More shells and Embroidery - Tales from Bhujodi

There were more shells and patchwork panels on display as there are stars in the sky . After having leisurely strolls and being so enthusiastic about a town which I googled before leaving for my travel to Kutch and Bhuj, I was looking forward to be blown away.  Not only did I confirm my seat on the plane, I mentally rather booked my fashion seat at a village which is known for handicrafts . 

Bhujodi is the major textile center of Kutch with more than 1200 inhabitants involved in textile handicraft production. 

Our trip was planned in a way that our first stop was Kutch , and Bhujodi was on the itinerary merely as a pit stop on our way to Mandvi Beach . I had a chance of meeting local artisans during my stay at Rann of Kutch and small weavers and local designers who travelled all the way from the village of textiles( Bhujodi) had set up their small shops at the desert camp. I wanted to get each and every piece I saw there, but held onto my horses as much as my hubby held onto his wallet.

It was a very hot day in Bhujodi town. The sun was too strong but the gush of excitement for a shopping spree I was about to experience didn't let me feel a thing.

There I was in for a surprise. I met weavers, tie- dye experts, jewellery designers ,small time artists , block printers and who not . Most of them welcomed me to their homes and even let me watch them as they worked around. 

I saw a lady sewing these shells to this blouse in one of the houses. I randomly walked in . Intrigued by the colour I started walking towards her to inspect closely on this piece of clothing she was working on. "Abhi Poora Nahin Hua hai " - Its half finished  she said. 

A close inspection and my heart was set on this blouse and I told her that I had one hour in the village and I really wanted this piece . Her eyes beamed with flurry of excitement and we set a price for this beauty . 

The sleeves needed to be stitched , the shells were half strung and her elder daughter announced a lunch break as she carelessly slipped the plate in front of her . We started chatting and with a quick nod , the daughter was instructed to take the food away and bring it later.

 I explained her about my role as an influencer . I told her that I use fashion as a means to express ideas , and how my style of dressing imbued meaning and I use clothes and dressing up as a tool and commitment to the idea of supporting Indian weaving industry. But if they are not used where everyone can see them, can they really have an impact ? Throwing this question at her, I left the conversation there and left the rest to her imagination. She got a fair idea when I showed her my instagram page . 

I told her that I loved being there and how seeing the whole family work into making some unique garments I concluded that there are more to clothes than just clothes. After looking at the way every weaver functions in a small village like Bhujodi, I framed clothing as a collection of values, diversity, creativity and entrepreneurship .

It was then I realised living in a city like Delhi where fashion is fast and consuming, I reflected my distance with the industry. Tipping them with the amount which was double the price she asked for was the least I could do. 

This whole experience taught me one thing  -there is so much beauty and local talent available in our country too, and sometimes that whole feeling of gratification comes when you have a close encounter with the maker of something you instantly have a connection with.

I drafted this post because a lot of you were keen to find out the details of this outfit. I wanted to share the sentiment behind this look and this is my only medium, so here you guys , a few pictures of the same. 

If you have had a similar experience, you know what I am talking about ;)

Blouse/Bag- Bhujodi

Pants - Label TFF (which is my own btw )

Heels - Forever 21

Sunglasses- Dukaan.co( On instagram )

Watch - Fossil

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Tales from The Kutch | India Fashion week street style

Today you would find some quirk along with sophistication which is a not a new phenomena if you follow my blog, plus there is one person I would love to introduce you all to.

Meet Dolna from Hungary. I met her on Instagram, and our bond grew from there on. From occasional chatting to regularly discussing fashion , we were both amazed by each others styles and what our cultures were bringing together as a whole in this digital world of fashion. That's what I meant by quirk + sophistication ( up, up , up ) 

Dolna did a recent feature on me on a 7 days 7 looks theme, which I think is really awesome and you all must read here.

Dolnas Blog Silksofine talks about beauty, lifestyle and personal stories and a little bit of her travels, and she really posts beautful photos from all things that interests her and she finds from her journeys.

Here is what she has to say about herself :

Hi I am Dolna .I am a Hungarian, living in Germany, blogging in english. The blog has a weird history, it started as a marketing tool corporate website for an upcoming online store (thats still in picture btw) but along the journey it took an unexpected direction and started to have its own life and became a personal style blog. So now while collecting infos about brands and learning the e-commerce industry I enjoy the creativity of styling. :)

Todays look is a flavour a mix of fashion and cultures, and I thought it would be really great if I get to the heart of what's contemporary, mixing it up with Dolna's style for this post.
India fashion week starts in exactly few hours , hence I decided to do a major throwback post to what I wore last year. My sleek austerity in a little, okay , but a bit extensive Indian Kitsch with glam look, which also came at an expense of lightness and ease having just the Lauren mix of fashion pace with grace.
Chunked up some silver antique jewellery down my throat, okay not literally down the throat,but adorned around the throat, a single hoop in one year, giving a sense of energy to the ootd, while knowing how to stay on the track,at the same time moving ahead.
Hope you like our feature. Follow Dolna  if you like to be engulfed around a positive fashion person and her classy style full of stellar fashion inspirations.
Follow me on Instagram to stay updated on all the fun we are having a AIFWSS17. 
You can also say Hi on snapchat btw  -(thefashionflite)
See you super soon :)

Funk Your way- Music Print Co-ords | Street style India Fashion week

The vital fashion scene in India calls for sleek modern looking clothes. The tradition of wearing elaborate to this fashion event called India Fashion Week, has little to do with contemporary style and a lot more to do with making an effort. They call you fetching( if that word still exists) with random facebook status updates specifically targeted for the experi-MENTALS and random instagram comments. I know they feel a slightly more lousy about themselves, but Are you talking to me ? Well if you are then - Hello we meet again !!! 

I am a pretty vibrant woman in life and I like to display my vibrancy in the clothes I wear. My feeling has always been that if you need a piece of clothing to speak for you, it might be the best for everyone if you say nothing at all. And obviously you cannot tell an outfit to shut the hell up which is why I want to tell you all what I am wearing today. Rather what I wore to last season of India Fashion week.

Todays look is Everything with an essence of throwaway chic , that lets me live and  adjust my score of  fashion week game winking with a side of quirky.

Okay so this look also stirred a lot of raised eyeballs ,one coz of the extraordinary knee accessory which I feel is such a bold arrival from the usual fashion safety net and can be literally counted on to snare a lot of attention and second this outfit and a tiny over the little top dramatic eyemakeup--- Errr... those hashtags which you see, yes that , speak a different fashion sensory language so that I don't speak at all.  

Basically I know how to do my homework and then let my creative eye take over the rest. Eclecticism is indeed by all necessity in this big city's fashion - brazen discordance , has found its niche where uniformity once reigned. I am helping it all up by dressing up in splashes of colour so that the city rapidly loses its gray, covered with loud decorative pieces. Go on digest my Aura... Its only gonna do you good :)

Quirky meets quirky - With Abhimanyu, a.k.a My fashion week photographer . Pics courtesy - His highness 

Music print -Co-Ords- Bangkok

Shoes- Bangkok

Knee Accessory- AnuPD

Bag- Bangkok

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Things To Do In China, Shopping | Foshan | Guangzhou | Shanghai . OOTD- CHINA STREET STYLE

Bringing the back with a bang look. If you missed me then you probably know I was in China, and if you didn't then maybe I am in danger for overestimating your interest in my blog.

Just so you know , my summers were more inherently summery than yours , more Disney oriented, and more Chinese food driven.

That's why I am back here to delicately start a conversation on what you should do in China . After squeezing in about about three cities - Foshan, Guangzhou and Shanghai in my 12 day itinerary, and attracting a diverse blend of Chinese with our street style shoots, I am here to share a little  tour diary of things you should do in China. 

I got a couple of few Insta stories ( which was a new Instagram feature added just a day before I left which also saved me the hassle of taking photos within one minute of arriving giving me much photo posting clarity. Blessed !!!! 

The best feeling was the great feedback given by those on the receiving end of those founts of stories, and interest in my travel, which encouraged me to hack into VPN and enable Instagram coz every other world social platform is barred in China.

While a lot of you may feel that I am biting on the fresh figs of life, which actually I was, but came with a lot of walking and a big big language barrier. 

Our landing port was Guangzhou, and  it took us an hour drive to check in at Foshan. 

Just so you know, Foshan is a veritable destination and worldwide hub for furniture, lights and for everything your home needs. 

Visited the Chimelong water park, (Asia's No3 , )which was a waste for a non adventurous person like me, especially when those thrilling water rides scare me to death.

Nevertheless its a heaven for kids, and my daughter had a Ball and she made our money back with freqyent display of excitement.

I wore a simple cotton  dress with lace trims by Stalk Buy Love, and my cone bag and the  Floral sandals from Sammydress Clothing  being the highlight of the day were praised by many as I ventured outside our Hotel Fortuna ,to shoot some street style. 

Must recommended place to stay, as the food is crazy and if you are a Vegetarian like me, you won't be starved.

The minute we started shooting, it looked like everyone needed my attention, as around 20 people took out their phones and started recording the terrific stuff we do in India(take street photos ). This ice cream cone bag caught the fancy of everyone , which arrived in 7 days (super quick delivery ) from the website . Despite being the centre of attraction at approx 9 A.M, I also did weird things on special request, for e.g posing to eat the ice-cream.

Language was no barrier then as sign language and friendly laughs ruled and after a dozen Chinese got what they wanted and took my exclusive expressions home, I am now wondering ,if they ruined my groove at my expense ??

Coming back to Foshan, the lighting city and a few shopping malls at Zhongshan are a must visit if you are shopping for home/ interiors. 

Leaving you all with truck load of pics. 

Next up is things to do in Shanghai and a lot of shopping finds.

Ciao xx

Bows, Quirky accessories and Mixing Prints | Indian Fashion Street style Look

Enlivening tired government officials residential housing, is this street art murals in Lodhi colony , Delhi, which reflects the fun, unpretentious vibe. Settle in around near one of the graffiti walls , take out your camera, and the street children would come hovering around you to see what's happening.

This engaging exhibit of the Minnie mouse hairband, created so much confusion, that for a minute it was difficult for the photographer to figure out what was the agenda of the shoot ? The graffiti, me , or the children . It was a veritable zoo, with these children asking me to lend this hairband, which obviously belonged to my daughter, and as chance would have it, she accompanied me for this shoot for the first time. From window frowns, to raised brows to casting sidelong glances, she gave me indicators of heat in all possible ways from the vicinity of our car, as one of the boys posed along with me wearing my my daughter's headband.

Clearly as you may see , he was having a ball. From distracting us, to murmuring occasional nonsensical  Bollywood numbers, he tried everything to let this shoot never happen . Look he even photobombed me !! All he wanted was this headband, for peace to prevail. It was a fun merger of fashion with the actual street world, which made me realise that fashion is about the common people. And its the common people who make fashion uncommon.

He was glad to accept my offer for letting me wear that headband on his greased hair. After his small rendezvous of  being Minnie mouse , he returned to being human after this brief taste of fashion. 

I think he turned out to be Oprah for me to make me understand that the fashion Gods lies in the smallest of things like a headband. It re-iterated my belief that quirky accessories should be given a try while choosing an outfit, which work wonders like a green olive in Martini, shaken not stirred (007  style).