May 29, 2013

Land of Elephants




 








I have nothing much to say now except to brag that I have a decently amazing memory. And so do elephants! I relate important happenings in my life to the clothes I had worn then, how weird is that!
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Outfit Details:
Blazer: Forever21
Elephant Pants and Cuffs: Street Shopped in Cochin
Striped vest: American Eagle Outfitters
Chain Necklace: Ayesha Accessories
Shoes: Indiebazaar



Love,
Shubhi!






May 26, 2013

Shubhi's 9 Printed Tee Styles You Should Know










What is the single, most important, yet underrated fashion staple of all time? Blazers, Maxi dresses, and Palazzo Pants have posts and articles written in their glory. Yet the underdog of the fashion world, the Printed Tee-Shirt, gets sadly overlooked!

While you're reading this right now, chances are, eight out of ten of you are wearing a tee-shirt. And a printed one at that! Tee-shirts are important. You get my point.

Before I begin writing, I must say I am not the biggest fan of printed tees. I spent my college years looking for plain tees which I religiously wore to class with denims, day after day. I took pains to stay away from tees which had chappals, apples, smileys, and other rad stuff printed on them, which were quite a rage in those final years of college!

Which is why, today, if I do buy myself a printed tee, I take great care to pick for myself the finest print of them all.
So lets decode this vast world of tee-shirt prints. If you got to stand out, you got to put a little bit of study into it!

guide to tees1




1*The Animal Face Tee: These have whole/faces of animals printed on them. Not to be confused with animal prints, these have huge tigers, cute baby dolphins, adorable cats. If your'e an animal lover(like me), what better way to express it? Realistic animals on tee-shirts look quite chic too, when paired with the right stuff!
Examples I've Seen: Wolf Face, Tiger Face, Cat faces.

2*The Text Tee: These tee-shirts are for the typographically inclined. What's written is as important as how its written, and the text may be a design in itself. Awesome stuff, this!

3*The Motif Tee: This category has a repetitive printed design all over it. From leopard spots to bows to flowers, this tee shirt will definitely be amazingly fashionable, no matter what! Also, it can be paired with formal-ish bottoms, unlike most other tees, which would look ridiculous paired that way!
Examples I've seen: Birds, Aztec/Tribal prints, Playboy bunnies, Polka dots, Stripes!




tee3

4*The Accessory Print Tee: This is an interesting and a fairly new trend, and I'm secretly proud of discovering this category! These tee shirts have an accessory(which is generally disjoint from clothing) printed right ON them, which makes them so intriguing! These tee shirts do subtle humor, and they will definitely be conversation starters!
Examples I've Seen: cameras, ties, bow ties, badges, brooches, belts, headphones!

Warning: You will still need to carry your own camera to click pictures, the one on your printed tee wont do much!

5*The Message Tee: These tees are fairly widespread, and say a message out loud. Beware of looking like a smart-mouth when you sport these. Also make sure you believe in the message your'e displaying out to the world, you don't want to be a hypocrite! Don't just pick them up randomly, because they are on an offer of Rs. 599 for 3 at the Mall.
My tip: stick to civilized, witty, and classy messages.

6*The Brand or Logo Tee: These tee shirts have a logo or a brand name emblazoned across the chest! Think band tees, football club tees, or the 'Being Human' tees. The above pointers regarding The Message Tee apply here. Make sure its a brand you love! /or are paid to endorse!

tee guide 2

7*The Cartoon Tee: Hey, we all love these. They look cool, bring out the kid in you, plus they are always in vogue. They look cool paired with casual denims, skirts, and shorts!

8*The Photo Printed Tee: These tees have realistic photos printed right on them. The photographs can be of anything, anything at all! You can borrow from their colour schemes and pair them with appropriately coloured bottoms!

9*The Symbol Tee: These tees have a single symbol/icon printed on them. Fashion-wise, I give them the status of the Motif Tee! They look great with anything! Don't bother too much about the symbol on it, unlike the Brand/Message Tee. Just follow a few basic ground rules, like if your'e a straight guy, you don't want to wear a Tee with a Heart on it!



So how many categories do you own? Do you find that you prefer one category over another?
 Do let me know in the comments!

Love,
Shubhi!


May 23, 2013

Princess of Quirk







How this outfit came about: 


~When I saw this printed shirt on the street, I HAD to buy it! (hello,quirky cat faces?)

~I never thought I would wear a turban, but when you have a scarf that is so interesting and fits snugly on your head, I figured why not?

~The henna design on my hand is a product of an aimless and depressing evening, which brightened up a wee bit after toyed about with a  henna cone, because, who doesn't like an over-sized flower on the back of their hand?

~The maxi skirt (with pockets)  is from Jabong.com, and marks my foray into the world of online shopping.

~The black crystal earrings were respectfully stolen from my Sister Dearest.

~The blue suede shoes are courtesy Indiebazaar, love the innovative Indian stuff on their website!


And so the princess of quirk was born. *drumroll*

Love,
Shubhi!


May 20, 2013

The Anthropologie Store in Philadelphia

Every once in a while, you enter a space that completely mesmerizes you with its interior design and atmosphere. The Anthropologie store in Philly did exactly that to me, last december! And since i'm on a small break from outfit shoots, I thought I must share these pictures with you!










It was so creatively done up, I felt like Alice in Wonderland! There were paintings used as carpets, doorknobs used as wall decoration, and fireplaces that went on top of each other, all the way up to the ceiling! The dizzingly round antique stairway went up and (down) four floors, with treats like ancient mirrors, life-sized paper reindeer, and crystal shard-garlands, on every landing. The huge asymmetric rope chandelier was awesome to look at!

The store is housed in the Rittenhouse Mansion, and the huge painted ceiling, stained glass, flooring, are left intact, and they go beautifully with the bohemian decor!

I have nothing much to say about the clothing, because the overpriced ethnic-looking stuff is something you easily find locally in India, so it made no sense for me to shop there!

But the store itself is awe-inspiring. If you're ever in Philadelphia, check it out!

Love,
Shubhi!


May 12, 2013

Monochromatic Stripes






What I love about this fashion season is that you can throw on a striped tee-shirt, and get away with it looking super chic!
So that is just what I did, on a day-out in town..

I have a feeling I am going to wear this hat a lot. It is a new purchase, and I love it. 'Why don't more people in Mumbai wear hats?' is a question that has haunted me ever since I was a kid! Hats are life savers. They save you from all kinds of things, namely the sun, wind, bad hair days.

Featuring:
My new-favourite Striped Peplum tee from Forever21
Can't-do-without Black Skinnies
Nine West tote bag(Which carries everything under the sun, including my bulky camera)
No-name comfortable flipflops
A real antique key strung around my neck.


Love,
Shubhi!

May 11, 2013

Style Influence: My Fair Lady

'My Fair Lady' is my favorite movie of all time. For those of you who've watched it, it is impossible to forget the cockney, loud-mouthed Eliza(played superbly by Audrey Hepburn) making an entrance at the Ascot, primly and beautifully turned out, for the first time, as a lady!

This costume itself is iconic. It got Cecil Beaton a Tony Award for Best Costume Design in 1957. It is amazing to observe how fashion forward this dress is, for those times! It incorporates the startling combination of white lace and striped black and white trimmings. It is bodycon, without looking overtly so. It exudes elegance and grandeur. And the hat-No words to describe that gorgeous, over-the-top creation!

Are you inspired? Well then, scroll down and see some modern day interpretation..




mfl5




mfl4

my fair lady3





White Lace, Ruffles, Bows, Black and White Stripes, and a little big of Floral thrown in..
And here are a few accessories!


mf6



Images from:
http://www.hotelfashionland.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/my-fair-lady.jpg
http://www.christopherriordan.com/AscotPic4.jpg







Do you like My Fair Lady? And if you haven't watched it yet, you should do so this weekend! It is hilarious; A classic not to be missed!

Love,


May 07, 2013

Hair Experiments in Bohemia

My life in the last week seems to have gone through a 180-degree shift. Is it because of a new job or maybe a new relationship? No. It is because I got side swept bangs. You heard me!

Now I come under the category of people whose hair is sympathetically handled by hairdressers. 'You should try a different conditioner', they say sadly, with a glazed look in their eyes.  Well, most hairstylists out here just don't get hair that isn't long, sleek, black and shiny. So I was always the girl who looked wistfully at other girl's gorgeous fringed hairstyles, too afraid to ask for it on my own wavy to curly hair.

Until I realized I had a pair of world class hair-cutting scissors and my head, both safely reposing in my closet!  And this magic video. And the rest is history!







Moral of the story is: Everything looks more amazing with bangs. ponytails, braided hairstyles, the simple two-side hair pin, the milkmaid braid I've tried out in this post, everything. I could easily overlook the frantic fear I face of my bangs getting out of place in the wind while sitting in a bus, or the need to carry a tiny comb around!

This fantastic DIY video explains this easy braided hairstyle, it took me exactly four minutes to do! Its perfect for summer, keeps all your hair where it should be-on top of your head!

Also, my love story with head flowers continues. I was so happy to find a hamper full of flowers, c/o Ayesha from their 'Purple Haze' collection, at my doorstep! Ayesha has an amazing range of unique and quirky hair accessories. They will definitely appeal to the Bohemian in you! And they are so affordable too!

Outfit Details:
Skirt- Causeway, last worn here
Shirt- United Colours of Benetton
Head Flowers Assortment- c/o Ayesha Accessories.

Love,



May 04, 2013

I Have a Dream





These pants had such a cute print, I had to buy them right away! Tiny cars, flowers, and peace signs-totally give off a sixties vibe! PS: The title of the post is one of my favourite songs by ABBA.

Shoes: c/o Indiebazaar, they have an amazing range of affordable and unique footwear! You can see some styles here.

Pants: off the Street
Shirt: Annabelle
Belt: Nine West
Purse: HnM


Love,

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