lace boots, polka dot tights, statement necklace, cocktail ring and a delicate bracelet and you are ready to own any dance floor or dinner event.

Festive-Christmas fashion lookbook

Dress: Debenhams (old) also like this one from Pretty Little Things, boots: Ego, Beret &snood: New Look, necklace: Mango, Bracelet: Pandora

I have also added a fur snood and beret to earn more chic points as well to make sure that i stay warm without compromising much on style. So my top tip for this festive season fashion would be? A little Red dress and over the knee lace boots 😉

Thank you for reading. Hope you liked this post. Have a wonderful week ahead and do not forget to follow me. You can also follow me on Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.