Self Help, Helps Sustain!

Before I start this blog post, I just want to thank God for all the lovely people I have met because of my blog and because of the cause and ideals I am slowly but surely making progress towards. Ever since I started blogging about sustainability in what we wear, everywhere I turn around I see only sustainable brands, ethical bloggers and people who have adopted slow fashion as a form of living and its just so motivating to know this community is not a very small one. Am I experiencing the Baader Meinhof effect (*Baader-Meinhof is the phenomenon where one stumbles upon some obscure piece of information—often an unfamiliar word or name—and soon afterwards encounters the same subject again, often repeatedly.)  Probably, but look who isn’t complaining? Me! 🙂

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Print Preview – Western Symmetry

Its Monday my dear readers and publishing this post will probably be the best thing I’ll be doing today. 😟😀 Today’s post is about a few western prints. When I think western prints I think geometry I think precision and I think formals. I don’t know why, but all that comes to my mind are these prim and proper pencil skirts and A-line dresses but let’s try and break that stereotype henceforth shall we 🙂

Houndstooth Print

The houndstooth print became pretty famous last year with it taking over the runway and many blogs too. I love (with a capital L) monochromes so I had no problems embracing the houndstooth print.
The houndstooth is literally in the shape of a houndstooth. No really. 😛

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See? 😀

This print started being used in predominantly every outfit possible. Skirts, blazers, scarfs, entire dresses, etc. Since its basically a black and white (mostly) print it lends itself beautifully to bright colors like red, yellow, violet, pink and so on…and on.. 😉

This is how I styled this print!

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While you get skirts and dresses with really big houndstooth prints I chose really tiny prints because..well…I’m not exactly petite and nothing gives that fact away like big prints. 😂

Outfit Details : Houndstooth shirt : Fast Fashion | Chino Trousers : Marks and Spencers | Nude Pumps : Westside | Purse : Lifestyle from Lifestyle | Shades : Rayban

Chevron Print

Chevron is basically an Multi National Company and their logo is basically two downward arrow heads. For some reason this print grew really popular about a couple of years ago and what’s more, they decided to call it Chevron, the name of the company that originally designed it. Ha.

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So chevron is one all-rounder print let me tell you! It lends itself as much to outfits as it does to home decor!! Don’t believe me? Google it! Also here’s what I did with the chevron print for home decor. (Warning! This was when I used paint and canvas for the first time in my life. So shoddy painting ahead!)

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Outfit wise, the chevron print again is used on any and every outfit. They are a special favorite of the shift / shirt dresses because the vertical downward arrows and lines give some amount of shape which is clearly lacking in those dress styles. I have no dress which has this cool print yet. I’ll get one soon!! 😤
After publishing this post, Nandhini, my running inspiration and reader of my blog told me she had an outfit in this Chevron print and so sweetly and readily agreed when I asked her if I could put it up on my blog! So here you go! Nandini owning the chevron in this mint and white peplum chevron top for you!
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Thanks Nandini for contributing to my blog (again!) You’re a savior 💝🙏😍

Polka Dots
Polka dots is a classic. Its so 80s I feel like an old time heroine whenever I wear it. Nope that’s not same as feeling old. Nope. 😂 Polka dots are everyone’s favorite and everyone has at least one Polka dotted outfit as a matter of principle! 🙏
I have styled my polka with stripes once on the blog before.

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I also own a beautiful polka dress which I am just realizing I’ve never shown you guys before.! 😱

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Yes. Short hair.! 😍 so long ago!
Also, here’s how my fashionista friend Madhu satisfied her polka craving.

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I love the frills on her sleeve and her choice of shoes too! Thank you Madhu for contributing to my blog. I couldn’t have asked for a better outfit or photo! Yayy 💝💝

Outfit details (mine) : Polka shirt – Thrift shopped in Mumbai | Striped T-shirt – Waves Chennai | Polka Dotted Dress – Max

Outfit details (Madhu) : Polka Cardigan – Splash | Black Jeans – Calvin Klein

Symmetrical patterns

While all things east are handmade and labor intensive, they can’t and they don’t follow much symmetry. This symmetry is more than achieved in western machine made outfits and don’t we love them. 😇
I recently bought this diamond print silk jacket from Vesa Online and here’s how I styled it again for this post.

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This jacket defines style in so many ways for me. Its classy, its colorful, it’s rich in material, its Indian in texture but western in print. Ufff! I love it!

Also,going completely off topic, guess what readers? I STITCHED THAT DRESS.!! 💃🍹🍻🎶🎊🎉🎇
Yes that’s right! If you’ve been following my blog I made no bones about my stitching experiments and this dress is one of its results. Its a bit loose (I might have cringed and cribbed about how loose it is if someone else had stitched it, but now I use “bit loose” 😂) but its a labor of love and I can’t but love it two hands and two legs. This is how I styled it without the coat!

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I cinched it up at my waist with my tan belt to give it some shape.

Outfit Details : Dress – Stitched by me | Jacket – Vesa online | Platform Heels – Westside | Tan Belt – Lifestyle

That’s all from me readers. Thank you so much for coming back and reading and loving my blog every single time. Have an amazing week ahead!

Print Preview – Sway the Indian Way 2.0!

A quick post this one! Ever since I launched a facebook page for my blog I haven’t been giving the usual life updates that I used to. Granted, I don’t lead a page3 life (not even page 16 if you ask me 😂) but it used to be fun, talking about completely random stuff. But going big means channeling and focusing on strengths which effectively put an end to these ancillary topics. *Sob. Sob.* However, here’s a “life update” I’m gonna have to give you! I’m learning STITCHING.!! Ahhhh!!! Yes its the most fun thing to do! I enrolled myself in a stitching class recently and boy am I having a ball – a cotton ball – a stitched cotton ball – hahaha! So far I’ve done a pillow cover (elementary my dear Watson!), a kids jubba, an A-Line dress (more on that later 😍) and now an umbrella skirt. Yay!

So when my teacher asked me to buy material for my next class which was going to be an umbrella skirt I didn’t quite know what print I wanted. I went shopping and a bit of picking and prodding ended with me getting a beautiful material. Add a class of sewing hemming and a lot of struggle and Ta-daaaa 😇😍🙌👇👗

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I won’t say this skirt was easy for me to stitch. Especially the waist where I had to insert an elastic into a slit and sew up after that but I had fun all the same with my tailor-teacher. 😍📍✂📏😇

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This skirt is basically a patchwork of odds and bits of plain and kalamkari prints which were probably in excess. It must have involved so much labor because use square you see there has been individually sewn to the next square. I got this running material for Rs.200 per meter x 3 meters. So for Rs.600 ($10) I have a lovely summery printed maxi ready!! 😍

Outfit Details : Plain T-shirt: Globus, Skirt: Material Color’s Choice Chennai, Stitched by yours truly, Necklace: Gift, Platform heels : Khadims Chennai.

I found a lot of Indian fabrics and prints in this skirt. Its a prettiest and the most satisfying thing I have done and/or worn in a long time. Hope you guys liked this post. Thank you so much readers for coming back and showing so much love every single time. 💝